I had a few Asia Miles nearing expiration and was looking for the best way to use them. I was close to having enough miles to redeem for a Manila-Hongkong roundtrip ticket. However, the taxes I needed to pay is almost equivalent to buying a promo ticket online through Cebu Pacific. Rather than redeem for a flight alone via Cathay and pay around P3,600 in taxes, I opted to avail the Cebu Pacific 50% promo instead so that Rene and I are in the same flight and just pay about 4k each for a roundtrip ticket.
So I browsed through Asia Miles' website to choose what else I can redeem with my miles. Initially, I wanted to redeem for hotel stays. However, the choices of hotels although a lot required a lot of miles. My miles were only good enough for 1 night. I did not want to save 1 night and pay for 2 expensive nights (for a 4D3N vacation). I would rather pay for cheap accommodation as I am comfortable staying in hostels (I eventually got free accommodation via Delta miles redemption instead). So the choices now narrowed down to free tickets (merchandise available for redemption for Philippine residents are not too attractive as well).
Among the ticket choices that I can use in HK are Disneyland tickets, Ocean Park, Madame Tussaud/The Peak, and Harbour Cruises. If you plan on getting to all these places, might as well consider which has the best HK$/miles ratio and also what else you can redeem with the remaining miles. Say Disneyland is HKD700/15,500 miles while Ocean Park is HKD500/13,000 miles. For Disneyland, 1 mile=HKD0.045 while Ocean Park is 1 mile=0.038. In this case Ocean Park has more value. However for me the remaining miles is almost useless. Since my miles can still afford the Disneyland redemption, I opted for Disneyland instead.
Upon redemption, I immediately got a confirmation email indicating the estimated time when the redemption letter is expected to arrive. My letter arrived 2 weeks later (here in the Philippines). When I redeemed the ticket at the Disneyland ticket express counter in Hongkong MTR station, it was accepted immediately. Aside from the original redemption letter, they asked for my Asia Miles card and a proof of identification (ex. passport). The ticket agent then handed me 2 admission tickets which is valid to be used once within 6 months as well as maps of Disneyland. So the self-collection was a breeze.
I still think the miles would have been a better value if I had used it for a free flight. However given the limited amount that I had, I still saved a lot in my trip. I think the redemption process itself is quite slow having to wait for the redemption letter to be mailed. In addition, if you're redeeming for hotel stays or some tours, prior reservation is required. I think in terms of hotel redemptions, Delta fares better as the redemption and booking is done at the same time and the email is sufficient proof.
So I browsed through Asia Miles' website to choose what else I can redeem with my miles. Initially, I wanted to redeem for hotel stays. However, the choices of hotels although a lot required a lot of miles. My miles were only good enough for 1 night. I did not want to save 1 night and pay for 2 expensive nights (for a 4D3N vacation). I would rather pay for cheap accommodation as I am comfortable staying in hostels (I eventually got free accommodation via Delta miles redemption instead). So the choices now narrowed down to free tickets (merchandise available for redemption for Philippine residents are not too attractive as well).
Among the ticket choices that I can use in HK are Disneyland tickets, Ocean Park, Madame Tussaud/The Peak, and Harbour Cruises. If you plan on getting to all these places, might as well consider which has the best HK$/miles ratio and also what else you can redeem with the remaining miles. Say Disneyland is HKD700/15,500 miles while Ocean Park is HKD500/13,000 miles. For Disneyland, 1 mile=HKD0.045 while Ocean Park is 1 mile=0.038. In this case Ocean Park has more value. However for me the remaining miles is almost useless. Since my miles can still afford the Disneyland redemption, I opted for Disneyland instead.
Upon redemption, I immediately got a confirmation email indicating the estimated time when the redemption letter is expected to arrive. My letter arrived 2 weeks later (here in the Philippines). When I redeemed the ticket at the Disneyland ticket express counter in Hongkong MTR station, it was accepted immediately. Aside from the original redemption letter, they asked for my Asia Miles card and a proof of identification (ex. passport). The ticket agent then handed me 2 admission tickets which is valid to be used once within 6 months as well as maps of Disneyland. So the self-collection was a breeze.
I still think the miles would have been a better value if I had used it for a free flight. However given the limited amount that I had, I still saved a lot in my trip. I think the redemption process itself is quite slow having to wait for the redemption letter to be mailed. In addition, if you're redeeming for hotel stays or some tours, prior reservation is required. I think in terms of hotel redemptions, Delta fares better as the redemption and booking is done at the same time and the email is sufficient proof.
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