Key changes to the Cathay Pacific's Cathay membership programme

The following are the key changes that will take effect from 1 January 2026. All dates and times refer to Hong Kong Time. All capitalised terms that are not otherwise defined or described below are defined in the Cathay Pacific's Cathay membership programme Terms and Conditions. 

• Your membership period will end at 11.59pm on 31 December 2026: Starting from 12.00am on 1 January 2026, after your membership status renews according to your current membership period end date or is reset following a status upgrade or downgrade, your new membership period will then end at 11.59pm on 31 December 2026. This will apply to all members and is to allow for the transition of all members to the new standardised membership cycle. Please see below for more information about this new standardised membership cycle. 
• Your status starting on 1 January 2027 will be determined by the Status Points you earn between 1 January–31 December 2026: At the end of 31 December 2026, we will determine your status starting 1 January 2027 based on the number of Status Points earned between 1 January 2026 and 31 December 2026. If you wish to hold a certain status on 1 January 2027, you should plan your travels with Cathay Pacific flights and make use of other ways to earn Status Points in 2026. In other words, you will not retain the status that you have on 31 December 2026 on 1 January 2027, unless you have earned the required number of Status Points between 1 January 2026 and 31 December 2026 to attain that status.
• Membership Holidays: Starting 1 January 2026, if you request a Membership Holiday, it will only last until 31 December 2026 at the latest, regardless of when your Membership Holiday started. Please note that if you request a Membership Holiday during 2026, this may affect your ability to earn sufficient Status Points in 2026 to determine your status for 2027 as you are not able to earn Status Points during Membership Holidays. For clarity, your membership status on 31 December 2026 will not automatically carry over to 1 January 2027 unless you have earned the required Status Points between 1 January 2026 and 31 December 2026 to maintain or attain that status.

The following are the key changes that will take effect on and from 1 January 2027. All dates and times refer to Hong Kong Time.  For clarity, the updated Cathay Pacific's Cathay membership programme Terms and Conditions do not reflect these changes. We will provide you with the version of the Cathay Pacific's Cathay membership programme Terms and Conditions that reflect these changes that will take effect on 1 January 2027 in 2026.

• New standardised membership cycle for all members: We are replacing the current membership period which is based on the date of joining as a member or when a member’s status is upgraded, with (i) a single Status Points earning period, which starts at 12.00am on 1 January and ends at 11.59pm on 31 December each calendar year; and (ii) a single membership period, which ends at 11.59pm on 31 January of the following calendar year. This applies to all members. In other words, all members will have the same Status Points earning period starting at 12.00am on 1 January 2027. 
• Change to when Status Points balance is reset: Your Status Points balance will not reset to zero after each time you earn a higher status. Your Status Points balance will only reset to zero at the end of each Status Points earning period (i.e. at 11.59pm on 31 December each calendar year). This is subject to any Status Points you may be eligible to roll over if you are a Gold, Diamond, or Diamond Exec member. Please see below for more information about Status Points rollover available to Gold, Diamond, and Diamond Exec members. This means that members have a greater opportunity to earn higher status(es) in a single Status Points earning period if they wish to do so.
• Change to duration of holding a status if you attain a higher status during a Status Points earning period: Starting at 12.00am on 1 January 2027, when you attain a higher status, you will be able to hold that status for the remainder of that membership period and through the following membership period. For example, if you earn enough Status Points to attain Silver in 2027, you will continue to be a Silver member until 11.59pm on 31 January 2029, regardless of how many Status Points you have after attaining Silver in 2027 (unless you have earned enough Status Points to attain a higher status than Silver, in which case you will attain the higher status).
• Introducing a new status, Diamond Exec: We are introducing a new status, Diamond Exec, which is the status above Diamond. To become a Diamond Exec member, you must earn a minimum of 2,400 Status Points during a Status Points earning period. For more information about the new Diamond Exec status, please see below.
• Introducing a new feature that allows eligible Gold, Diamond and Diamond Exec members to roll over Status Points: We are introducing the ability for Gold, Diamond, and Diamond Exec members to roll over Status Points earned in excess of the qualification requirements to the following Status Points earning period, up to 50% of the Status Points required for the achieved status. In other words, Gold members can roll over up to 300 Status Points, Diamond members can roll over up to 600 Status Points, and Diamond Exec members can roll over up to 1,200 Status Points at the end of a Status Points earning period to the following Status Points earning period.
• Introducing Diamond membership reserve, a new feature that allows eligible members to be awarded with complimentary Diamond memberships: We are introducing Diamond membership reserve. This allows members who have held any Diamond status (a status that is Diamond or above) for at least five years (which can be any five years during their membership lifetime and does not have to be five consecutive years) to receive one complimentary Diamond membership that lasts for one membership period for every 6,000 Status Points earned during their membership lifetime. We will determine if a member has held any Diamond status for at least five years from 1999 (when Diamond membership was first available) and has accumulated 6,000 Status Points or any multiple of 6,000 Status Points from 2016 (when Status Points were first introduced) to assess whether they are eligible to receive complimentary Diamond memberships. Each of the five years is calculated by adding up the number of days the member held any Diamond status (a status that is Diamond or above) and then dividing that total by 365, and rounding down to the nearest whole year. There is no expiration date on each complimentary Diamond membership, but once a complimentary Diamond membership is applied toward a member’s membership, it will last until the end of that membership period. There is no limit on the total number of complimentary Diamond memberships members can earn. Applying the complimentary Diamond membership towards a membership will allow that member to be a Diamond member for that membership year without needing to accumulate the required number of Status Points to earn or maintain Diamond status. These complimentary Diamond memberships are not transferable and can only be used by the member that earned them. 
• Changes to certain status benefits: We are making the following changes to status features and benefits:
  • Replacing Green mid-status benefits with new Green milestone benefits features and requirements: We will be replacing the current Green mid-status benefits feature and requirements with new Green milestone benefits features and requirements from 12.00am on 1 January 2027. Details about what the new Green milestone benefits are and how to earn them will be announced to you in 2026.
  • Silver mid-status benefits will be referred to as Silver milestone benefits: Upon earning 450 Status Points, Silver members will still be able to earn two Business class Lounge Passes for themselves or travel companions when travelling together on a Cathay Pacific flight.
  • Removing mid-status benefits from Gold and Diamond statuses: Currently, Gold members can earn two Business class Lounge Passes upon earning 800 Status Points and can earn four Bookable Upgrades when they earn 1,000 Status Points as mid-status benefits. Currently, Diamond members can earn two First class or Business class Lounge Passes upon earning 1,400 Status Points, four Bookable Upgrades when they earn 1,600 Status Points, and one Gold Companion Card when they earn 1,800 Status Points. From 12.00am on 1 January 2027, the mid-status benefits feature for Gold and Diamond statuses will be removed. Instead, certain benefits will be offered to Diamond and Diamond Exec members as benefits that are immediately available to them once they become a Diamond or Diamond Exec member. Please see below for more information about the changes to the benefits for Gold, Diamond and Diamond Exec members.
  • Change to status benefits of Gold members: There are no changes to status benefits of Gold members. We are removing mid-status benefits for Gold members. As a result, Gold members will no longer be able to earn two Business Class Lounge Passes and four Bookable Upgrades as mid-status benefits.
  • Change to status benefits of Diamond members: 
    • We are removing mid-status benefits for Diamond members. As a result, Diamond members will no longer be able to earn First class and Business Lounge Passes, Bookable Upgrades, and Gold Companion Card as mid-status benefits. Instead, from 12.00am on 1 January 2027, two single-sector Upgrade Passes will be awarded to the members who earn 1,200 Status Points and achieve a status upgrade to Diamond. Diamond members will receive two single-sector Upgrade Passes in February of the following year if they earn the required Status Points for status renewal. Each Upgrade Pass allows for a single upgrade to the next immediate class up to Business. Each Upgrade Pass may only be used by the Diamond member, the member’s travel companions, or Redemption Group Nominees on flights marketed and operated by Cathay Pacific and is subject to seat availability.  
    • The benefit that is referred to as ‘guaranteed seat reservation’ will be referred to as ‘Exclusive reservation access’ and Diamond members will no longer be eligible for the increased access to Business class seats on Cathay Pacific flights:
      • Starting at 12.00am on 1 January 2027, Diamond members will no longer be eligible for the increased access to Business class seats  on Cathay Pacific marketed and operated flights when purchasing the highest fare class in Business (in fare class J), but will continue to be eligible for the increased access to Premium Economy class seats when purchasing in fare class W and Economy seats when purchasing in fare class Y, up to 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
    • Gold members will continue to have the increased access to Economy class seats on Cathay Pacific marketed and operated flights when purchasing in fare class Y, up to 72 hours before the scheduled departure time.
  • Status benefits of the new Diamond Exec status: Diamond Exec members will receive the following key benefits:
    • A relationship manager to assist with flight bookings and answer queries.
    • Four single-sector Upgrade Passes (for a single upgrade to the next immediate class up to First class). Each Upgrade Pass may be used by the Diamond Exec member, the member’s travel companions, or the member’s Redemption Group Nominees on flights marketed and operated by Cathay Pacific subject to seat availability.
    • One complimentary Gold companion membership, which can be used by the member’s family member or friend. The Gold companion card and membership is not transferable once it is assigned.
    • Buggy service when departing on a Cathay Pacific marketed flight from Hong Kong International Airport with a departure gate between gate 40 and gate 80. This is limited to one time per Diamond Exec member per flight and is subject to the availability of the third-party provider of the buggy service. The Diamond Exec member may bring one guest when travelling on the same flight.
  • Changes to Membership Holiday: We will be making certain changes to Membership Holidays. These changes will be announced and notified to you in 2026.

Please see below for further information to assist you in your understanding of whether the changes above will affect other existing membership programme benefits or features:

• Mid-status benefits earned during 2026: You will still be able to earn mid-status benefits during 2026. All mid-status benefits will continue to be valid for 12 months from the date of issue.

If you have any questions about these changes, you may wish to read our FAQs or contact Customer Care.