Asia Miles asserts that in order to “continue offering you increased seat availability,” the award chart will be updated — or, more accurately, devalued — on or after 1 October 2023. From what we can discern so far, the update to the chart will result in increased business and first-class redemptions, while some economy redemptions will be slightly reduced.
Australia to Europe: 29.41% Jump in Business & First
The routes hardest hit are those from Australia to Europe, all of which fall outside the 7,501+ mile range. These redemptions will increase by 28% in first class, 29.41% in business class, and 25% in premium economy. For those who prefer to redeem their miles for economy, there’s a reduction of 9.52% — some good news, at least.
This means a one-way business class redemption will now jump from 85,000 Asia Miles to 110,000 miles, and economy tickets will now cost 38,000 Asia Miles instead of 42,000.
New Redemption Zones
The short-distance zone has now been divided into two separate zones: Short Type 1, which contains cities such as Beijing, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul, Shanghai, and Singapore; and Short Type 2, which includes cities in Japan, Indonesia, India, and Nepal.
For the long-range charts, both 5000-7500 Type 1 and 2 will be combined into one chart.
Partner Awards Also Devalued
While Asia Miles only publishes an award chart for multi-carrier awards, we can be fairly certain that outright partner awards will also be devalued. For example, a one-way redemption from Australia to Europe currently requires only 90,000 Asia Miles when booking with Qatar Airways.
As for the mixed partner award chart itself, we see increases as low as 5% in economy to 26.92% in first class and a staggering 39.39% in business class.
Summing Up
It’s rather disappointing news overall from Asia Miles, which has always been a fantastic program to use. That said, this brings their pricing more in line with competitors such as Qantas Frequent Flyer. On the upside, at least we have some advanced notice, and you will be able to redeem your miles under the old award chart before October 1, 2023.
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