FlyerfolioMiles and membership
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Status: checked against official sources; automated independent review

GUIDE

Best Airline Programs for Asia

Asia-Pacific airlines run separate loyalty programs, and the published rules that decide how much a flight earns, what the miles or points can be spent on, and how status is qualified differ from one program to the next. This page compares four of them — KrisFlyer, Cathay, ANA Mileage Club and Qantas Frequent Flyer — using only their own published terms and earning tables, without ranking them on a single score. [1] [2] [3] [4]

Facts checked: 18 October 2026

Key takeaways

  • No program wins on the published terms alone: what a trip earns depends on the earning formula, the booking class inside the cabin, and whether a partner operates the flight. [1] [3] [4]
  • ANA multiplies a fixed sector distance by a booking-class rate, so the same route booked in Business at P (70%) earns less than half of the same route booked in J (150%). [3]
  • Qantas counts points per segment from its Airline Earning Tables or the shortest surface distance, and credits only the cabin purchased or redeemed. [4]
  • KrisFlyer counts great-circle distance sector by sector, with a separate value-based rule for Scoot-only itineraries. [1]

How each program counts a flight

ANA Mileage Club: distance times booking class. ANA calculates mileage on an international flight as the basic sector mileage multiplied by the accrual rate for the booking class. [3] Basic sector mileage is based on IATA Ticketed Point Mileage, published each autumn and applied to the following one-year period starting 1 January. [3] For flights departing Japan, First Class at F or A earns 150%, Business at J 150%, at C, D or Z 125% and at P 70%, Premium Economy at G or E 100%, and Economy from 100% at Y, B or M down to 30% at L or K. [3] Booking classes O, I, R and X earn nothing, and customers travelling on upgrade awards are excluded. [3] Where an upgrade involves no fare difference, accrual follows the booking class originally purchased; on a downgrade it follows the cabin actually used. [3] ANA notes those class rates were current as of December 2018 and are subject to change without notice. [3]

Qantas Frequent Flyer: tables or shortest distance. Qantas awards points for each flight segment on an eligible flight, either at the number set out in its Airline Earning Tables or at a rate calculated from the shortest distance on the surface of the globe between the segment's origin and destination, whatever stops the aircraft makes. [4] Points and Status Credits are earned for the class originally purchased or redeemed rather than the upgraded cabin. [4] Codeshares are excluded where the aircraft belongs to Qantas, a oneworld member airline or an airline partner but another airline's flight number appears on the ticket, unless Qantas specifies the flight as eligible. [4] Free tickets, charter and freighter flights, infant fares, Flight Rewards, industry rebated tickets, competition prizes and booking classes missing from the tables earn nothing. [4]

KrisFlyer: great-circle distance, sector by sector. Singapore Airlines awards KrisFlyer miles on the distance actually travelled, calculated with the great circle distance formula, plus bonuses where applicable, and calculates connecting flights sector by sector. [1] An itinerary made up only of Scoot-operated flights booked on FlyScoot.com or the Scoot app works differently: miles follow the fare value excluding taxes and selected ancillaries paid by credit or debit card. [1] On Singapore Airlines, Suites and First at A or F earn 200% of the miles flown, Business 150% at Z, C or J and 125% at D or U, Premium Economy 125% or 100%, and Economy between 100% and 50% by booking class. [1] Industry and agency discount tickets, award and redemption tickets and infant fares earn nothing, and no miles are awarded on codeshares marketed by Singapore Airlines but operated by a non-KrisFlyer partner airline. [1]

Cathay: terms in force from 1 January 2026. The Cathay Membership Programme is provided by Asia Miles Limited, and its terms took effect on 1 January 2026, local time in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China. [2]

Status and partner criteria

KrisFlyer Elite and PPS Club. Elite miles count towards KrisFlyer Elite Silver and Elite Gold and are earned on Singapore Airlines, Star Alliance partner airlines and Virgin Australia, the last only on Singapore Airlines codeshare flights operated by Virgin Australia within Australia, across the Tasman and between Australia and the Pacific Islands. [1] Tier and promotional bonuses do not count, and Elite miles reset to zero at the end of each member's individual Elite membership year. [1] Since 1 September 2025, spend with Kris+, KrisShop and Pelago has also earned non-flight Elite miles, capped at 5,000 for an Elite Silver upgrade or renewal and 10,000 for Elite Gold over the relevant period. [1] PPS Club is qualified separately: only PPS Value from Singapore dollars spent on Singapore Airlines Suites, First and Business Class flights counts, not Premium Economy or Economy. [1]

Qantas Status Credits. Qantas awards Status Credits towards attaining or retaining a tier, and applies a Status Bonus at the rate published for Silver, Gold, Platinum and Platinum One members on the eligible flights where it applies, using the tier held when the flight was flown. [4] The Status Bonus does not apply to Flight Rewards, and Status Credits cannot be transferred and expire on the death of the member. [4]

Partners and duplication. ANA warns that on codeshare flights operated by an ANA partner airline the accrual rate may differ and mileage may not accrue at all, and that a codeshare between that partner and another airline may be ineligible. [3] Only one program can be credited per flight: KrisFlyer forfeits miles, points or status credits where a member claims the same flight or transaction in more than one program, and ANA prohibits duplicate registration with a partner frequent flyer program. [1] [3] Cathay's terms also provide for partner promotions and for oneworld multi-carrier awards. [2]

Redemption terms compared

KrisFlyer. KrisFlyer miles can be used for award tickets, upgrades and redemption tickets on Singapore Airlines, Star Alliance and other partner airlines, for part or all of Singapore Airlines fares, airport taxes and selected ancillaries booked on singaporeair.com, and on KrisShop and KrisFlyer vRooms. [1] They cannot be used for tickets bought through travel agents, Singapore Airlines ticket offices or call centres, or Scoot ticket offices or call centres, nor for corporate fares, group fares or any fare that includes a segment not operated by Singapore Airlines, such as codeshares, interline and round-the-world itineraries. [1] A member may redeem for their own fare or for any of up to five redemption nominees, and a ticket paid for wholly or partly with miles is non-endorsable. [1]

Qantas. Qantas separates a Classic Flight Reward, which can be booked with a Qantas flight number, a oneworld member airline or an airline partner including Jetstar, from a Classic Plus Flight Reward, which is limited to Qantas-operated and Qantas-marketed flights with a QF flight number. [4] Reward availability is limited, and in addition to points the member pays the taxes, fees and carrier charges quoted at booking plus any Reward Assistance Fee. [4] On connections, a stopover on an Australian domestic itinerary means a break of journey where onward travel is not on the same calendar day, while on other itineraries it means arriving at an intermediate point without a scheduled departure within 24 hours. [4]

Cathay and ANA. ANA's published page covers accrual conditions for international flights rather than redemption, so no ANA award levels are compared here. [3]

Exceptions and limits

  • Points can be lost without a fixed expiry date being stated. Qantas Points expire at midnight Sydney time at the end of the 18th consecutive month in which the member has not earned or redeemed points or earned Status Credits, family transfers do not count as activity, and expired points cannot be re-credited. [4] Cancelling Qantas membership makes all accumulated points expire immediately. [4] A KrisFlyer account with no recorded earning activity for 45 consecutive months, or for 24 months from enrolment, may be closed. [1]
  • Flights not flown do not earn. ANA does not credit mileage for a flight that was not actually used, including cases involving delay or cancellation, and credits only one seat even where several are purchased. [3]
  • Late claims have deadlines. KrisFlyer accepts missing-mileage claims within six months of the transaction date and asks members to allow two weeks for Singapore Airlines flights, or four weeks for partner flights, before claiming. [1] Qantas asks members to report omissions within twelve months of the flight or six months of another transaction. [4] ANA requires boarding passes and e-ticket itinerary receipts to be kept for retroactive registration. [3]
  • Membership is personal. KrisFlyer membership is open to individuals from age two, with parental consent between 2 and 16, and cannot be transferred, sold or pooled. [1] Qantas membership is open to individuals only and requires guardian consent under 18. [4] ANA credits mileage only to the member who actually used the flight. [3]
  • Terms change. Singapore Airlines reserves the right to modify the KrisFlyer program and its terms without prior notice. [1] Qantas may change its terms, earning rates and expiry rules, and its terms are effective from 27 August 2026. [4]

Sources

Sources accessed on 18 October 2026. The comparison covers KrisFlyer, Cathay, ANA Mileage Club and Qantas Frequent Flyer only; other Asia-Pacific programs, including Malaysia Airlines Enrich, are not covered.

  1. KrisFlyer terms and conditions, Singapore Airlines, checked 18 October 2026
  2. Cathay Membership Programme terms and conditions, checked 18 October 2026
  3. ANA Mileage Club international flight mileage accrual conditions, checked 18 October 2026
  4. Qantas Frequent Flyer terms and conditions, checked 18 October 2026