Cathay Pacific to Make Changes to Marco Polo Club FFP

Cathay Pacific has unveiled plans to make changes to its Marco Polo Club loyalty programme.

Effective 15 April 2016 the Marco Polo Club will change to a new points-based system, based on a combination of the cabin customers travel in, the fare class booked and the distance travelled.

Cathay Pacific says that this more balanced approach will see members who fly in premium classes earn tier status faster. It will allow members to earn club points from a wider range of fares, including discounted fare types that are currently not applicable to club status.

Cathay Pacific Director Sales & Marketing, Dane Cheng, said, “Customer loyalty is the backbone of our airline and we are grateful for the great support and contribution our Marco Polo Club members have been giving us. The travel industry is ever-evolving and we understand there have been significant changes to the way our members travel in recent years. We must adapt to these changes so that we can continue to help our passengers travel well and ensure they feel properly appreciated.”

All popular member benefits, including unlimited lounge access for Silver members and above, as well as priority boarding and check-in, remain unchanged. At the same time, Cathay Pacific will further improve the overall membership experience by introducing more flexible and family-friendly benefits, including:

• Extra Lounge Passes for members and their invited guests;

• Bookable Upgrades for Gold and Diamond members;

• Additional Gold companion card for Diamond members;

• “Membership Holidays” enabling members to retain their status for one year, in recognition of those who may need to temporarily reduce their travel activity;

• Lower qualifying age for young members, down from 18 to 12;

To support members’ transition to the points programme, the Marco Polo Club will convert each member’s mileage or sectors into club points, based on which is the most favourable for individual members.

For example, a Gold member who has accumulated 48,000 Club miles as of 15 April 2016 would have accumulated 80% of the 60,000 miles required for Gold renewal. Under the new system, the same ratio will apply in the sense that his or her mileage will be converted to 480 points – that is, 80% of the 600 points required for renewal.