Using Asia Miles and the Bilt valuation

What I'm booking

Player 2 (aka P2, my spouse, frequently called the "player 2" in the points and miles world) and I have always wanted to take a tour of the Peninsula Hotels throughout China. Cathay Pacific business class is a fantastic way to get to Asia, but availability since the pandemic has been limited. However, we were able to book through Cathay's own program, Asia Miles, for 84,000 miles per person each way. That's not bad for over 15 hours of flying time!

How to book it

Asia Miles are easy to accrue. As a transfer partner of American Express, Citi, Capital One, and Bilt, there are plenty of opportunities to earn Asia Miles. Cathay Pacific is a One World partner, meaning elite status with American Airlines or Alaska Airlines gets you perks with Cathay, like access to the fantastic first or business class lounges in Hong Kong, even on an economy ticket. To book, create an account with Asia Miles and search for award availability before transferring your points. Cathay shows some, but not all, availability in the calendar when you go to pick your dates (green seats mean high availability, brown means low availability). Check out this often overlooked program for trips to Asia!

What I'm opening

The Bilt Rewards Mastercard was in the news this summer, as the underwriting bank Wells Fargo is losing money on the card. Why? It seems that Bilt users are savvy points and miles people! Less than 15% carry a balance on their card (compared to 47% national average), and most expenses charged to the card are rent (which WF doesn't earn an interchange fee on). It's common that when cards are very rewarding, banks lose out. Chase lost billions when it issued the Sapphire Reserve (my most rewarding card), so to me this is a good sign. I intend to open a Bilt card when I have a big expense this year!