If you've been sitting on a pile of Citi ThankYou points and dreaming of a Cathay Pacific business or first class seat, there's now a small nudge to act. From October 25 to November 14, 2026, Citi is offering a 10% bonus when transferring ThankYou points to Cathay Pacific's Asia Miles programme in the United States. That means every 1,000 points becomes 1,100 Asia Miles instead of the usual 1:1.

A 10% bonus isn't going to change your life, but these offers between Citi and Cathay are genuinely uncommon — previous bonuses ran on Cathay's side and weren't even credited instantly. This one applies at the point of transfer, which makes it far more practical. Transfers happen in 1,000-point increments, and you'll need a premium ThankYou card to move points at all; cards like the Citi Strata Premier and Citi Strata Elite earn the points, and balances can be pooled across cards.

So why bother with Asia Miles at all? The programme has quietly become one of the more valuable oneworld currencies. The key detail: Cathay reserves the vast majority of its first and business class award seats for members booking through Asia Miles itself. Those seats simply don't show up for partners like American AAdvantage or Alaska's Atmos Rewards. If your goal is a premium cabin on Cathay — widely considered one of the better products in the sky — transferring directly is essentially the only reliable route.

There are a few partner sweet spots too. Booking British Airways flights through Asia Miles can trigger lower carrier-imposed surcharges than you'd pay redeeming through other programmes. Just keep an eye on expiry: Asia Miles lapse after 18 months of inactivity, though any earning or redemption resets the clock.

The sensible play here is not to transfer speculatively because a bonus exists. But if you already had a Cathay redemption in mind — say, that long-haul first class swansong before the product is retired — timing the transfer to this window gets you roughly 10% more miles for free. Cathay also partners with Amex Membership Rewards (at a stingier 5:4 ratio), Bilt and Capital One, so Citi holders currently have the best transfer rate of the bunch.