Cathay elevates membership programme for faster status upgrades

Cathay has evolved its membership programme with simpler tier progression and enhanced benefits across its green, silver, gold and diamond status levels.

Designed to deliver a smoother, simpler and better experience for members, these changes reflect Cathay’s ongoing commitment to enriching members’ experiences and ensuring a rewarding journey that truly elevates their lives, according to the release. The changes will take effect on 1 January 2027, with a transition period commencing on 1 January 2026, giving members a year in advance to prepare with ease.

Cathay is enhancing its membership programme with faster tier progression, greater simplicity, and exclusive privileges across all status levels. Status points will no longer reset after an upgrade, enabling members to achieve multiple tier advancements within a year and ensuring all points contribute to their next milestone.

Meanwhile, transitioning from the individual rolling system, the membership cycle will now be standardised to run from 1 January to 31 December each calendar year for all members. The adjustment ensures a clear and consistent timeframe for members to plan their travels with family and friends, and progress more easily.

Furthermore, gold members and above can now carry over excess status points to the following year, up to 50% of the points required to maintain their current status. This initiative seeks to provide members with a tangible advantage in maintaining or achieving a higher status, ensuring greater continuity in accessing various privileges.

Cathay is also introducing a diamond exec tier for members who earn at least 2,400 status points in a year, offering a personalised travel experience. This includes a dedicated relationship manager and a suite of bespoke privileges, all designed to enhance comfort and convenience during their journey.

Additionally, members who have maintained any diamond status for a minimum of five cumulative years throughout their membership tenure are now eligible to earn a free Diamond membership year for every 6,000 status points accumulated within their membership lifetime, with no expiry date or limit to the number that a member can earn. 

A Cathay spokesperson told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE that it has employed targeted marketing strategies and tailored messaging to ensure clear, personalised communications about the upcoming changes. Features-driven and engaging short videos are launched to highlight key changes in a concise and intuitive format, breaking down complex mechanisms into easy-to-understand illustrations for quick comprehension.

To ensure transparency, the changes is announced a year in advance, according to a spokesperson. Cathay has adopted an integrated communications strategy across all touchpoints—from its website, social media, and apps to a CEO-led email—to fully inform both current and future members and allow ample time for planning. "Additionally, our dedicated front-line staff in customer care, inflight service, and lounges actively engaged with members and addressed their inquiries timely, while tent cards in lounges also provided easy access to the latest updates, ensuring our communication to members remain both personal and effective."

Cathay regularly assesses its membership programme's success based on member satisfaction, retention, and long-term loyalty, and continually looks for ways to enhance every aspect of its service to elevate members' experience, according to the spokesperson.

Cathay director customer lifestyle, Vivian Lo said: “We are evolving the Cathay membership programme with our current and future members in mind, offering them a smoother, simpler and better membership experience. By simplifying the path to higher status and providing greater flexibility for members in new ways, members can look forward to progressing with greater ease and enjoying a more rewarding journey that truly elevates their lives.”

Don’t miss: Cathay launches weather-driven reward campaign for bonus Asia Miles

Recently, Cathay has launched a new campaign to celebrate its 79th birthday, allowing members to earn bonus miles through mini missions that vary according to the weather over four weeks.

Also known as “Rewards in the air", the campaign is done in collaboration with creative agency Leo Burnett Hong Kong. It is part of Cathay's commitment to providing members with a diverse range of meaningful experiences, exclusive deals, and rewards.

Related articles:

Cathay launches weather-driven reward campaign for bonus Asia Miles
DMA HK: Linda Wang on Cathay’s data-driven journey into lifestyle ecosystems
Cathay and Uber Taxi team up for Asia Miles rewards on taxi rides