All guides Airlines & Lounges
Alliances, status, award seats and lounge access, explained from the operator's own rules rather than forum folklore.
39 articles, each checked against an official source and dated.
Hong Kong
Two ways to spend Asia Miles on HK Express, which fares each one covers, what you still pay in cash, and a 30% rebate on Lite fares that ends 16 October 2026
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India
Gold takes 30,000 Tier Points in 365 days, 9,000 of them on Air India or Air India Express, or 45 flights with 8 on Air India. The website and app bonus adds points but never tier, and the fee waivers need an Air India channel.
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India
Students get 10% off Air India base fares and extra baggage. Over-60s get up to 25% off domestic fares and 10% on some international routes until 31 October. Both are checked at check-in.
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Malaysia
Firefly flies turboprops from Subang, Boeing 737-800s from KLIA, and also flies from Penang. Every fare carries a 10kg checked bag and 7kg on board, a Saver or Basic change costs MYR 100 domestic, and KLIA to Changi stays off until 24 October 2026.
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Asia
Eight airlines publish a free hotel night for a long connection at their hub, from Guangzhou to Istanbul. Each has its own minimum layover, fare rule and booking deadline, and missing one condition means paying for the room.
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Korea
Korea's competition regulator approved the mileage plan on 14 September. Asiana miles survive as a separate balance for ten years, and converting them is a one-way decision.
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Singapore
A one-way Saver gets none, and the award type you bought decides the rest
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Malaysia
On a flight covered by Malaysia's consumer code, a cancellation gets you a full refund in 30 days or a new routing. That rule assumes the airline is still trading. If it is not, your refund becomes a creditor claim, and for US readers the credit card is the real protection.
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Asia
Every pass runs on the same three rules, and the regional passes beat the global one almost everywhere in Asia. The published prices, worked out per visit.
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Asia
Airlines write the rule into the contract you agreed to at booking: fly the sectors in order, or the unused ones can be cancelled without anyone telling you first.
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Malaysia
One airline now departs Kuala Lumpur from two separate airports. What decides which one you need is the aircraft type, and the destination will not tell you
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Korea
Earning on Asiana stops two months before the exit, and Asiana's own notices set three separate ticketing deadlines for spending Asiana Club miles.
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Asia
Four low-cost carriers all permit 115cm of cabin bag. Their weight limits run from 7kg to 10kg, and on three of them your personal item counts inside that number.
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Asia
The shortest legal connection at a hub is an industry data point approved by IATA and distributed to booking systems. Airlines file shorter ones to rank higher in search, and the airports themselves publish nothing.
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Asia
One currency, seven airline accounts, transfers that are free and instant. The catch is what happens after you link, and the second catch is that converting is not transferring.
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Malaysia
Value, Basic and Flex differ by more than baggage. Two of them carry a discount on your next ticket that exists only if you buy in one place
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Asia
Both airlines publish the number. Cathay charges the same fee whatever you booked; Singapore Airlines charges by award type, and adds a no-show fee on top of it.
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UAE
Five tiers, two separate currencies, and a minimum you can only earn by flying. A 25 percent reduction is running until March 2027, and it deliberately leaves the top tier alone.
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Turkey
Turkish grants Star Alliance Gold at 40,000 Status Miles, and Gold is the benefit that travels. The tier below it can also be reached on flight count instead of distance.
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Qatar
Qatar's top tier carries oneworld Emerald, and the thresholds are lower to keep than to reach. But a share of your Qpoints has to come from Qatar's own flights.
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Asia
Plaza Premium First and Plaza Premium Lounge are separate products at the same airports. What each costs in Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok, and which one a bank card or pass admits you to.
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Asia
Paid upgrades, mileage upgrades, bid systems and the airport-counter myth
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Asia
Why transferable points usually beat loyalty to one airline, and the case where they do not
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Asia
Why the seat you want looks unavailable, where partner space hides, and how to search without wasting an evening
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Asia
What elite tiers deliver on Asian routes, and the flying pattern that decides whether it pays
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Asia
The three expiry models, why a balance can vanish without an email, and the cheapest way to keep an account alive
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Asia
Status, class, cards, day passes and independent networks, and which ones are worth it in Asian hubs
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Asia
How the three alliances differ where it matters, hubs, coverage gaps, and the low-cost carriers in none of them
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Japan
Stopovers, expiry order and the taxes that miles never cover
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Japan
Four mileage groups, a 36-month clock in Japan time, and a two-degree family rule
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Japan
The stopover and transfer limits loosen considerably once you leave ANA aircraft
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Hong Kong
Four statuses, one eight-day rule, and a cancellation benefit narrower than it sounds
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UAE
Adjusted Expiry is generous, conditional, and does not cover the family pool
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Malaysia
The points you spend and the points that earn you status are not the same points
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Thailand
Cancel an award and the refund arrives less any miles that expired meanwhile
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Singapore
Joining is free, the Elite tiers cost 25,000 and 50,000 Elite miles a year, and for an annual flyer that arithmetic settles it.
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Star Alliance
Star Alliance lounges need a same-day flight on a member airline. You can buy entry without status or a business class ticket, and stays are usually capped at 3 hours.
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Hong Kong
A snapshot of current offers on the program's own earn page, each with a real end date
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Global
Priority lanes, lounge access, and baggage rules, sourced from the alliance itself
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