Yes. You can use your own Asia Miles to redeem flight tickets for family or friends who are registered in your Redemption Group, without first transferring miles to their accounts. Whether you are treating your parents to a trip or planning a journey for your partner, preparing the nominee list and passenger details ahead of time makes the booking easier. Cathay’s miles transfer FAQ explains both options.
Redeeming a ticket for someone versus transferring miles
Redeeming a ticket directly: You use your own membership account and miles to redeem a ticket for a family member or friend in your Redemption Group. They are the passenger, but the miles have not been transferred into their account.
Transferring miles: You move miles into the account of a chosen Redemption Group nominee. A service fee generally applies. If you simply want to book a flight for someone, consider redeeming it directly; a miles transfer is not a required step.
For example, if you want to use the miles you have saved to book a flight for your mother, add her to your Redemption Group and arrange the redemption through your account. You do not need to organise a separate miles transfer first.
Adding someone to your group does not automatically combine your miles. Under Cathay’s flight award terms, miles held in different members’ accounts cannot be pooled directly to redeem a single flight award.
How many people can you register?
Your Redemption Group can contain up to five nominees at any one time. Your first five registrations are free over the lifetime of your membership; this is not a new allowance of five free registrations each year. Replacing a nominee, or adding someone after removing another nominee, may incur a fee.
Cathay’s Redemption Group FAQ lists a change fee of USD50 online or USD75 through other channels, with exemptions for certain membership statuses. Removing a nominee is free, but adding a replacement is not necessarily free.
Decide whose tickets you actually plan to redeem before registering your group, rather than repeatedly adding and removing people for trips that are still uncertain.
RentSmart | Earn miles through rent for family and friends’ trips
Use RentSmart to pay rent with a card that earns Asia Miles or rewards convertible to Asia Miles. Eligible rent transactions may earn miles.
Explore miles rewards from rent payments
Check names carefully: a correction can count as a replacement
Under Cathay’s membership terms, correcting a registered nominee’s name is treated as replacing that nominee. When entering their details, check the passport or travel document they will use for this trip. Confirm the name in English and the order of the surname and given names. If they have a membership number, check that as well.
Avoid entering a nickname, an everyday English name, or a name that does not appear on their travel document. Ask the passenger to check the details again before the ticket is issued, especially when you are booking for your parents or family members with similarly spelled names.
Changing a nominee’s name and correcting the name on an issued ticket are separate matters. If you spot a typo after ticketing, contact Customer Care as explained in Cathay’s ticket name correction FAQ. Do not assume that editing your Redemption Group will automatically correct the ticket.
Children can be nominees; infant bookings need extra attention
Children under 12 and infants can join your Redemption Group. A child’s flight award does not automatically require fewer miles simply because they are younger.
Cathay’s infant flight award guidance says you must contact Cathay to arrange an infant’s award booking, whether or not the infant occupies a seat. An infant occupying a seat requires the same number of miles as an adult. For award tickets operated by a partner or another airline, contact the operating airline to reserve the infant ticket. When arranging a family trip, confirm this part before issuing everyone else’s tickets.
A practical order for booking tickets for family or friends
- Check passenger details: Confirm who is travelling, the dates and their names as shown on their travel documents. Prepare the information requested on the registration page.
- Register your Redemption Group: Sign in and go to “My account” → “Update profile” → “Companions and redemption group”. Follow the instructions to add your family members or friends.
- Redeem through your own account: Check the selected passengers, flights, miles required, taxes and surcharges. Confirm that award seats are available for everyone travelling before deciding to issue the tickets.
- Share the confirmation with each passenger: After ticketing, check the names, dates and flights together. Share the booking reference so they can review their itinerary later.
When booking for someone else, start by checking that the right person is on your Redemption Group list and that their name is correct. Getting these details right before choosing and ticketing the itinerary can save last-minute changes.
Earn miles from monthly rent for family and friends’ trips
If you plan to use miles to book your family or friends’ next trip, consider including monthly rent in your miles-earning plan. By paying rent with a credit card through RentSmart, using a card that earns Asia Miles or rewards convertible to Asia Miles, eligible rent transactions may earn miles. Your regular rent payments can help you gradually build up miles for future trips for family and friends.
