Having self terminated my flight in Hong Kong rather than
deal with an odd layover before traveling onto Phuket I’m now left with the added challenge of getting from
Hong Kong to Bangkok. There are plenty
of carriers that make the flight and I only need a one way fare for two. I could purchase a fare but why would I if an
option exists to use points? I
was stuck on how to proceed. Enter co-worker points traveler extradinaire.
A quick text message describing my plight was answered with the following response… “Avios, Inter-Asia 7,500 URs” Within 15 minutes of this cryptic message I was ticketed on Cathay (economy class) for the one way to Bangkok plus $45 per ticket in taxes. Co-worker message directed me to search the British Airways site for a flight. Once I found a suitable flight I went to my ultimate rewards account and transferred 15K points to my British Airways account. The transfer was instantaneous. British Airways refers to their frequent flyer points as Avios. Soon as the points appeared I booked the flight online. Each flight was 7,500 Avios points. I charged the taxes to my American Express and had my tickets. It was that easy. Each ticket would have cost $441.80. A savings of $793.60 for 15 minutes of time.
A quick text message describing my plight was answered with the following response… “Avios, Inter-Asia 7,500 URs” Within 15 minutes of this cryptic message I was ticketed on Cathay (economy class) for the one way to Bangkok plus $45 per ticket in taxes. Co-worker message directed me to search the British Airways site for a flight. Once I found a suitable flight I went to my ultimate rewards account and transferred 15K points to my British Airways account. The transfer was instantaneous. British Airways refers to their frequent flyer points as Avios. Soon as the points appeared I booked the flight online. Each flight was 7,500 Avios points. I charged the taxes to my American Express and had my tickets. It was that easy. Each ticket would have cost $441.80. A savings of $793.60 for 15 minutes of time.
Hong Kong to Bangkok is only a 3.5 hour flight and I was
thrilled to have a ticket on a carrier I knew rather than trusting the likes of
a low cost carrier like Air Asia, or Dragon Air…all of which I am sure are decent
products but since we are talking Asia here I have no way of really knowing and
I didn’t feel like researching airline statistics on each of the local carriers
to find out.
There are still some
transportation needs that remain to be worked out for this trip such as how I
am getting from Hua Hin to Phuket to what amounts to an 8 hr drive. I might either rent a car, take a bus or get
back to Bangkok and take another flight.
I’m not concerned about it enough at this point to really do anything. With the majority of the logistics booked I can start concentrating
on the fun stuff like elephant trekking, sights to see, and what to do. Those of you who know me understand I won’t
be doing the standard tourist things.
Adventure and excitement will surround me, so stay tuned.
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