PhoenixMiles - Air China

Program Review

Air China Limited is the flag carrier and one of the major airlines of the People’s Republic of China, with its headquarters in Shunyi District, Beijing. Air China’s flight operations are based at Beijing Capital International Airport. In 2013, the airline carried 51 million domestic and international passengers with an average load factor of 81%. This airline was established and commenced operations in July of 1988 as a result of the Chinese government’s decision in late 1987 to split the operating divisions of Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) into six separate airlines.
With a fleet size of 393, this airline offers flights to 201 different destinations around the world. It is part of the Star Alliance, and its frequent flyer program is called Phoenix Miles. Air China’s route network extends throughout Asia to the Middle East, Western Europe, and North America from its hubs at Beijing Capital International Airport and Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport.

Phoenix Miles Program

The Phoenix Miles frequent flyer program from Air China allows its members to earn miles by flying with this airline and its partners, as well as using certain credit cards and even staying in certain hotels. Those who want to save as much money as possible when it comes to traveling with this airline will definitely want to take the time to look into this program and everything it has to offer. There are a lot of perks associated with Phoenix Miles, and you will definitely want to know what some of them are before deciding whether or not to sign up.

Earning Phoenix Miles Points

You will find that there are numerous ways to go about earning miles with the Phoenix Miles program, including:
Paid Flights: When booking a flight with Air China, choose Phoenix Miles under the Frequent Flyer Program and input your Membership Number to make sure that points will be credited to your account. After your flight, go to your Phoenix Miles account to double-check your miles posted properly.
Partner Flights: Air China is a member of Star Alliance, which allows flyers the ability to earn miles for flights flown with alliance airlines. The number of miles you earn from each partner varies, so it’s best to refer to Air China’s site to understand the amount of mileage you can earn from your upcoming flight. To earn Phoenix Miles on a partner flight, just enter your Phoenix Miles number and then check your account post-flight to ensure the mileage credits were properly posted to your account.
Credit Card Spending: Phoenix Miles has a co-branded credit card available to Chinese residents that allows cardholders the ability to earn miles for every day spend. Phoenix Miles is also a transfer partner with SPG, which also has a couple credit card offerings that are detailed in the section below.
Travel Partners: Air China offers other miles accrual methods by booking stays at partner hotel groups such as Marriott, IHG, and SPG, or by renting a car at Avis or Hertz. Visit this link to explore all other miles accrual options.
Promotions: Air China occasionally offers promotions that provide members the ability to earn additional Phoenix Miles points. For the latest list of promotions, refer to the Phoenix Miles promotions page.

Redeeming Mileage Points

Phoenix Miles members will be able to redeem the points they accrue for a number of things, including:
Free Flights: Login to your Phoenix Miles account, select your desired flight, and pay the corresponding service fees and taxes. Visit this link to know the number of miles needed to redeem a flight. Also, take note of the declared Blackout Dates.
Upgrades: Points can be converted to class upgrades. Refer to this link to check the upgrade availability for your flight. You will also find the Star Alliance Class Upgrade Request site on the link provided above.
Alliance Partner Awards: Air China is a member of Star Alliance, which allows travelers to redeem Phoenix Miles for award flights on partner airlines, subject to availability. Refer to Air China’s published Star Alliance partner award chart, as well as the Star Alliance strategy guide for further advice on how to search availability and book awards for each member airline.
Non-Alliance Partner Awards: In addition to Air China’s alliance with Star Alliance, the airline is also partners with the following major carriers: Cathay Pacific, Virgin Atlantic, and TAM. Award availability for these partners can be searched directly on Air China’s booking website, and mileage amounts can be determined by referring to their published partner award chart.

Benefits of Air China’s Phoenix Miles Program

There are many great things about the Phoenix Miles rewards program, including the fact that it has very lax routing rules and very few booking fees that you’ll encounter. This program allows free hotel stays in Beijing for overnight layovers, which is also nice. You will find that there are many different ways to go about earning points and a lot of ways to redeem them as well.

Elite Levels

Some of the different Elite membership levels that you can work your way up through include:

Silver: Accrue 40,000 kilometers or 25 flight segments within 12 months to be a Silver Phoenix Miles Elite member. Benefits include priority check-in, extra baggage allowance, and a 25% mileage bonus.
Gold: Accrue 80,000 kilometers or 40 flight segments within 12 months to be a Gold Phoenix Miles Elite member. Privileges for Gold members include Silver benefits, priority award ticket, and class upgrade guarantee, priority baggage claim, access to Business Class Airport Lounge, and 30% mileage bonus.
Platinum: Accrue 145,000 kilometers or 80 flight segments within 12 months to be a Platinum Phoenix Miles Elite member. Perks for Platinum members include Gold benefits, access to First Class Airport Lounge, and 50% mileage bonus.

Booking Fees/Charges

You will find that there aren’t a whole lot of booking fees or charges associated with Air China, though changing a flight will cost you anywhere from $17 to $50.

Redeem on Upgrades

You can choose to redeem the points you earn in this rewards program to upgrade from economy to business class, or business to first class. You cannot upgrade award tickets. A one-way upgrade from economy to business class on a flight between the U.S. and Beijing costs anywhere from 40,000 to 60,000 kilometers, depending on the class of the ticket.

Routing Rules

Open jaws are in fact allowed on international flights, and two stopovers are allowed on round-trip Star Alliance partner flights between two zones. A visa-free 72-hour stopover in Beijing is allowed when on route to another country.

Cobranded Credit Cards

Air China Phoenix Miles Peony Credit Card" is a national aviation-specific co-branded credit card jointly launched by ICBC and Air China Limited, which integrates the functions of ICBC Peony Credit Cards and Air China Phoenix Miles Cards, and adopts the form of one card with two numbers (credit card number and Phoenix Miles membership number). While enjoying the financial functions of consumer loan, fund transfer & settlement, cash deposit & withdrawal, cardholders are also entitled to all kinds of rewards and services of the Air China Phoenix Miles frequent flyer program.