FREQUENT FLYER GLOSSARY
Award charts: zones and regions
A zone-based award chart groups destinations into regions and prices awards by origin and destination region: every city in a region costs the same.
Reviewed by: Content review · Last updated:
Key takeaways
- Find the destination's region first, then the price.
- Within a region, farther cities are better value.
- China Eastern publishes zones and prices; Air China publishes domestic zones but not prices, shown as unknown.
- Units follow the source; China Eastern prices are in thousands of points.
How to use it
The key is the region boundary: the farther you fly within one region, the more each mile is worth. So start by checking what each region includes.
Worked example: China Eastern own international routes
To/from the Chinese mainland, one way, thousands of points:
| Zone | Economy X | Business O | First A |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR and Taiwan, China | Economy X20 | Business O30 | First A40 |
| Northeast and Southeast Asia | Economy X25 | Business O38 | First A50 |
| South Asia, Central Asia, Middle East, North Africa | Economy X30 | Business O45 | First A60 |
| Europe, South Pacific, Hawaii | Economy X46 | Business O85 | First A135 |
| North America, South Africa, South America | Economy X55 | Business O100 | First A155 |
Air China domestic zones (prices not published)
| Zone | Distance | Price |
|---|---|---|
| A1 | Distance 0-800 km | PriceUnknown |
| A2 | Distance 801-1,200 km | PriceUnknown |
| A3 | Distance 1,201-2,000 km | PriceUnknown |
| A4 | Distance>2,000 km | PriceUnknown |
Sources and review
Every number comes from verified, published rules on this site, with originals archived in our knowledge base; anything unverified or unstated shows as unknown.
Reviewed by: Content review.