London to Kaohsiung advice

[t42]

Hi, I’m looking for some advice on getting the best deal on a return trip for two.
Out on 31 October from London (ideally LGW but LHR is OK for either/both directions) to Kaohsiung in Taiwan, returning 28 November.
Premium economy (or better!) strongly preferred for the London to Asia legs (assuming transfer in HKG preferred or BKK) as I have long legs.
My partner and I have 78k in BA points and 50k in Cathay points together.
The best option I’ve found so far for both of us is:
£2,241 + 77k points with BA from LHR to HKG (BA31 / BA32)
+ £500 + 50k points with Cathay HKG to KHH (CX458 / CX459; only 1:35 transit time on the return, hopefully that’s enough time… 😬)
= £1,370 per person

I’ve never delved into the world of Avios credit cards so not sure if there’s any benefit in signing up for anything now (we want to book quite soon so maybe too late anyway)?

We also plan to visit Japan so could potentially also consider a multi-city trip of London – Taiwan – JP (haven’t decided which city yet) – London…

[The real Swiss Tony]

You seem to be getting bad value for those miles.

Use a nominal value of 1p per Avios, so you’re paying £3k for the 2 seats LON-HKG, plus a further £1k for the leg up to KHH.
For £4k you could just buy 2 CX tickets LON-HKG-KHH in premium. Way better availability than Avios bookings and you avoid the very real risk of a misconnection on the way back. With two tickets like you describe, you’re on your own if the first flight is late.

Or I see Vietnam have a fare at £1500 per person on your dates. Premium to Vietnam then economy for the 2hr flight to Taiwan. Do that and keep the miles for another day – maybe even see if there’s Taiwan-Japan availability? Not sure on JAL from KHH but am sure Cathay fly from Taipei straight to Japan so availability should be OK.