The Hong Kong tourist board has partnered with Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) and home airline Cathay Pacific to offer North American travelers a limited batch of cut-price airfares to the city.
The campaign to celebrate the easing of travel restrictions in the region is part of a plan to give away 700,000 subsidized tickets globally; it began slowly rolling out country by country in March.
The North American offering is currently underway with Cathay Pacific. Successful applicants will pay only the taxes and surcharges for their tickets. To put this in context, roundtrip fares from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to HKG typically start around $2,300 dollars with taxes and surcharges totaling around $350 of that amount. This means that the subsidized ticket offer could save you at least $1,800 on your ticket or even more during busier periods.
However, you’ll need to act fast if you want to benefit — the airline will contact applicants on May 17 at 5:00 p.m. PST/8:00 p.m. EST, via email where they will receive an access link. You’ll then be able to use the link until the sales close on May 23 or until all tickets have sold out. Tickets will be available on a first-come-first-served basis, so keep an eye on you emails for the access link if you don’t want to miss out.
To be in with a chance, you must sign up as a member of Cathay Pacific’s Asia Miles loyalty program by using the link on the airline’s World of Winners page here.
Related: Ultimate guide to Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
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Cathay Pacific currently offers flights departing the U.S. to HKG from JFK, Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and Boston Logan International Airport (BOS).
After you receive your voucher code it must be redeemed within one month. The redemption will be limited to economy seats and will be valid for travel for nine months. The minimum stay period will be two days and the maximum is one month.
Related: The ultimate guide to Cathay Pacific first class
It’s unclear exactly how many tickets are available to North American travelers, though it is expected to be 4,000 to 6,000 based on the offerings in other countries.
The Hong Kong tourist board is also offering various “Goodies” vouchers for visitors on its website. Some of these include welcome drinks at participating bars and restaurants, cash vouchers worth 100 Hong Kong dollars (about $13) and free transport tickets, among other items. You can apply for your Hong Kong Goodies voucher here.
Bottom line
Cathay Pacific has partnered with the Hong Kong tourist board and HKG to offer subsidized tickets to North American passengers. The tickets are in limited supply, but successful applicants will only need to pay for the taxes and surcharges on their tickets. Winners will be informed May 17.