New Cathay Pacific Credit Card Launched By Neo Financial

Neo Financial recently announced the launch of a new credit card for some time in Fall 2023 – the Neo Cathay Pacific card. As the sole credit card that earns Asia Miles directly, it's an excellent travel credit card to consider for those wanting to hit up international destinations.

We have an inside look at the earn rates and welcome bonuses offered so you'll know whether you want to pounce on that waitlist spot or get one when it comes out.

Neo Financial Cathay Pacific Credit Card earn rates

The card earns Asia Miles at these projected rates:

• 2 Asia Miles for every $1 spent on Cathay Pacific Flights,
• 2 Asia Miles on purchases made outside of Canada, and
• 1 Asia Mile for all other purchases made in Canada.

But as with other Neo Financial credit cards, you'll get bonus earn rates with Neo partners to the tune of 5x the Miles and up to 15x the Miles on first-time purchases.

With our analysis of Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, we found that each point can be valued at 2 cents each, giving you up to a 4% return on the first 2 categories and up to 30% back on first-time purchases with Neo partners.

Neo Financial Cathay Pacific Credit Card welcome bonus

There are 2 big welcome bonuses that will come with the Neo Financial Cathay Pacific credit card.

The first is that you'll get up to 45,000 Asia Miles for signing up. This is broken up into 2 pieces:

• You'll start right away with 15,000 Asia Miles on activation, then
• collect the remaining 30,000 Miles if you spend $3,000 within the first 3 months.

The second is that cardholders will be given a 10% discount on their next flight departing from Canada for a limited time. This is huge if you're planning a big trip overseas and want to make a big dent in the cost.

Neo Financial Cathay Pacific Credit Card perks and benefits

There are 4 extra perks that you'll receive if you get this card.

1. Travel insurance

Since this is a travel credit card, you can expect a decent offering in terms of travel insurance. Some coverages they offer include:

• emergency medical care,
• trip cancellation, and
• lost luggage.

2. Airport lounge access

It's always nice to relax in an airport lounge instead of sitting on a steel bench surrounded by screaming kids, endless announcements for other flights (in English and en français), and no free food.

3. Free WiFi

Free WiFi (both with hotspots on the ground and in the air) is also a welcome perk since phone plans are so expensive and in-flight WiFi is basically a free pass at gouging people for something as simple as checking an email or posting a photo or two.

With other airlines like Air Canada charging for WiFi (for $6.50 and up), it's nice to know that you'll be able to save a bit of money while in the air.

Again, details are currently sparse, but it's nice to know it's in Neo's perks lineup.

4. Protection from unauthorized charges

This is pretty standard (what kind of credit card doesn't have some sort of fraud prevention?), but since it was listed on the Neo/Cathay page, we thought to include it here as well.

What are the requirements to get a Neo Financial/Cathay Pacific card?

Other than being a Canadian resident and being at least the age of majority of the province/territory you live in, you'll also need to keep in mind the minimum personal income of $80,000 or minimum household income of $150,000.

This puts it in line with World Elite Mastercards, but compared to some other World Elite cards, it looks like (at least for now) you won't be enjoying as many other perks.

Some standard perks that most other cards of this tier have include:

• Mastercard World Experiences,
• Priceless Cities,
• Mastercard Airport Experiences,
• concierge service, and
• other offers.

Things yet to be confirmed with this Neo/Cathay credit card

Even though there is some fanfare about this card, there are a few unknowns that may make or break the take rate of those on the fence.

Does the Neo Financial Cathay Pacific credit card charge foreign exchange fees?

One thing we noticed was that you get bonus earn rates on purchases made outside of the country, but curiously, there was no mention about the card not charging foreign exchange fees.

This was worrisome to me since the writer of this article comes from years in marketing, and having such a big benefit on a travel card absent from the list of perks suggests it's not here. This could mean the extra points you get on these purchases may be impacted by the 2.5% foreign exchange rate you'll be charged. Instead of up to 4% return, you could be looking at 1.5% – less than purchases in Canada (which get you up to 2%).

Again, it may be too early to say, but the signs of this being a credit card with no foreign exchange fees aren't too promising now.

No mention of the Neo/Cathay card's annual fee

Nowhere on the page mentioned any annual fee. But, with an income requirement reminiscent of World Elite Mastercards, we'd expect the annual fee to be well over $100.

This may turn some people off the card since Neo was known for its base cards having no annual fee (though there were optional monthly fees that would get you more perks).

Details about free lounge passes

Neo mentioned that there would be free lounge access, but there was no mention of whether there would be any free passes. If there are none, expect to pay US$32 every time you want to go.

We're hoping to see a few free passes, which would be an excellent motivation for anyone thinking of getting this card.

On the topic of air travel, there also aren't any mentions of annual credits or any travel benefits like first free checked bags or priority security.

Again, it may just be awaiting confirmation, so these dreams aren't totally dead. We're excited to see if there will be anything added to the mix to make this card really stand out.

Will you be joining the waitlist?

Now that the card has been announced, will you be joining the waitlist? Or will you be waiting for some more details about the card?

Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.