mmamminna

Hi guys, planning a SE Asia trip. Noticed google flights were a bit inaccurate, as well as scycannner and also noticed skyscanner had cheaper and more options. Am I imagining this?
1) Do you commit to dates ahead of time or book last minute and if last minute, how many days/hours in advance, or show up at the airport? I already booked some hotels with points which is good as I can cancel and be flexible, but no so with flight, which is why I ask how to best plan.
2) Would you commit to 1 airline like Air Asia and fly only with it so you accumulate points? I am estimating around 10 flights. Or fly whatever is cheaper and don't care about the points?
Any tips on strategy for those would be appreciated. Thanks.

Guy Betsy

Please elaborate... your post is very vague.

Example: Where are you based? Where are you flying to? What do you want to do etc.

Air Asia's point system is based on number of tickets you buy and not by mileage.

Please note that some online booking systems lists Air Asia, and some don't. Some lists the local airlines' fares and some don't.... eg Google flights don't, and Expedia does...

ProleOnParole

Just screw any loyalty and book whatever works best for you, or otherwise is the cheapest. As most airlines charge their "convenience fee" for credit card payments per passenger per flight, there is no benefit in booking multiple flights in one go. In fact, there are disadvantages: for example, one airline charges you for their transfer service that you can't opt out of even with a long layover, and if you miss one flight, the subsequent ones on the same booking will be cancelled unless you contact the airline and tell them not to do so. On the other hand, sometimes multiple flights booked together can be cheaper, even if with LCCs; but then some other times the return will be cheaper if booked separately.

For finding good fares you can try kiwi.com. You'd have to be more specific to say how long in advance to book but generally booking last minute is unlikely to be cheap. Some airlines have occasional or regular sales, so the fares can be brought down further a bit.

mmamminna

I am based in the US, but have a ticket to Indonesia from where I'd like to hop around SE Asia. 2 months in advance too much? I don't want to commit to dates in between the countries as if I like it, I'd stay longer, or if I don't, I won't, or if I have to, buy a one way ticket back to the US.
A friend said he shows up at the airport at gets a ticket there, but that won't be me.
Like, I am unsure if I should buy Yogyharta to Bali and Jakarta to Yogyharta now or when I get there, what if international flight gets delayed? Or, plan it all in advance? Thanks for all the feedback.

OskiBear

I usually book in advance, but keep an eye on the time of year and how it currently looks. If the same route is always wide open with fares/flights, it's probably a good indicator that things will stay that way - so long as it's not a busy period.

Also - the base fares that show up on the searches typically end up more expensive once you get to the LCC website - all sorts of fees added on. I'd then go back and compare to a full-service airline to see how it truly compares at that point.

exwannabe

Collect points just in case, they are free after all. But do not decide based on them.

I would not plan very far ahead, but I would try to see how prices work. Right now, go and look at booking your hop around flights all for flights tomorrow, 3 days, 1 week, 1 month. Get a feel for how they change as you get close in.

The odds are very good that your trip will end up like a battle in one way. The first casualty will be the plans :-)

So I would avoid buying any further ahead than need be.

blueferrari

FYI, domestic Indonesian flight has price floor, e.g. DPS-JOG/CGK won't fluctuate too much unless you're planning to fly on long weekends or peak season (or for whatever reason a surge demand occur).

ryandelmundo

Using LCC's:
Skyscanner works great. It gets the LCC's that Google Flights misses.
Try Nusatrip.com for Indonesia based flights, they don't charge a credit card surcharge.
Stick with AirAsia when possible. They nickel and dime the least.
Avoid Tiger and Jetstar. Their fees, only visible at the end, will make your eyes pop out.
Flight prices domestically don't go up until a few days before a flight.
International flights should be bought three weeks in advance or more. It's not always true that they go up last minute, but that seems to be the case on longer flights. SGN-BKK has about 6 flights a day for instance and stays cheap. BKK-DPS only has a few a week and the cheap ones fill up.

Enjoy!

Thai-Kiwi

The can also be very good deals on 'full service' carriers at well throughout Se Asia. THAI International has very competitive fares out of KUL and SGN at times, even cheaper than LCC once the extras/fees are added in.

Worth a look as some sales don't show on OTAs, and in some cases not even in the airline's usual booking engine - i.e. they require you to book through the sale page.

Fyd

Around SE Asia, the LCC all offer great sales with very low prices, often just pennies + taxes/fees! Because you have some time, sign up for AirAsia newsletter now and you can book some tickets during a sale.
Other LCC worth checking out for sales are: Cebu Pacific, NokAir, Lion, Malindo for their countries of operation.
I recommend to find the LCC serving a route you want to fly with Google, Momondo or SkyScanner - then go to the airline site to look for fares. None of the meta search engines are great and sometimes the LCC might not have a flight on one day but a great deal on the day before/after.
I wouldn't book through an OTA, if you can avoid it - I've had plenty of problems with low-cost OTA for Asian carriers. It's much safer and easier to go to airline site directly!
Some international flights for popular destinations do get much more expensive closer to departure, for example international flights to Bali, so I'd not wait for last minute on those! Other flights, ie some destinations within Malaysia on AirAsia, are often still super cheap last minute due to intense competition/low utilization.
On routes with government control (ie within Myanmar) prices don't really change much, so you can book whenever you want.
Most of the LCC reward programs (incl. AirAsia, CebuPac) are revenue based with very low reward rates. They are also not very reliable (especially AirAsia) and points frequently don't post. I wouldn't pick one carrier just to earn miles - go with the cheapest/best for your needs.
If you are very flexible with your destinations and dates (and I really mean VERY, VERY flexible), the AirAsia ASEAN Pass can be a great deal - you buy a number of credits and can use them for flights - very cheap, but availability is very tricky - so YMMV. Tips how to use it here!

ryandelmundo

AirAsia points are worthless. You'd have to fly probably 50 flights to maybe get enough points for one ticket. Better to get a good credit card back home that gets 2X or 3X back on travel (Chase Sapphire Reserve is awesome, 3X points and points worth .015 each so almost 5% back on travel.)

Fyd

For any US based traveler, I'd agree....
If you live in Asia, AirAsia points can be very valuable during their promotions. I just scored a $55 flight for 50 points - $1 value per point, more than most airlines... try getting a flight for 50 points or a value of $1/pt from the US3...
BUT it only makes sense if you live in the region, can jump on sales and are flexible with your dates & destinations... a lot of buts...