At Prince of Travel, we often highlight how to turn points into luxurious business and first class flights. But not every trip calls for lie-flat seats and champagne. Sometimes, flying economy can be the most practical and budget-conscious option.
In this new series, we’re focusing on the best economy class redemptions using points, organized by destination. We’ve already covered flying to Europe, so now let’s look at flying to Asia. To make things more actionable, redemptions will be grouped by loyalty program rather than airline. This helps you quickly understand which points to use, since in many cases, booking the same airline through different programs can yield different pricing.
Unless noted otherwise, cash amounts listed are in Canadian dollars. Most examples assume a one-way award, but return fares tend to mirror these prices, sometimes offering slight discounts when booked round-trip.
General Strategies
Positioning to Airport Hubs
Unless you live in close proximity to Toronto or Vancouver, you’ll need to position yourself from your home town to one these hubs. We generally wouldn’t recommend adding a positioning flight to the US for an economy booking to Europe. However, when traveling to Asia, where award space is harder to come by, positioning can be worthwhile, especially if you’re able to secure a cheap cash fare or award redemption.
For example, if you can’t find award space for Toronto to Singapore, expand your search to nearby hubs like New York City. You could then redeem 38,000 Cathay Pacific Asia Miles to fly from New York City to Singapore via Hong Kong and pay 7,400 Aeroplan points to fly from Toronto to New York City, or pay ~$200 cash fare instead.
If you can’t find award availability to your destination in Asia, try flying into a major hub such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Taipei, Tokyo, or Seoul, and then book a short intra-Asia connection. These short-haul flights are often operated by low-cost carriers, making them relatively inexpensive, and cheap award redemptions are also widely available. For example, if your actual destination is Bali, you can simply add a short flight from Singapore to Bali for about $119.
Book Early and Be Flexible
Unlike sun destinations, North America, or Europe, where award space and routing options are plentiful, flights to Asia are served by fewer carriers, and award availability is much more limited. Learn when carriers typically release award space and be ready to book right away.
In general, be ready to start searching for award space almost a year out. Flexibility with your dates, departure cities, and connection points will also improve your chances.
Canadian Loyalty Programs
Air Canada Aeroplan
Aeroplan is Canada’s flagship loyalty program and offers excellent access to flights across Asia through mainly Air Canada and its Star Alliance partners. With a mix of dynamic and fixed pricing, it’s one of the most versatile programs for Canadian travellers.
Pros:
- Best award availability for direct flights on Air Canada to Asia
- Several Asian partner airlines with fixed redemption rates (e.g. Singapore Airlines, Eva Air, Asiana Airlines, All Nippon Airways), some with direct flights from Canadian cities
- Can take advantage of the “Atlantic/Pacific Arbitrage” and add a stop-over en route to Asia for only 5,000 Aeroplan points
- Reasonable taxes and fees
Cons:
- Dynamic pricing for Air Canada flights can make redemptions expensive compared to redeeming to Asia through other airline programs
- Inconsistent and limited partner award availability, often with 1–2 economy award seats
- High cancellation fees ($150 for standard economy)
If you look at Aeroplan’s Flight Award Chart, all redemptions from North America to Asia fall within the 0–11,000 mile distance bands, with lower rates available when departing from Vancouver compared to Toronto.
For instance, you could redeem for multiple award seats for just over 46,000 Aeroplan points for a one-way flight from Vancouver to Tokyo on Air Canada…
Or book a one-way flight from Vancouver to Tokyo on All Nippon Airways for 35,000 Aeroplan points at a lower fixed partner rate, but with limited award availability. Keep in mind that redemptions on Air Canada can be higher during peak travel periods.
Avios
Avios is the currency of The British Airways Club, Finnair Plus, and Qatar Privilege Club, and can be used on their respective airlines plus Oneworld partners, including Cathay Pacific. The various Avios programs allow you to transfer points between them, giving you greater flexibility when redeeming.
Pros:
- Cheapest way to redeem for Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong
- Use Finnair Avios to fly from Toronto
- Use British Airways Avios or Qatar Airways Avios to fly from Vancouver
- Great award availability (up to 8 seats on British Airways and Cathay Pacific, 4 seats on Qatar Airways, Finnair, and Japan Airlines)
- Transfer bonuses of up to 30% on Avios can lower your redemption cost
- Low cancellation fees ($25–$60 USD per ticket depending on the program you booked with)
Cons:
- British Airways, Finnair, and Qatar Airways will all require a stopover at their respective hubs so total travel time will be significantly longer
- The total Avios cost for a redemption is determined by adding up the Avios required for each individual flight segment, so connections will cost more
- High redemption rates on British Airways and Finnair
- High taxes and fees on British Airways and Qatar Airways flights
- Economy award seats on Japan Airlines do not appear to be bookable through any Avios program (at the time of writing)
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
Asia Miles is the currency of Cathay Pacific and can be used on its own airline, Japan Airlines, and other Oneworld partners. It provides a great way to fly to Hong Kong, Japan, and beyond. The Asia Miles program uses a distance-based award chart for Cathay Pacific and its partners, which makes redemption costs consistent and predictable. However, partner airlines follow separate distance zones that differ from Cathay Pacific’s own chart.
Pros:
- Excellent award availability around calendar open at 360 days in advance (up to 8 seats on Cathay Pacific and 4 seats on Japan Airlines in economy)
- When redeeming Asia Miles on Cathay Pacific, there’s no extra cost for adding an onwards connection from Hong Kong
- For example, a ~7,800-mile flight from Toronto to Hong Kong costs 38,000 Asia Miles, and extending the journey further to Singapore won’t increase the redemption (the trip still falls within the 7,500-mile+ ultra-long-haul zone for Cathay Pacific flights)
Cons:
- Transferring Amex Membership Rewards to Asia Miles is at a less favourable rate of 1:0.75 (but from RBC Avions it’s 1:1)
- Most award search engines do not display Asia Miles availability, although Roame is one that does
- Although change fees are low, at $50 USD or 7,500 Asia Miles, cancellation fees are hefty at $120 USD or 17,000 Asia Miles
Air France/KLM Flying Blue
Flying Blue is the joint loyalty program of Air France and KLM, known for generous award space, but pricing is dynamically priced and often very high. The program can also be used to book partner airlines such as WestJet, China Airlines, Korean Air, Japan Airlines, and Vietnam Airlines; although redemptions on partner airlines are meant to be dynamically priced, my searches showed they were fairly consistent, so I’ve listed the rates below.
Note: Japan Airlines flights were included to be complete about routing options, but redemptions through Flying Blue do not represent good value. If there’s award availability use Asia Miles instead.
Pros:
- A good alternative for direct and indirect flights from Canada to Taipei, Tokyo, and Seoul outside of dynamically-priced Air Canada flights
- Good award availability on WestJet flights to Tokyo (up to 6 seats)
- Low end of dynamically priced redemptions on Air France and KLM can still represent good value
- Reasonable taxes and fees on partner airline redemptions
Cons:
- Most partner airlines only release 2 seats per flight
- Aside from earning miles on the Air France KLM World Elite Mastercard®, the transfer ratio from Amex Membership Rewards is less favourable (1:0.75)
- Award search engines do not display Flying Blue partner airline availability
- High taxes and fees on Air France and KLM flights
WestJet Rewards
WestJet Rewards is now a points based loyalty system where members earn and redeem WestJet points (1 point = $0.01) toward flights, vacations, and extras with no blackout dates or expiry. With direct flights from Calgary to Seoul and Tokyo, WestJet Rewards can be a good alternative to other rewards programs for those residing in Alberta or the West Coast, particularly when cheap cash fares are available and a companion voucher can be taken advantage of.
Fixed-Value Reward Programs
Fixed-value reward charts offer flexibility by letting you book almost any flight, as long as the fare falls within the program’s maximum allowable value. Unlike booking through airline programs, you don’t have to worry about award seat availability.
Depending on the ticket price, these redemptions can sometimes offer better value than traditional airline programs. Low-cost carriers such as T’way and Zipair offer inexpensive fares from Vancouver to Seoul and Tokyo, with connections beyond. They also price one-way tickets at 50% of a round-trip, which is uncommon among most international airlines.
RBC Avion Rewards
RBC Avion Rewards is a flexible travel rewards program that lets you redeem points through its fixed-value chart or transfer to airline partners. Its fixed chart offers predictable value on flights, especially when cash fares are below the maximum thresholds.
If you’re booking a flight to Europe that costs more than 50,000 points one-way (or 100,000 round-trip) through an airline program, and the cash fare is under $2,000 before taxes and fees, it’s worth considering an RBC Avion redemption instead.
CIBC Aventura®
CIBC Aventura® allows members to redeem points through a tiered fixed-flight chart or for travel purchases via its travel portal. The program is best leveraged for round-trip redemptions when flight prices align with the chart’s maximum ticket values.
If your round-trip flight to Europe costs more than 75,000 points through an airline program and the fare is under $2,000 before taxes and fees, it’s worth checking how much the same flight would cost using CIBC Aventura points with their fixed travel chart.
Conclusion
While business class will always have its appeal, flying economy to Asia on points can be a smart, efficient way to stretch your miles. This is especially true when seat availability is important. With multiple programs offering competitive redemptions and decent award availability, there’s no shortage of options, but be prepared to book almost a year out and be flexible with your travel dates.
Make sure to compare point requirements, taxes, transfer partners, and availability before booking. Keep an eye out for monthly promos or last-minute seat drops. With a bit of strategy, economy travel can be just as rewarding.