Synchrony Cathay Pacific Co-Branded Credit Card

Application Link

Key Features

  • Welcome bonus: 40,000 Cathay Pacific (CX) miles after spending $2,000 in the first 3 months
  • Earning rates: 2x on Cathay Pacific purchases; 1.5x on dining; 1.5x on overseas purchases (outside the U.S.); 1x on all other purchases
  • Miles redemption: Can be redeemed for Cathay Pacific flights and award tickets on oneworld member airlines
  • No foreign transaction fee
  • $95 annual fee (not waived the first year)

Highlights

  • Solid welcome bonus: Cathay Pacific miles are worth about 1.2 cents each, so 50,000 miles is roughly a $600 welcome bonus.
  • Marco Polo Club membership: After approval, you get one year of Cathay Marco Polo Club Green membership, with benefits such as priority boarding and free checked baggage. See: Membership benefits overview
  • Cathay miles: Worth about 1.2 cpp. Cathay Pacific uses a distance-based award chart, which can be good for short-haul trips, U.S.-China round trips, and East Coast U.S.-Europe round trips. There are occasional discounted award redemptions. See: Introduction to Cathay Pacific miles
  • Asia Miles have been extendable since 2020. As long as there is account activity within 18 months, they will automatically be extended for another 18 months. See here.

Drawbacks

  • Synchrony has many store co-branded cards, but not much is known about its application patterns and service quality

Application

  • Approval difficulty: Synchrony is not very sensitive to hard pulls, but is relatively sensitive to new accounts. It usually pulls TransUnion.
  • Things to note: None for now

Application Link