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Cathay Pacific Promotion: $100 Roundtrip Flights (Incl Taxes) Chicago to Hong Kong

by on July 6, 2011 · 63 comments

in Cathay Pacific

On September 1, 2011 Cathay Pacific begins flying Chicago to Hong Kong non-stop. To celebrate, they are selling $100 roundtrips (including tax) for the next four Thursdays. Each day there will only be 25 tickets on each day (100 total), so have your browser loaded and ready to go at exactly 3:25pm CT on this special offer page.
While this is a longshot, TPG readers are extremely savvy and I’m confident at least one of you will get in on this deal (and hopefully many more). I’m always surprised at how good you all are at snagging good deals – during the Discover America promotions, I was constantly amazed at proportionately how many of you were able to snag the best packages – sometimes half of them went to TPG readers!

TPG readers also may have a little bit of luck. Jamie won 100,000 Southwest points from entering their miles giveaway.

Full rules of the promotion unfortunately nowhere does it state whether these tickets will be eligible to accrue miles. I doubt it, so I’d go into this assuming you won’t, but be pleasantly surprised if you do. I emailed their press team for clarification so I’ll update this post when I get a response (hopefully before Thursday).

Even if this contest doesn’t appeal to you, this a good reminder that Cathay is starting the ORD-HKG route. As with most new routes, award availability is usually pretty good because they haven’t had as much time to sell seats as with normally scheduled flights (and people in the market may not be aware that the flight exists). As of writing this blog post on July 6, there is a decent amount of award space and it’s one of the best uses of British Airways miles (50/100/150k roundtrip in coach/business/first, plus you can stop in Hong Kong and continue onward in Asia).

If you didn’t get in on the 100,000 mile BA credit card – don’t worry, there are other ways to get BA miles cheaply. Currently, Chase is offering 50,000 miles for the Sapphire Preferred card and waiving the $85 annual fee for the first year. These points can be transferred to British Airways instantly at a 1:1 ratio. So getting this card is enough for a one way North America to Asia (with stop in Hong Kong and continuing flight) on Cathay Pacific in business class or a roundtrip coach award. Not bad for a card with the fee waived for the first year!  The notorious BA fees aren’t too bad either- I just pulled up a sample one-way award from Chicago to Hong Kong non-stop and the total cost was 50,000 miles and $139 in taxes and fees. Not bad for a $4,000+ flight!

One way award Chicago to Hong Kong for 50k miles and $139

American Express also has a 50% transfer bonus to British Airways until July 31, 2011, so 67,000 points will get you a roundtrip business class ticket to Asia using BA miles. Cathay awards can be booked through britishairways.com, but it’s been very buggy lately, so you may have to call to ticket (though they should waive the phone ticketing fee since the website has been broken). Several TPG readers have sent me a link to a 50k sign-up for the Platinum card, but I’ve been told that offer is no longer active. However, in my opinion,  it doesn’t really matter, because you can still apply for the legitimate 25k bonus and and then  bump your bonus to 100,000 miles, like many people have been able to do recently in the comments section to this post.

Disclaimer: This content is not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuer. Opinions expressed here are author.s alone, not those of the credit card issuer, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuer. This site may be compensated through the credit card issuer Affiliate Program.

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  • Brian(J)

    Just last night used Alaska miles to book 2 Cathay Pacific seats, SEA – LA – HK – DPS (Bali) and return in Business with a stop- over in HK for 100,000 miles and $95.80 each. So easy. Hong Kong is such a fun city and this will be my 4th trip to Bali, traveling is a lot more fun at these prices.

  • RakSiam

    It appears that you will also be entered into a sweepstakes for 2 “free” Y class tickets ORD-HKG. Drawing to be held in August.

  • Rincewind44

    If one of us was actually lucky enough to snag one of these, could we use BA (or other OneWorld points) to upgrade from economy to coach/first? I know you can upgrade BA flights with BA points but that would be pretty great if you could upgrade this deal as well.

  • Anonymous

    Highly unlikely, but let me confirm what fare class these book into

  • Anonymous

    I saw that too, but found it weird there were no details

  • Anonymous

    Nice! I’m planning a trip to HKG abd DPS this fall

  • HoKo

    So I’m confused, are the 100 $100 tickets only available for departures on a Thurs or can we use them any day of the week?

    Also do we know how far out we can book these tickets for, I.E. can I make one of these $100 reservations for a trip in Nov or Dec?

  • Anonymous

    The contests are taking place on Thursdays. You can redeem your $100 tickets whenever (that is my understanding). The T&C are vague
    The Giveaway: During any Entry Period, visit the Cathay Pacific US homepage, cathaypacific.com/us, and click on the banner for the “100 tickets for $100″ landing page and follow the links and instructions to complete the “100 tickets for $100″ claim page. The first twenty-five (25) people in each Entry Period to correctly complete the directions to claim a $100 Cathay Pacific airline ticket from Chicago to Hong Kong (the “Offer”) will be contacted by a Cathay Pacific representative for additional instruction on how to receive the Offer.

  • Rincewind44

    Just spent some time on BA/AA websites and it looks like a “no”. You could upgrade them with 50k (one-way) using Asia Miles. Bit of a shame given the awful reviews of Cathay’s long-haul economy seats. On the other hand it’s a $100 flight from Chicago to Hong Kong so they could have us standing most of the flight and it’d still be a good deal.

  • RakSiam

    The offer page says that travel must be booked and completed by Dec 31, 2011

  • BaliHai is calling

    awesome deal. could you post some more details? I love Bali!

  • David

    Do you guys have a sense of how far in advance one needs to book such an itinerary (ie: WAS-HKG-BALI) to ensure adequate award availability? I’m accustomed to booking awards months in advance, but given my household lifestyle I’m now trying to find airlines that have availability with shorter notice……

  • TPG fan, new to this game

    The giveaway smells like it will be a, “What do you know about Cathy Pacific” (or the like) Q&A.
    The first 25 people to answer these “X” questions correctly will win each period.
    It reminds me of the USAirways twitter giveaways from several months back.
    Time for people to toss out some possible questions (and answers if known).
    I know very little about CP, but it could be something like: What is the largest plane in our fleet, in what year was our maiden flight or name 3 direct CP flights from LAX.

    This is a strange promo on so many levels.
    There is a giveaway and a sweepstakes;
    This promo is either perfect for singles or it is, in effect, a near BOGO promo from CP. But based on the sweepstakes grand prize value of $2,900 for 2 people I don’t think I would want to win and have to pay or my significant other to fly;
    To answer a prior post it appears that CP will take all correct entries during the promotion period (which is from each weekly 2 hour 35 minute entry period) and have one drawing for two round trip tickets (1 correct entry per person/entry period).
    You can only win 1 giveaway during the 4 weeks.
    For the sweepstakes there will be up to 3 alternate drawings, if no one claims then sweepstakes left un-awarded.
    Whereas the giveaway only states that offer will be forfeited if offer recipient does not reply ‘within the required time frame” , but it doesn’t state if it will be passed along to the 26th correct entry.

  • Steven

    Question: why does BA charge fuel surcharge on Cathay flights? The pop-up on BA’s booking site says it charges for fuel on BA-operated flights, but CX is not BA…the fees are still worth it in my opinion but I thought that fuel surcharges could be avoided with flying on CX.

  • Anonymous

    My guess is that its a Cathay charge that BA collects. But don’t read what BA says about fuel surcharges- they tack them onto all trans-Atlantic flights (With the exception of Aer Lingus, maybe). $250 in fees for a roudntrip to Asia isn’t bad in my opinion

  • Anonymous

    The Cathay PR team just let me know that you can accrue miles on these flights, but only into Asia miles. I’ll try to get a fare class breakdown, but detail seems limited right now

  • Ohmy

    A “correct” entry could also just be one that was filled out without mistakes. Not forgetting name, address, or accidentally putting incomplete or erroneous information

  • Vishal

    On the official rules, it says the promotion is open only to legal residents of fifty (50) United States (including District of Columbia) who are at least eighteen (18) years old at the time of entry. Damn! I’m on an F-1 student visa making it impossible for me to win this.

  • Steven

    A round trip HKG – JFK on CX booked through BA prices out to $353 total in fees. Still not bad, but it’s starting to bite into the redemption value, especially if flying in economy. FYI CX is starting to pull back its fuel surcharges, via thread on flyertalk: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/cathay-pacific-asia-miles/1228536-cx-lower-fuel-surcharge-july-2011-a.html#post16598104

  • http://daindian.blogspot.com/ BostonFlyer

    I am assuming to get two tickets I would need to win twice? I also would like to go to Bali though I have BA points as a backup.

  • abcx

    As a F-1 student, you are a legal resident. You should have no issues.

  • Sambas2

    It appears that you will want to show up at 3:25 CDT, not CST. If you show up at 3:25 CST, you’ll be an hour too late.

  • Dave

    $100 from ORD to HKG… what about coming back?

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=603041133 Vishal Upadhayay

    It’s round-trip.

  • Ohmy

    I don’t know of anyone that is eligible for this promotion that is on CST

  • Ohmy

    Rules say you can only win once.

  • Anonymous

    Fixed- thanks for pointing that out!

  • David

    I read the pdf of the rules and didn’t see anything about only 1 entrant per household. Just 1 entrant per PERSON.
    Did anyone find anything contradicting to that? My house mates wanted to enter.

  • Brian(J)

    The details:
    I got me the BA 100k miles and the Chase Shaphire 100K and the AA 150K deals too, but wanted to burn up some old, stale, musty Alaska miles I had kicking around from forever, so I called the number because there isn’t any other way with Alaska and told the nice lady to give me the first train to Bali from Mar. 1 on. I got March 13 going so I asked for April 2 to come back and got the 6th. Stopover in HK? “Yes, one allowed”. So there ya go.

    Actually I’ll keep going on to Manado on the island of Sulawesi (where nutmeg came from) for some deep-sea diving in the Celebes Sea. The best diving in the world as far as I know. The plane from Bali to Mando goes through Ujung Pandang and you know you are having an adventure when your ticket says Ujung Pandang on it.

    Bali: I like to travel quite a bit, I’ll be in Paris in September and NYC in November and next year Lisbon to Madrid by car, but the reason I’m going back to Bali is because it is the best place ever. TPG, let me know if you want a guest write-up on Bali.

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  • Dan

    Redeem AA miles to fly CX instead – I’m flying CGK (Jakarta) to NYC and back this August on CX for $49.50 in fees + the $25 booking fee

  • TaxFeesRequired

    You need to pay taxes and fees. How much? $500?
    Terms “The winner is responsible for all taxes and fees associated with prize receipt and/or use.”

    http://www.cathaypacificusa.com/100TicketsFor100Dollars/pdf/100_terms.pdf

  • Ben

    How great of a deal is this?

    With taxes, the flight will cost approximately $600. On Cathay’s web site they are selling tickets (Sat – Sat in Nov) for $960 (inclusive of taxes).

  • Maury

    TPG: Please clarify if taxes are included or not. Thanks

  • Anonymous

    Taxes ARE included. The random tax thing in the T&C is only for the free ticket giveaway random sweepstakes thing- NOT the $100 tickets

  • Anonymous

    The random tax thing in the T&C is only for the free ticket giveaway random sweepstakes thing- NOT the $100 tickets

  • Anonymous

    The random tax thing in the T&C is only for the free ticket giveaway random sweepstakes thing- NOT the $100 tickets

  • Anonymous

    I also read it as 1 per person so you should be fine, though good luck snagging 2! Please report back if you have luck getting one (or two)

  • Anonymous

    From the official press release (I have it in email format if anyone needs it). Check out the “inclusive of taxes, fees and surcharges bit in the second paragraph)

    CHICAGO (5 July 2011) – Chicagoans will soon have a new airline – Cathay Pacific – and a new lucky number – 100. Hong Kong’s home carrier, which begins service from Chicago to Hong Kong on Sept. 1, 2011, is offering 100 tickets for US$100 each in a special offer that begins this Thursday.

    On July 7, 2011, and for the following three Thursdays in July, Cathay Pacific will offer 25 roundtrip tickets to Hong Kong for travel this fall for just US$100 each, inclusive of taxes, fees and surcharges. For a chance at the tickets, Chicagoans need to be on the special offer page of Cathay Pacific’s Web site at exactly 3:25 p.m. CT, the departure time for the airline’s upcoming flight. The first 25 people to click the “PURCHASE NOW” button at the appointed time will get a roundtrip ticket to Hong Kong from Chicago for just US$100.

  • Maury

    Thanks again for clarifying.

  • http://twitter.com/Chad_Gibbs Chad Gibbs

    You are visitor 2925, and do not qualify for a $100 ticket. Wow, that is going to be one tough ticket.

  • Anony

    Lest anyone bother with this, I was spamming the enter button for two minutes and it processed at exactly 3:25 and 1 second – at which point I was #3307. Save your time and effort.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=603041133 Vishal Upadhayay

    Did anyone win from here? I was visitor 624.

  • http://www.facebook.com/andrewprimary Andrew Nelson

    You are visitor 375, and do not qualify for a $100 ticket.

  • David

    I clicked in 4 seconds after 3:25 (according to their clock), but almost a minute late according to my clock and I was visitor 5,100!!!
    “Sorry!
    You are not one of the first 25 visitors.

    You are visitor 5,100, and do not qualify for a $100 ticket.

    The next 25 tickets will be available on: July 14, 2011 3:25:00 PM CT

    However, be sure to enter our Chicago to Hong Kong Sweepstakes for a chance to win two roundtrip tickets to Hong Kong.”

  • Zrb253

    visitor 7408 at 3:25 :( wow

  • Laura

    Did anyone get it? I was visitor 1600 and something, and I pressed the mouse as fast as I could. I had the clock ready, everything. My guess is that someone with some sort of digital set-up got in within a millisecond of the 3:25:00 start off time… too bad. Now I can’t even enter the sweepstakes because it’s obvious their servers aren’t used to handling the traffic…

  • Profan

    i was #5039, same strategy. we must have been doing something wrong!

  • David

    sounds like you were close!!

  • Jer2911matt

    visitor 1,000 something or other :(

  • Maury

    No wonder other bloggers dont waste their time posting this. It will take a miracle from God to be in the first 25!

  • Tova

    I was visitor 104 : ( I would probably be a lot more upset if they gave away all 100 tickets in one shot…

  • Davisdal

    #404 on Corporate T1 Internet even had the alternative clock up which was about 15 seconds ahead of the actual one on the website. We should all chip in a dollar and whoever can prove the highest entrant (screenshot) number gets the money and can just purchase a ticket.

  • Hisathish

    Coming back… $100 ticket winners must relocate. That’s why $100 else $10000 :-)

  • ImmiLawyer

    No. F-1s are not LPRs; they are here on non-immigrant visas. You’re correct, Vishal.

  • Gpuzzi

    I like this idea. You must work in Finance

  • Davisdal

    Yes I do does it really show that much.

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  • NCM

    join this promotion “dislike” group: I hate Cathay Pacific’s $100 promotion

  • NCM
  • Trebor72

    You are visitor 2249, and do not qualify for a $100 ticket. Contest over . . .

  • Mike

    Brian – How did you get from BAL back to SEA? Did you have to go through HKG again? I am trying to book a similar trip but running into some issues. Thanks!