Not many people talk about collecting or using Thai Airways miles, which makes us wonder: is it a program worth paying attention to?

For this post, I’m not going to get into the details of the elite status aspect of the program and instead focus on the redemption side of the program.

Only bank transfers to Thai Airways miles

Let’s just say Thai Airways isn’t one of the more popular programs out there. That’s true for both people looking to redeem miles and also bank programs making Thai Airways available. In fact, there’s only one bank that will transfer points into Thai Airways miles: Citi ThankYou. At least the program will transfer points at a 1:1 ratio.

In general, the Citi ThankYou program partners with a lot of niche loyalty programs. That can be both a blessing and a curse, depending on how you want to look at it. The fewer banks that transfer to a program, the more potential there is for minimizing devaluation risk in that program.

Award flights booked with Thai Airways miles can be booked 360 days in advance

As a planner, I love being able to book awards well far in advance. I feel like I can lock down my preferred dates of travel before the majority of other award seekers. And so the earlier the schedule is released, the better it is.

But perhaps what matters more is being able to book awards before those with a large balance of miles with U.S. programs are able to book. Those programs generally open schedules and award bookings 11 months in advance. So if you can find a program that allows awards weeks before the comparable U.S. airline (here, United), you can generally book what you want.

Award flights booked with Thai Airways miles can be booked 360 days in advance. That’s awesome if you can take advantage!

Award change and cancel fees can be painful

Need to change or cancel an award flight? Fees are a bit high with Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus. When fees are low, you can book prospective travel without many repercussions. But when fees are high? You’ll want to make sure what you book is firm and not going to change.

• Change fees
  • Domestic routes on Thai: THB 500 / $16
  • International routes on Thai (economy, premium economy): THB 2,500 / $85
  • International routes on Thai (Royal Silk Class, Royal First Class): THB 3,000 / $120
  • Star Alliance awards: THB 3,750 / $125
• Cancel fees
  • Domestic routes on Thai: THB 1,800 / $60
  • Routes within Asia: THB 3,750 / $125 / 10,000 miles
  • Intercontinental routes: THB 5,700 / $190 / 15,000 miles

You can only book for 5 others for free

There’s no problem if you’re only looking to book awards for yourself.

But how about if you want to book for others? One nuance of the program is that you need to designate nominees to book for others. Nominees can be anyone (no relationship required) and everyone is allowed 5 nominees for free.

Want to make a change to a nominee? That will cost you the following:

• Online changes: 15,000 miles
• In person at Thai Airways city offices: 20,000 miles / THB 5,700 / $190

Ouch. Hope you don’t need to change nominees often. They set the price high as a deterrent for mileage brokers.

Award booked with Thai Airways miles are zone-based

Awards on Thai Airways

If you want to use your miles towards an award flight on Thai Airways, you’ll find two different award charts. It seems a bit strange that they insist on running a slightly higher rate if you want to connect in Bangkok to other areas in Thailand, but that’s the nature of the game with Royal Orchid Plus.

This first award chart is if you’re flying nonstop between Bangkok and other locations on Thai Airways.

And this second chart is if you’re connecting in Bangkok to other areas in Thailand. I suppose the good news is that the chart is cheaper than booking two separate flights. Although it is strange that their official award chart lists some extra countries in this chart than in the other (such as Singapore or New Zealand).

And then there is a third award chart for when you fly on TG (Thai) between Europe and Australia / New Zealand / Oceania without a stopover. I imagine this is to appeal to those in Oceania to encourage them to use Thai for their travel needs given the lack of nonstop routes between the zones.

Star Alliance awards

Thai Royal Orchid Plus also has awards available on any Star Alliance carrier. As a general theme, expect to pay roughly a flat rate when traveling wholly within a single region. Once you decide to fly to a different region, the price spikes up. Note that a stopover is permitted in each direction.

And yes, you will be responsible for fuel surcharges with this program.

And here are the zone definitions:

Lastly, Thai Airways has a round the world option, but it’s not worth considering given the price. Paying 350,000 miles for just economy is nowhere near competitive.

What are the sweet spots?

Thai first class options

If you want to fly first class on Thai Airways, the pricing with Thai miles isn’t all that bad. You’re looking at rates of 62,500 miles to go to Japan from Bangkok or 125,000 miles to go to Europe. Those can be tempting rates if you find the award space.

We have flown in first class in Thai before. While the inflight service was good, what set the service apart was the service on the ground, including the free 1-hour massage for first class customers. Thus, we find the price to be more intriguing if you’re departing BKK rather than merely arriving to BKK (unless you’re connecting).

Keep in mind that Thai is also known for last-minute equipment swaps, so you might have planned to be in first class only to find that first isn’t offered anymore on that flight. So monitor your reservations to not be caught off-guard.

Competitive business class rates on Thai

If you’re not looking for the ultra-luxury first class experience, you can still get a decent rest with Thai business class (Royal Silk). Stick within Asia and you won’t pay more than 47,500 miles for business class, which isn’t all that bad. Neither is flying to Europe for just 90,000 miles.

The fact that Thai is now becoming competitive is more of a function of how other programs have devalued more than Thai doing anything aggressive.

The Hawaii region includes Guam

This might sound like a weird call-out, but I find it particularly interesting what loyalty programs do with Guam. It’s not like the two are all that close to each other (3,800 miles apart). Guam is much closer to Asia. So if you had plans of connecting, say a trip to Asia with a trip to Hawaii, you can use a distance-based program (like British Airways) to fly you to Guam and use Thai miles to fly you to Hawaii from there.

United Airlines flies their “island hopper” flight and this might be one of the cheaper ways to experience that if you can find the award space.

Intra-North America flights on United Airlines or Air Canada

While not as spectacular as what you would pay on Turkish, using Thai Airways miles still can be a better option than what United charges. And if you can find a cabin that has a lie-flat seat on either United or Air Canada, you’re going to definitely come out ahead. At only 17,500 miles for economy or 27,500 miles for business, you can definitely do worse than use your miles here.

How to best search for availability?

I always start with the website to figure out availability patterns. The Thai Airways website is generally decent to use. Log into your account, plug in your date, and get a quick response back. So the basics are down.

But if you want to specifically look for business or first class space? There’s no good way to isolate that. So using the site will require some patience to track down availability. But keep at it and you’ll find some. Just keep in mind that availability will likely be most plentiful close to departure or far out at the end of the schedule.

Unfortunately, the free point.me award tools won’t help you since the Royal Orchid Plus program isn’t an option with Amex or Bilt. However, the tools will assist you with tracking down available Star Alliance flights.

Beyond that, you can certainly use whichever third-party tool you’re most comfortable with using to track down partner availability.

Do Thai Airways miles expire?

Yes, miles expire three years after earning. Specifically, they expire at the end of the quarter after three years. You can extend miles an additional quarter (ooh la la) at a cost of $0.01 US per mile. Otherwise, there’s no way to extend your miles with activity. I wouldn’t transfer in miles prospectively without firm plans to use them.

Suggested reading:

• Destinations we’ve visited
• How to Travel with Kids
• How to Book Award Travel Like a Pro