Hong Kong is one of the most visited destinations in the world and one of the few countries to have a Disneyland. It has consistently ranked as one of the best cities with tourism transportation. Not just tourism, Hong Kong is one of the major financial hubs in the world. So, Hong Kong is a one-of-a-kind destination with many airlines connecting it to different parts of the world. Here, I’m covering Airline Programs with which you can fly to Hong Kong with points & miles from India.
Nonstop Flights Between India and Hong Kong
Five Indian cities are connected directly to Hong Kong. These cities are New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad.
Here are the four airlines flying between these five Indian cities and Hong Kong:
- Cathay Pacific [ New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad]
- Air India [New Delhi]
- Indigo [New Delhi]
- Vistara [New Delhi]
Cathay Pacific is the only airline flying from all these five Indian cities to Hong Kong, whereas Air India, Indigo & Vistara flies from New Delhi. Air India and Cathay Pacific are part of Star Alliance and OneWorld, respectively, whereas Vistara has some good airline partners, such as Air Canada.
Some of the Programs that we have covered Award Charts based on distance. Here is the distance between City Pairs in Hong Kong from India.
| City Pair | Distance |
| New Delhi-Hong Kong | 2332 |
| Mumbai-Hong Kong | 2658 |
| Hyderabad-Hong Kong | 2332 |
| Chennai-Hong Kong | 2309 |
| Bengaluru-Hong Kong | 2460 |
Club Vistara
Vistara flies nonstop from New Delhi to Hong Kong. Although questions still remain about Club Vistara after the completion of the merger with Air India, Club Vistara is India’s best frequent flyer program. You can fly to Hong Kong from New Delhi for just 16K CV Points for an economy cabin and 27K CV Points for a premium economy. However, 52K CV Points is significantly higher than those of its partners like Air Canada and JAL.
Air Canada Aeroplan
Air Canada Aeroplan is an excellent airline loyalty program for flying to Hong Kong. Firstly, Air Canada is part of Star Alliance, which gives it access to Air India award flights. Secondly, Vistara is an Air Canada Airline Partner, giving it access to Vistara Award flights. Thirdly, Cathay Pacific is also an airline partner of Air Canada Aeroplan; however, usage of points will be limited to specific routes.
If you’re flying to Hong Kong from New Delhi using Aeroplan points, you need 40K points to get a business class seat in Air India or Vistara. However, seat availability can be an issue.
| Cabin Class | Aeroplan Points |
| Economy | 25000 |
| Business Class | 40000 |
| First | 50000 |
An advantage of using Aeroplan is adding a stopover and paying just 5K Aeroplan points for that. So, Aeroplan is a decent program to fly to Hong Kong with Points.
United MileagePlus
United Airlines, a member of Star Alliance and Airline Partner of Vistara, is an obvious choice. However, it has limited online availability to Air India awards. Air India awards can be made by calling the United US Customer care number.
| Cabin Class | United Miles |
| Economy | 27500 |
| Business Class | 55000 |
A good advantage of using United Miles is Excursionist Perk, with which you can book a free stopover on round-trip flights; however, it requires you to play around the cities.
Singapore Airlines Krisflyer
Singapore Airlines Krisflyer is a great program. Krisflyer miles are one of the easiest to earn in India compared to United Miles or Aeroplan Points. The program also has better availability of Air India flights. However, it does not have access to Vistara International flight availability. So, you can book an Air India or Singapore Airlines flight. Singapore Krisflyer also has saver awards, which have low miles requirements.
| Cabin Class | Air India or Star Alliance Airlines | Singapore Airlines [Saver] | Singapore Airlines [Advantage] |
| Economy | 32500 | 25500 | 47000 |
| Premium Economy | NA | 46500 | NA |
| Business | 60000 | 57500 | 85000 |
| First | 89000 | 75500 | 126000 |
Singapore Airlines flies from eight cities in India, which gives flexibility to Indian travellers. They can use the free stopover that Singapore Airlines offers on Round Trip Saver or one-way Advantage awards to travel with Singapore and Hong Kong without spending additional miles.
Avianca Lifemiles
Avianca is a Star Alliance member. The miles of its frequent flyer program, Lifemiles, are not easy to earn in India; however, it occasionally runs bonus miles on purchases. It has some issues with customer support; however, low cost, decent availability, and good award rates make it hard to look away.
| Cabin | Star Alliance [Inc. Air India] |
| Economy | 30000 |
| Business | 48000 |
| First | 66000 |
Lifemiles, however, have high cancellation charges, so it would be better to use this program for premium cabins where premium cabin fares are expensive.
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
Cathay Pacific is the only airline flying from five Indian cities to Hong Kong. It recently updated its award chart, so miles have increased on some routes, just like Major Airlines Cathay Pacific doesn’t make much of its premium cabin available to partners. Here is how many Asia miles you will need to travel to Hong Kong:
| Cabin | From New Delhi | From Mumbai | From Chennai | From Hyderabad | From Bengaluru |
| Economy | 12500 | 12500 | 12500 | 12500 | 12500 |
| Premium Economy | 23000 | 23000 | 23000 | 23000 | 23000 |
| Business | 32000 | 32000 | 32000 | 32000 | 32000 |
| First | 50000 | 50000 | 50000 | 50000 | 50000 |
Only Amex Reward points in India can be transferred to Asia Miles in a 2:1 ratio. However, Axis and HDFC points can also be transferred via Accor to Asia Miles. Accor has a 2:1 ratio to Asia miles. That means it would cost a minimum of 64000 credit card points to travel in the business class cabin of Cathay Pacific, which is a bit higher than Singapore Krisflyer. However, Cathay Pacific runs promotions where you can earn bonus miles on transfers.
Fly to Hong Kong with Avios
Avios is a great miles currency and easy to earn in India. Over the years, all airlines using Avios have been aligning their award chart, so arbitrage opportunity on miles may be less. However, Arbitrage opportunities do exist on surcharges and taxes.
| Cabin | Cathay Pacific |
| Economy | 15600 |
| Premium Economy | 30900 |
| Business | 46500 |
| First | NA |
Economy and Premium Economy miles requirement is higher than Asia Miles. However, it is to be noted that Avios can be earned relatively easily in India, and the ultimate transfer ratio on credit cards may be more than 2:1, which is available for Asia miles.
Also, I recommend checking Iberia, which has just Rs. 1600 charges for business class flights compared to Rs. 26000 on British Airways with the exact miles requirement. Avios can easily be transferred between partner airlines; however, a cooling period of 90 days applies to a new account.
JAL Mileage Bank
Japan Airlines is part of OneWorld Alliance and is an airline partner of Vistara. This makes it a unique frequent flyer program that will access Cathay Pacific & Vistara Awards.
JAL Mileage is part of Axis and Accor, so earning its mileage is relatively easy. It has one of the lowest mileage requirements for a business-class cabin.
| Cabin | Cathay Pacific | Vistara | Round Trip |
| Economy | 23000 | 23000 | 37000 |
| Premium Economy | 30000 | 30000 | 46000 |
| Business | 42000 | 42000 | 60000 |
| First | 65000 | 65000 | 90000 |
JAL is the best partner for round-trip flights in premium cabins of both Cathay Pacific & Vistara.
Qantas Frequent Flyer
Qantas is another frequent flyer program, as is Oneworld Airlines. So, it has access to Cathay Pacific awards.
| Cabin | From New Delhi, Hyderabad & Chennai | From Mumbai & Bengaluru |
| Economy | 20000 | 24500 |
| Premium Economy | 34500 | 48500 |
| Business | 43800 | 61200 |
| First | 64500 | 89800 |
For Travellers from New Delhi, Hyderabad & Chennai, Qantas is also a good option since it is a partner of Axis and has a 1:1 transfer ratio with Accor. But for Indian travellers from other cities, this may not make sense. Also, taxes are similar to JAL, around Rs. 8K.
Air France KLM Flying Blue
Flying Blue is Axis and Accor’s transfer partner, making these points easy to earn. From India, Vietnam Airlines flies from New Delhi & to Mumbai. It requires 23K miles from New Delhi and 25.5K from Mumbai to travel to Hanoi in an economy cabin. Air France has an issue in fetching Business Class awards from Vietnam Airlines. But a great advantage of using Air France is a free stopover. So you can travel to two countries at one price and are okay with travelling in the Economy.
Special Mention: Indigo
Indigo, India’s largest airline and a low-cost carrier, faces tough competition. If you are planning to travel in an economy cabin with miles & points, then make sure to check Indigo prices. Also, Indigo can give great connectivity across India. For Example, Indigo is the only airline flying between Dimapur in Nagaland and New Delhi, which it can use to give connectivity to Hong Kong for someone in Dimapur.
Bottomline
The best program to fly to Hong Kong from India would depend on the city you live in since Star Alliance Airlines flies only from New Delhi. In contrast, Cathay Pacific, a OneWorld Airline, flies from five Indian cities. Travellers from New Delhi have many options, with Club Vistara, Aeroplan, Singapore Krisflyer, and Avios being the best. Meanwhile, Avios and JAL are good options for flying in Cathay Pacific Premium Cabins for other major cities. I would recommend always checking for availability before transferring points and booking flights.
