Air China is the flag carrier of the People’s Republic of China and is a member of Star Alliance. The Beijing-based airline flies to over 200 domestic and international destinations. This will include a few non-stop flights to the United States.
Check out the list of the best credit card bonuses here.
PhoenixMiles is Air China’s frequent flyer program. Members from the United States can stock up on kilometers by transferring from partner loyalty programs, and flying Air China or with any of its airline partners. Kilometers can be redeemed for award flights and upgrades.
Read below for more information on the best ways to earn and burn PhoenixMiles Kilometers.
PhoenixMiles Quick Facts
Airline Alliance | Star Alliance |
Hubs | Beijing, Chengdu, Shanghai |
U.S. Destinations | Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, New York City, Newark, San Jose, San Francisco, Washington, D.C. |
U.S. Credit Cards | None |
Transfer Partners | Marriott Bonvoy, World of Hyatt |
Redemption Options | Flights, upgrades |
PhoenixMiles Elite Status
When you join PhoenixMiles, you automatically become a Member. Above that are three status tiers: Silver, Gold, and Platinum. To move up a tier, you need to fly a certain amount of kilometers or a certain number of segments in the previous 12 months.
Status | Kilometers | Segments |
Silver | 40,000 | 25 |
Gold | 80,000 | 40 |
Platinum | 160,000 | 90 |
Once you unlock a tier, you have that status until the end of the 24th month thereafter, and you’ll enjoy the following benefits:
Silver | Gold | Platinum | |
Kilometers bonus | 25% | 30% | 50% |
Priority reservation | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Priority standby | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Business class check-in | Yes | Yes | Yes |
First class check-in | – | – | Yes |
Priority boarding | – | Yes | Yes |
Priority baggage handling | – | Yes | Yes |
International lounge access | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Air China business class lounge access | – | Yes + 1 | Yes + 1 |
Star Alliance lounge access | – | Yes + 1 | Yes + 1 |
Air China first class lounge access | – | – | Yes + 1 |
Star Alliance Gold lounge access | – | – | Yes + 1 |
Extra baggage allowance | 20kg or 1 piece | 20kg or 1 piece | 20kg or 1 piece |
Priority award tickets & upgrades | London | Yes | Yes |
Star Alliance status | Silver | Gold | Gold |
Go to the PhoenixMiles member benefits page for more details.
Earning PhoenixMiles Kilometers
Compared to Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan, Delta SkyMiles and other frequent flyer programs based in the United States, earning PhoenixMiles Kilometers is not an easy task for Americans. Here are all the ways you can rack up on PhoenixMiles Kilometers:
Transfer Partners
The easiest way to earn PhoenixMiles Kilometers without flying is through transfer partners. Marriott Bonvoy members can convert their points at a three to one ratio. With a 5,000-kilometer bonu for every 60,00 Marriott Points they transfer.
The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card offers 185,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points after you use your new Card to make $6,000 in purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership. Each Card renewal year, get up to $300 in statement credits per calendar year (up to $25 per month) for eligible purchases at restaurants worldwide. With this card, you'll earn: • 6X Marriott Bonvoy points for each dollar of eligible purchases at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy. • 3X points at restaurants worldwide and on flights booked directly with airlines. • 2X points on all other eligible purchases. • $300 Brilliant Dining Credit: Each calendar year, get up to $300 (up to $25 per month) for eligible purchases made on the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card at restaurants worldwide. A Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite member will earn 50% more points on eligible purchases at participating hotels for each U.S. dollar or the currency equivalent that is incurred and paid for by the member. Fee Credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck: Receive either a statement credit every 4 years after you apply for Global Entry ($100) or a statement credit every 4.5 years after you apply for a five-year membership through any Authorized Enrollment Provider for TSA PreCheck (up to $85) when you pay the application fee with an eligible Card. If approved for Global Entry, at no additional charge, you will receive access to TSA PreCheck. $100 Marriott Bonvoy Property Credit: Enjoy your stay. Receive up to a $100 property credit for qualifying charges at The Ritz-Carlton or St. Regis when you book direct using a special rate for a two-night minimum stay using your Card. This card comes with a $650 annual fee and no foreign transaction fees. However, you can receive 1 free Night Award every year after your Card renewal month. Award can be used for one night (redemption level at or under 85,000 Marriott Bonvoy points) at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy(R). Certain hotels have resort fees. (See Rates & Fees) Furthermore, enjoy unlimited airport lounge visits when you enroll in Priority Pass Select membership. Terms Apply. |
The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card offers 3 Free Night Awards up to a 150,000 Total Point Value (each night valued up to 50,000 points) after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. You'll earn: • Up to 17X total points per $1 spent at over 7,000 hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy • 3X points per $1 on the first $6,000 spent in combined purchases each year on grocery stores, gas stations, and dining. • 2X points for every $1 spent on all other purchase • 1 Elite Night Credit towards Elite Status for every $5,000 you spend. You gain an automatic Silver Elite Status each account anniversary year. Path to Gold Status when you spend $35,000 on purchases each account year. You'll receive 15 Elite Night Credits each calendar year & an additional Free Night Award (valued up to 35,000 points) every year after account anniversary. This card does carry a $95 fee; there are no foreign transaction fees. |
The Marriott Bonvoy Bold® credit card offers 30,000 Bonus Points after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. You'll earn: • Up to 14X total points per $1 spent at over 7,000 hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy • 2X points for all other travel purchases • 1X points per $1 spent on all other purchases This card comes with no annual fees or foreign transaction fees and you'll get 15 elite night credits each calendar year! |
The Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card offers 3 Free Night Awards after you use your new Card to make $6,000 in eligible purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership. Each Free Night Award has a redemption level up to 50,000 Marriott Bonvoy points, for a total potential value of up to 150,000 points, at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy. Certain hotels have resort fees. Terms apply. Receive a 7% discount on eligible bookings as a benefit of being both a Marriott Bonvoy member & a Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card Member when you book directly with Marriott through an eligible channel for a participating property under the Amex Business Card Rate. You can enjoy a complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite Status with your Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card. You'll earn: • 6x Marriott Bonvoy Points on each dollar of eligible purchases at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy program. • 4x points for purchases made at restaurants worldwide, at U.S. gas stations, on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers and on U.S. purchases for shipping. • 2x points on all other eligible purchases. You'll receive 1 Free Night Award every year after your Card renewal month. Plus, earn an additional Free Night Award after you spend $60K in purchases on your Card in a calendar year. Award can be used for one night (redemption level at or under 35,000 Marriott Bonvoy points) at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy. Certain hotels have resort fees. This card does carry a $125 annual fee. (See Rates & Fees) Terms Apply. |
Keep in mind, you’ll be transferring your Marriott points into kilometers, not miles like other frequent flyer programs. Because one kilometer is approximately 0.62 miles, you’ll be losing more than 30% of the value of your Marriott points by converting to PhoenixMiles kilometers.
World of Hyatt members can also convert their points to PhoenixMiles Kilometers, but at an even less attractive rate. It’s not recommended that you transfer these points from your World of Hyatt account.
Flights
Earn PhoenixMiles Kilometers when you fly with Air China and the following airline partners:
- Aegean Airlines
- Air Canada
- Air India
- Air New Zealand
- ANA
- Asiana Airlines
- Austrian Airlines
- Avianca
- Brussels Airlines
- Copa Airlines
- Shandong Airlines
- Shenzhen Airlines
- Singapore Airlines
- South African Airways
- SWISS
- TAP Air Portugal
- Thai Airways
- Tibet Airlines
- Turkish Airlines
- United Airlines
The accrual rate depends on the distance between the origin and destination, as well as booking class.
Other Ways
Unlike most other frequent flyer programs, PhoenixMiles does not have any hotel or car rental partnerships for additional ways to earn airline kilometers.
But,Air China does provide limited-time opportunities to earn rewards that doesn’t involve flying. To keep updated, make sure to follow the carrier’s Facebook, Twitter, and Special Offers page.
Redeeming PhoenixMiles Kilometers
Most PhoenixMiles members use their kilometers for award flights with Air China and partner airlines. The program utilizes a distance-based award chart for domestic Air China flights, whereas international flights have region-based award charts. To make it even more complicated, each airline partner has their own region-based award chart. Have a look at Air China’s award charts in detail here.
You can also redeem your PhoenixMiles Kilometers to upgrade from economy to business class, or from business to first class.
PhoenixMiles Kilometers Expiration
PhoenixMiles Kilometers expire 36 months from the end of the month in which they were accrued. If you earned 10,000 kilometers in May 2019, and you use 7,000 kilometers, the remaining 3,000 kilometers are valid until May 31, 2022.
PhoenixMiles Tips & Tricks
Routing rules. PhoenixMiles has very lax routing rules and very few booking fees. Open jaws are permitted on international flights, and two stopovers are allowed on roundtrip Star Alliance partner flights between two zones. Mixed class awards are available on Air China flights.
Award search. The PhoenixMiles site is poorly designed with many pages still under construction. To search for award availability, we suggest using the Aeroplan and the United Airlines websites instead.
Best value awards. For the best bang for your kilometers, opt for Air China flights. Domestic roundtrip awards start at 15,000 kilometers, and flights between the United States and China are priced at 100,000 kilometers in economy and 200,000 kilometers in business. To put it in mileage terms, that’s only 62,000 and 124,000 miles respectively.
There are also plenty of good deals for flying with Star Alliance member airlines:
RoundTrip Between | Class | Mileage | Kilometers |
U.S. and Hong Kong/Taipei | Business | 110,000 | 176,000 |
U.S. and Hong Kong/Taipei | First | 136,000 | 220,000 |
U.S. and Seoul/Tokyo | Business | 99,000 | 160,000 |
U.S. and Seoul/Tokyo | First | 130,000 | 210,000 |
U.S. and Oceania | Business | 117,000 | 188,000 |
U.S. and Oceania | First | 155,000 | 250,000 |
Worst value awards. We recommend staying away from award flights to/from the Middle East because PhoenixMiles lists it in the same zone as Africa. An award flight between Istanbul and Tel Aviv only takes about two hours, but it’ll cost you 115,000 kilometers in economy, 256,000 kilometers in business and 346,000 kilometers in first.
Beijing bonuses. Members get free hotel stays in Beijing for overnight layovers (excluding award flights). A visa-free, 72-hour stopover in Beijing is allowed en route to another country.
Things to consider. You must fly 20,000 kilometers or four segments before you can redeem awards. One-way award tickets cost more than half the cost of roundtrip tickets. PhoenixMiles has loads of blackout dates, and the cancellation fee is 50% of the cost of the award flight.
Conclusion
Air China PhoenixMiles isn’t the most valuable frequent flyer program out there. However, it does have some perks. Flexible routing rules are at the top of the list, followed by a handful of sweet spots in their award charts. With this in mind, there aren’t many ways to earn and burn PhoenixMiles kilometers.
If you often fly to Asia, you might want to consider ANA, Asiana, and Singapore Airlines as well.