Bangkok Reports

[QUOTE=Ehunter; 1372265]I know this post is off topic, but does anybody have experience using United Airlines Award travel getting to Bangkok from SFO / USA? There does not seem to be any ISG threads related to this topic except for the travel announcements but there is more post traffic here. I also tried a search on all Thai threads only to wade through pages and pages of unrelated topics.

I have not used awards in years and most likely there are some nice tips / tricks to get the most bang for my frequent flyer buck. I am also thinking of possible advantages via the many airline partners that might be used. Seems most UA flights arrive at a horrible time. Just short of midnight! That sucks.

If people don't want this topic addressed here, inbox is ok too. Thanks![/QUOTE]You really should be in the General Thread. However I am a Royal Orchid Gold customer (also part of Star Alliance). I have got my periodic free upgrades to Business Class, and also free flights (actually not free but pay petrol and airport tax only) , although I am using Thai Inter. I don't see that United should be any different. Simply you must ring United Frequent Flyer program (Star Alliance) and ask what awards you are entitled to with your current miles accumulated. If you have no frequent flyer membership or no accumulated miles, you won't get anything I guess. There are restrictions on total award non-paying customers per flight (or used to be) , so book a good time in advance if you can.

USA to BKK is a very long flight. To get it return on award you do need a large accumulated points (miles). If you fly to BKK several times per year United or weekly shorter flights, then no problem. If you fly United not very often, then you are not likely to qualify. With Royal Orchid I can use miles on flights within Thailand too.

For me I need to use miles awards before 4 years aged when they expire.

[QUOTE=Ehunter; 1372265]I know this post is off topic, but does anybody have experience using United Airlines Award travel getting to Bangkok from SFO / USA? There does not seem to be any ISG threads related to this topic except for the travel announcements but there is more post traffic here. I also tried a search on all Thai threads only to wade through pages and pages of unrelated topics.

I have not used awards in years and most likely there are some nice tips / tricks to get the most bang for my frequent flyer buck. I am also thinking of possible advantages via the many airline partners that might be used. Seems most UA flights arrive at a horrible time. Just short of midnight! That sucks.

If people don't want this topic addressed here, inbox is ok too. Thanks![/QUOTE]It take 32500 miles one way for coach ticket, you can check United Airline's website for the date you like.

[QUOTE=Ehunter; 1372265]I know this post is off topic, but does anybody have experience using United Airlines Award travel getting to Bangkok from SFO / USA? There does not seem to be any ISG threads related to this topic except for the travel announcements but there is more post traffic here. I also tried a search on all Thai threads only to wade through pages and pages of unrelated topics.

I have not used awards in years and most likely there are some nice tips / tricks to get the most bang for my frequent flyer buck. I am also thinking of possible advantages via the many airline partners that might be used. Seems most UA flights arrive at a horrible time. Just short of midnight! That sucks.

If people don't want this topic addressed here, inbox is ok too. Thanks![/QUOTE]If you plan to travel about 8 or 9 months from now, then you will have many options with MP on UAL. If you expect to find a good "deal" next month, you will be spending a lot of miles to get there. If you avoid the high season, you will find more options as well.

With Saver Awards, you can get a coach ticket for a litttle as 50, 000 miles plus tax. You can get a business class ticket for 75, 000 miles with Saver Awards if you look at many options.

Additionally, you will find that they offer Star Alliance partners to fly you as well. Often times, their Business Class is far superior to UAL's.

Take your time and plan ahead to get the best deals. United also books hotels as well.

[QUOTE=Ehunter;1372265]does anybody have experience using United Airlines Award travel getting to Bangkok from SFO / USA?[/QUOTE]I am a United Mileage Plus member and have a Chase United visa card. For my Feb trip, I recently used 65,000 United Miles to purchase the round trip super saver Mia - BKK flight with United. The outgoing Mia to Dusseldorf flight is on Lufthansa and the Dusseldorf to BKK flight is on Thai Airlines. The returning BKK to Frankfurt flight is on Thai and Frankfurt to Mia is on Lufthansa. I found the flight on the United website and booked it immediately. Funny thing, I was not assigned seats. I had to call Lufthansa and Thai airlines separately to secure my desired aisle seating. Normally I fly United from FLL - Newark - HKG for the same amount of miles (65,000) or a few hundred Dollars less if purchased outright. The FLL - Newark - HKG flight is around 20 hours total duration. The MIA - Dusseldorf - BKK flight is around 24 hours total duration. I think I was pretty lucky to find the BKK route available with United partners for 65,000 miles. I rate Lufthansa and Thai Air above United. I am due to arrive in BKK at 6am which suits me fine. During the day I will rest up by the pool, take a nap, and be ready for my first night's main event

Tip: If you don't see partner flights offered on the United website call the United Mileage Plus reservation number and ask about alternative partner flights. Not everything available is listed on the website. To book flights with as few miles as possible, book as early as possible. 9 months out is not too soon to begin searching. The airlines are real c*unts when it comes to buying seats using their miles. An alternative, and I don’t want to sound like the commercial, is to use Capital One visa cards. Their points can be exchanged for any flight on any airline purchased with the Capital One card with no restrictions.

[QUOTE=Natty Bumpo;1372291]. The outgoing Mia to Dusseldorf flight is on Lufthansa and the Dusseldorf to BKK flight is on Thai Airlines. The returning BKK to Frankfurt flight is on Thai and Frankfurt to Mia is on Lufthansa. .[/QUOTE]There is no direct flight from DUS to BKK, neither Lufthansa, nor Thai. You have to go via Frankfurt or Munich.

Unless you took AirBerlin, charter airlines.

[QUOTE=Natty Bumpo;1372291]Tip: If you don't see partner flights offered on the United website call the United Mileage Plus reservation number and ask about alternative partner flights. Not everything available is listed on the website. To book flights with as few miles as possible, book as early as possible. 9 months out is not too soon to begin searching. The airlines are real c*unts when it comes to buying seats using their miles.[/QUOTE]I recommend Thai Inter over Lufthansa for just one reason. At certain times of year, it is very difficult to get a seat on Frankfurt to BKK with Lufthansa, e. G. Just before Christmas. So when I wanted to change my flight date they said sorry, no seats available on any of several days in December and did not even offer to wait list me. Had to buy another ticket on a different airline to get home for Christmas. I guess the problem is too many Germans want to run away to BKK on Lufthansa escaping cold winter. On Thai Inter, I don't have this problem. Its possible my Gold status on Royal Orichid helps me get preference. I don't seem to have hassles to utilize my miles with Thai airways either where I certainly have had difficulties with other airlines. I never am able to book a definite date 9 months out. I get rather short notice for work in various countries.

[QUOTE=Bionicman;1372300]There is no direct flight from DUS to BKK, neither Lufthansa, nor Thai. You have to go via Frankfurt or Munich.[/QUOTE]You are right, sir. My outgoing flight is MIA / DUS / Rome on Lufthansa and Rome / BKK on Thai. My returning flight is BKK / Frankfurt / MIA.

My flight leaves MIA at 6:35pm Sat Miami time and arrives in BKK 6:05am Mon Bangkok time roughly 24 hours later. I was able to get my preferred assigned aisle seats on all but the DUS - Rome leg of my flight.

[QUOTE=Bionicman; 1372300]There is no direct flight from DUS to BKK, neither Lufthansa, nor Thai. You have to go via Frankfurt or Munich.

Unless you took AirBerlin, charter airlines.[/QUOTE]Agreed no Thai flight out of Duesseldorf. Can just catch a train from Duesseldorf to Frankfurt airport.

Thai also flys from Zurich, so can get an el-cheapo flight Duesseldorf to Zurich. May well be other possibilities, like via Amsterdam, Copenhagen, etc.

[QUOTE=Natty Bumpo;1372177]You're longing for something familiar like US style Strip Clubs in Bangkok is the result of spending your entire life in a sexual prison and not knowing it.[/QUOTE]LOL, an excellent analogy, with feminist ideology in the states having put men into shackles, like trained rats in a maze, with even alleged naughty strip clubs mostly just another form of ball busting.

[QUOTE=Natty Bumpo; 1372304]You are right, sir. My outgoing flight is MIA / DUS / Rome on Lufthansa and Rome / BKK on Thai. My returning flight is BKK / Frankfurt / MIA.

My flight leaves MIA at 6:35pm Sat Miami time and arrives in BKK 6:05am Mon Bangkok time roughly 24 hours later. I was able to get my preferred assigned aisle seats on all but the DUS. Rome leg of my flight.[/QUOTE]You may want to look at a routing via Miami, San Fran, Tokyo to Bangkok and back. The connections will be better and there are quite a few Star Alliance carriers to chose from. You can also look at substituting Los Angeles or Seattle for San Fran as well to give you a lot of flexibility.

I got a business class ticket w / 75, 000 miles from US to BKK on a Saver Award 9 months in advance. With a Star Alliance silver or gold membership with your MP Premier status you can also access the foreign carrier's airport lounges, great for those long layovers.

Well I am sitting on 550k miles and 65k seems to be enough for a few RTs. The UA website lists all award travel dates and flight combos but the interesting thing is the best flights from the Alliance airlines don't get offered. It seems for those flights to be listed, UA has to be on one of the segments.

Guess I will call tomorrow and find out if I can use an award on a partner without UA being on one of the segments. I have heard good things about Singapore so that is what I am hoping for.

Via Taiwan from LA or direct from LHR or AMS.

Generally their club Class fares are way below other carriers.

[QUOTE=Syzygies;1372229]If you don't bar-fine them, they may run away to another customer at anytime, if a very popular girl.[/QUOTE]That's ok, I'm not that desperate. Besides in Thailand you never lose your girl, only your turn.

[QUOTE=Syzygies;1372229]Not many customers are avoiding sex unless have no money, or with business associates or friends, or simply didn't find the right girl. I often take 2 girls at the same time, if they like each other. Why limit yourself? There are short time hotels located very close if you cannot take the girl back to your normal hotel.[/QUOTE]I'm avoiding sex with girls simply because I'm bored of them after having their pussies everyday for weeks. And they can be a pain in the ass. It has nothing to do with money, as I enjoy masturbating to super stunning porn. Although I don't mind the dollar savings, being STI safe & not being around a problematic girl.