Cathay Pacific selling flight discount vouchers on Groupon

Cathay Pacific has taken a slightly different approach to running a sale, by selling discount codes on Groupon.  This even includes Business Class fares.

It on ONLY valid on Sydney, Perth, Shanghai, Tokyo or Manila.

You can see details on Groupon here.

This is how it works:

“[You receive a] Discount voucher of up to 20% to be used on Economy or Premium Economy/Business fares for Cathay Pacific flights for up to nine passengers travelling on a single booking; valid on flights from London Heathrow, London Gatwick or Manchester to Sydney, Perth, Shanghai, Tokyo or Manila

£5 (Early Bird Price) or £10 (when Early Bird Price has gone) for a 15% discount off Economy Save and Economy Core fares

£20 for a 20% discount off Business and Economy Premium fares

Valid for Business Save (subclass I) and Premium Economy Standard (E) or Economy Flex (K), Economy Core (M, L, V) and Economy Save (S, N, Q) fares only”

Here are the travel dates:

Travel period: 21 Nov 2019 – 21 Jun 2020 (outbound travel must be no later than 17 Jun 2020)

Economy tickets have some blackout dates – see Groupon for details

Must be booked between 21 Nov–5 Dec 2019 

Note that the discount only applies to the base fare and not to the taxes etc.  This doesn’t make much difference on a Business Class ticket, where the base fare is around 85% of the total, but does have a big impact on Economy tickets.

You can find out more, or buy a voucher, on Groupon here.  You can check flight prices, to see how much is base fare and so how much you would save, on the Cathay site here.

This Head for Points article shows you how to redeem Avios points for low-tax flight redemptions on Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong and beyond.

How to maximise your miles when paying for flights (December 2024)

Some UK credit cards offer special bonuses when used for buying flights. If you spend a lot on airline tickets, using one of these cards could sharply increase the credit card points you earn.

Booking flights on any airline?

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold earns double points (2 Membership Rewards points per £1) when used to buy flights directly from an airline website.

The card comes with a sign-up bonus of 20,000 Membership Rewards points. These would convert to 20,000 Avios or various other airline or hotel programmes. The standard earning rate is 1 point per £1.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 14th January 2025, the sign-up bonus on ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is increased to 30,000 Membership Rewards points. This converts into 30,000 Avios. Click here to apply.

You can apply here.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

Buying flights on British Airways?

The British Airways Premium Plus American Express card earns double Avios (3 Avios per £1) when used at ba.com.

The card comes with a sign-up bonus of 30,000 Avios. The standard earning rate is 1.5 Avios per £1.

You do not earn bonus Avios if you pay for BA flights on the free British Airways American Express card or either of the Barclaycard Avios Mastercards.

You can apply here.

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

Buying flights on Virgin Atlantic?

Both the free Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard and the annual fee Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard earn double Virgin Points when used at fly.virgin.com.

This means 1.5 Virgin Points per £1 on the free card and 3 Virgin Points per £1 on the paid card.

There is a sign-up bonus of 3,000 Virgin Points on the free card and 18,000 Virgin Points on the paid card.

You can apply for either of the cards here.

Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard

3,000 bonus points, no fee and 1 point for every £1 you spend Read our full review

Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard

18,000 bonus points and 1.5 points for every £1 you spend Read our full review