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Hi All,
As the title states, is there any way to use avios/points/MRs for Thai Smile/Vietjet/AirAsia or any other carrier flying domestic flights?
I’m pricing Bangkok to Phuket and can see routes provided by the above, though costs are spicy!
Any input appreciated.
T
Only on Bangkok Airways booked via Qatar. Apart from a few niche domestic routes they mainly fly between BKK and Samui where reward pricing can be wirh it. Personally I gave up on PG; of 4 flights this year two were cancelled costing me double original outlay, one got a dignificant schedule change costing me sleep and breakfast, and the last had an aborted landing in a thunder stom almost costing me to lose it.
What is the spicy price and what datrs are you trying to book? Prices are generally reasonable due to the competition you have observed. My first choicebis almost always Air Asia and from DMK not BKK. They are reliable and punctual IME and I usually book a Hot Seat up front, prebooking food works well and is cheap and quite decent.DMK is the old airport and it’s a delight. Much less crowded than BKK and regular security is way better than fast track most airports most of the time. Two decent lounges for domestic that you can access using Priority Pass.
Make sure you’re looking directly at the airline site. I tried pricing up a Thai domestic flight on Kayak (because I think that works well on multiple LCCs in Europe) and it gave me some very odd results. Air Asia Bangkok-Phuket is showing between US$25 and US$50 one way on most dates over the next six months.
I don’t think any Thai domestic flights have business class any more, which used to be a nice bonus back in the day…
Bangkok Airways have a bad habit of changing flights (or aircraft, especially when you’ve booked business they’ll change to an all-economy aircraft). On the other hand, when you do fly with them the ground and air experience is excellent.
Their prices (as long as you’re not booking last minute) make it really not worth the hassle of trying to book with miles via Qatar Airways (which requires submitting a request form), or with Air France Flying Blue (where availability is limited).
Air Asia (in my recent experience) can be very poor for punctuality, and their in-flight service can be dire depending on the crew (and often with endless noisy announcements trying to sell overpriced gifts etc).
However, their prices are so low and schedules so frequent that for short flights in south-east Asia they are hard to beat. The “hot seats” are good value, and the premium packages with hot seats, meals, priority check-in are often good value. Their baggage drop queues can be very long and very slow moving though, which is one more reason to buy the premium package.
Just another +1 for DMK and AirAsia packages
(OP: as @BJ hints at, are you possibly looking at prices from BKK
and not DMK?).
We landed there a couple of weeks ago and were through security, with case and outside
in less than 30 mins.Sounds weird – these flights are rarely expensive. Price up Nok air as well, they’re perfectly fine.
While we’re on the subject of award flights in Thailand….
With Flying Blue miles I can book Bangkok to Samui for 15k or Phuket to Samui for 9k, and I can book return flights the same, but I cannot book flight awards starting from Samui.
Same at Air France and KLM – no option to book award flights from Samui except as a return leg.
I have a load of Air France miles about to expire. I can’t convert them to Accor because I made a silly mistake of linking my Accor account to QR not realising that means I can’t link it to Flying Blue for 12 months. I live in Samui. Looks like I’ll be spending my Flying Blue miles hopping around Samui, Bangkok and Phuket, as long as I pay cash for the first flight out of Samui.
In all cases the taxes are under €3. All economy of course, but they’re only short flights. Chiang Mai is similarly cheap.
Of course none of this is likely to help the OP because nobody but me is dumb enough to have accumulated any amount of the useless Flying Blue miles…
@Go197, a pity you cannot use exSamui. Is the relaunched HK-Samui not any use to you?
O have found Air Asia punctuality to be fab for past decade but overv80%of flights were to/from HDY. My last in Jine was 25min late which was the worst I ever had but I did notice many delays on the boards that day so perhaps things have gone downhill.
Thanks everyone for all your input. Having looked at DMK it’s looking like a better point of departure and easier to get to from the hotel (still TBD between JW Marriott and Conrad).
Price is ~GBP 90 or so for a one way ticket. I seem to remember these being cheaper, but it is in late December so peak season I guess. I’ll have a look at the Air Asia packages – thanks again!
Now onto planning the rest of the trip…Ko Lanta vs. Phi Phi for a few nights, but prices are CRAZY.
Yes late Dec is peak of the peak so sounds about right! Keep any hotel plans flexible as you may get a better deal nearer the time if you keep looking but expect prices to be high around then
I thought phi phi was overcrowded and over commercialised when I last stayed there probably 10 years ago now…saw someone on Instagram the other day at the mcdonalds there ! So definitely koh lanta for me ..
@Thriceforgiven, that explains it. Last year I was just over £100pp for a hot seat to HDY so I’m not surprised. If you have the time can I recommend that you consider taking a daytime VIP bus from Bangkok to Phuket? It’s a cool ride, especially from Surat Thani down into Phuket arriving just as sub sets. Especially good if you can get the front seats. If you’re up for it 12go Asia can get it fixed up for you.
Dont forget the bed, private cabin and experience of the sleeper train from Bangkok down to Surat Thani. https://www.seat61.com/Thailand.htm#1st_class_sleepers
I have a load of Air France miles about to expire. I can’t convert them to Accor because I made a silly mistake of linking my Accor account to QR not realising that means I can’t link it to Flying Blue for 12 months. I live in Samui. Looks like I’ll be spending my Flying Blue miles hopping around Samui, Bangkok and Phuket, as long as I pay cash for the first flight out of Samui.
Believe Cathay was planning flights to Samui. Your QR link might come handy if decide to fly further east.
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