Excellent Cathay Pacific reward availability and minimal tax – Dusseldorf to Hong Kong

I was originally going to discuss this as part of my Hyatt Regency Dusseldorf review yesterday, but I thought it deserved a wider audience.

Few people know that Cathay Pacific flies from Dusseldorf to Hong Kong.

You may wonder why you need to know this!  The answer is:

availability is amazing

taxes are minimal

I picked a random set of dates in January.  For the outbound, I can see EIGHT business class seats and TWO first class seats available for Avios redemption.

For the return, I can see SEVEN business class seats and TWO first class seats.

Looking at other dates in early 2015, 8 business class seats and 2 first class seats appears to be the standard release.

With a 12.35 departure time from Dusseldorf, you do not even need to stay over the night before as long as you get a very early flight from the UK.

When it comes to tax, you are only paying £92 return in business class.  This compares to well over £500 for a British Airways redemption in Club World – and Cathay Pacific has a substantially better reputation.

The snag ….

The only downside is that you cannot use a British Airways American Express 2-4-1 voucher on Cathay Pacific.

ALL partner rewards are now treated as peak dates with BA.

This means that Dusseldorf to Hong Kong prices at 180,000 Avios + £92 return in Business Class.  Cathay also flies from Amsterdam and Manchester, for completeness.

On British Airways, it would be either 150,000 Avios or 180,000 Avios + £503 depending on whether it was a peak or off-peak day.   Cathay is still a better deal on this basis if you do not have a 2-4-1 voucher.

With a 2-4-1, you would be paying between 150,000 and 180,000 Avios + £1,006 on British Airways compared to 360,000 Avios + £184 with Cathay Pacific, for two people.

Of course, if you can’t get BA availability then it is a mute comparison – although you can usually get something into Chengdu or Kuala Lumpur and pay or redeem on Cathay for a connection to Hong Kong.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2024)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and click here to apply.

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus.

There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.