Transfer Amex MR to Cathay Pacific Asia Miles — ratio, bonuses, sweet spots

How to transfer

The deal

1:1

Amex MR → Asia Miles

Instant

Open Amex MR →Open Asia Miles →

Cents per Asia Miles point

Economy

1.1¢

Business

1.5¢

First

1.7¢

Approx value per point on average bookings. Sweet-spot redemptions can hit 3¢+ per point.

Do this first

Confirm award space on Asia Miles BEFORE you transfer

Transfers are final and cannot be reversed. Open Asia Miles's site in another tab, sign in, and load the exact flight you want at the points price you expect. Come back only when you're ready to redeem.

Open Asia Miles award search →

What you should know

You need a free Asia Miles account

Amex MR asks for your Asia Miles member number during the transfer. Sign up takes a minute and costs nothing.

Create Asia Miles account →

Minimum transfer: 1,000 Amex MR points

You can't transfer less than 1,000, and transfers must be in increments of 1,000.

Instant — usually under a minute

This transfer pair is marked instant and typically posts within seconds to a few minutes. Even so, occasional system delays happen — wait until you see the points in your destination account before doing anything else. These are typical times, not guarantees — always confirm award space first because transfers can't be reversed.

Cancellation: cancellation has a fee

$120 cancellation fee (or 17,000 miles) — one of the most expensive in the industry.

Fee: ~$120Window: Anytime pre-departureTaxes: Refunded minus fee

Points expiration

Amex MR: Membership Rewards points never expire as long as you have at least one Amex card open and in good standing.
Asia Miles: Cathay Asia Miles use a flexible model: miles are valid for at least 18 months and can be extended up to 36 months total by earning more miles. Effectively a hybrid hard-and-soft clock.
Heads up: your Amex MR points don't expire, but Asia Miles points (after transfer) do.

Step by step

1
Log in to American Express
Go to americanexpress.com and click Log In in the top right.
2
Navigate to Transfer Points → View All
Under Membership Rewards, find the Transfer Points tile and click View All to see every partner.
3
Pick Asia Miles from the partner list
Scroll the airline partners and click Asia Miles. The ratio shown should be 1:1.
4
Link your Asia Miles account
Enter the name on your Asia Miles account exactly as it appears there, plus your card ID, security code, and Asia Miles member number. Click Link Account.
5
Confirm the account is linked
Amex shows a confirmation page with your Asia Miles number. Click Continue to Transfer Points.
6
Open your linked Asia Miles card and click Transfer Points
On the Transfer Points screen you should now see Asia Miles as a linked program. Click Transfer Points on its card.
7
Enter the amount and confirm
Type the number of Membership Rewards points to transfer (1,000-point increments). Tick the terms box and click Confirm & Transfer Points. Transfers to Asia Miles usually post instantly — but always confirm award availability on Asia Miles.com first.