HK Express belongs to the Cathay group, so a Cathay member can spend Asia Miles on its flights. There are two ways to do it, set out on HK Express’s redemption page and in the two sets of terms behind it. We read all of it on 4 October 2026.
Both run on hkexpress.com once your accounts are linked. Neither is booked on Cathay’s website.
Linking the two accounts first
You need a MyUO account (HK Express’s own membership) and a Cathay membership account. HK Express links them only if the full name, email address and phone number match across both.
- Log in to MyUO, open “My Cathay Account” and choose to link.
- Check that your Cathay number and Asia Miles balance now show in that section. That means it worked.
Anyone who registered MyUO with an email address alone must first add and verify a phone number under “Profile Update”. It has to be the same number as on the Cathay account.
To book for someone else, add them to your Redemption Group on the Cathay website before you search. HK Express’s terms then let you redeem for them without travelling in the same booking.
Miles Plus Cash: any fare, at least 2,000 miles
Miles Plus Cash lets you choose how much of the base fare and extras (baggage, meals, seat selection, HK Express Priority) to cover in miles, with “a minimum of 2,000 Mileage Credits” per booking. Adding extras after booking takes at least 1,000 miles, through Manage My Booking or online check-in.
The terms apply it to “any HK Express flight base fares and extras”, so it reaches every fare category, from Ultra Lite at the bottom to Max at the top.
Two rules govern the cash part:
- The balance goes on a credit card, Amex, Mastercard, Visa or JCB only. HK Express names Alipay, WeChat Pay and UnionPay as not accepted.
- Miles Plus Cash works only for bookings in the default currency, which HK Express sets from where the flight departs. A Bangkok to Hong Kong booking prices in Thai baht.
Full Miles: Lite and Essential only
Full Miles pays the whole fare in miles, plus any extras you add while booking. It covers two fare categories, which HK Express’s fare table defines like this:
| Fare | Carry-on | Checked bag |
|---|---|---|
| Lite | One small personal item plus one cabin bag, 7 kg in total | None |
| Essential | One small personal item, up to 7 kg | One piece, 20 kg |
Full Miles launched on 1 June 2026 for Essential fares only, per HK Express’s media release that day. Lite was added later, and the redemption page now reads “Redeem anytime and fly with ease!” for both.
“Full” covers the fare, not the whole bill. The terms make you responsible for taxes, airport and government fees, fuel surcharges and security charges, paid by card. A ticket is issued only once the miles are deducted “along with valid and duly completed credit card payment”. Miles Plus Cash excludes the same charges, so the card comes out either way.
Choosing between them
Your bags decide which option fits.
- Travelling with a checked bag: Essential under Full Miles includes 20 kg. Under Miles Plus Cash you can buy Essential or Max and cover part of it in cash.
- Carry-on only: Lite under Full Miles, as long as your bags fit 7 kg between them. During the current promotion this is also the only booking that earns a rebate (below).
- Small personal item only, or a balance short of a full fare: Miles Plus Cash, which reaches Ultra Lite and lets you spend as little as 2,000 miles.
Neither option earns miles on the flight. Both sets of terms say these tickets are not eligible for earning Mileage Credits.
Once the ticket is issued
Both sets of terms say an issued ticket is non-transferable and non-refundable. Changes go through HK Express under its fare rules, not through Cathay. HK Express’s fare table allows date or time changes up to 48 hours before departure, at HKD 580 per segment plus any fare or tax difference.
Full Miles adds these conditions:
- Seats are first come, first served and subject to HK Express’s capacity control. HK Express may “impose blackout periods”.
- Miles cannot be combined with cash vouchers or promotion codes.
- Bookings go through mybooking.hkexpress.com and no other channel.
A Cathay award, by contrast, can be cancelled for a published fee. Our guide to what it costs to undo a Cathay award booking has the figures. An HK Express ticket bought with miles cannot be refunded at all.
The 30% rebate on Lite fares, to 16 October
From 2 October 2026, 00:00 HKT to 16 October 2026, 23:59 HKT, a Full Miles booking on a Lite fare earns back 30% of the miles spent. Travel can be on any date. HK Express lists 21 destinations:
- Vietnam: Da Nang, Phu Quoc, Hanoi
- Thailand: Bangkok, Phuket, Chiang Mai
- Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur (Subang), Penang, Kota Kinabalu
- Mainland China: Beijing (Daxing), Ningbo, Sanya, Yiwu, Wuxi, Changzhou, Hefei
- Philippines: Manila, Clark
- Taiwan: Taipei, Taichung, Kaohsiung
The campaign terms set the conditions that decide whether the miles arrive:
- The whole fare, including any seats, meals or baggage, has to be paid with Full Miles when the ticket is issued. Anything added later through Manage My Booking or online check-in does not count.
- Every passenger in the booking has to be on a Lite fare. “No mixed of fare categories is allowed.”
- Flights to or from Japan and South Korea are excluded, and bookings made on the HK Express mobile app or WeChat mini-app do not qualify. Use the website.
- There is no cap on the rebate.
- The miles are credited within eight weeks after 16 October, which means by 11 December 2026 at the latest. A ticket that is later reissued or refunded loses the rebate, and Asia Miles Limited can take it back out of your account.
The same 30% ran once before, from 1 June to 15 June 2026, on Essential fares. This round is Lite only.
The fixed price you may have read about
Hong Kong miles newsletters have described Full Miles as a fixed price per flight, with a floor of 4,000 Asia Miles one way, and as permanent since May 2026. HK Express publishes neither claim.
Its terms say fares for Full Miles “shall be determined by HK Express from time to time” and the miles required “would change accordingly”. They describe Full Miles as offered “during certain promotion period(s)” announced by HK Express, while the redemption page says “Redeem anytime”. HK Express has published no award chart and no minimum. Treat the price as whatever the booking screen shows on the day, and plan as though the option could be withdrawn, since the terms allow that “at any time”.