goodeats21

Really depends on what interests you. With 8/12 hours, you certainly have time to get out of the airport and see /do something.

I would not recommend a group tour, even if there was one available. Private tour guides are a great bargain and asset in Bangkok, especially when you have a limited amount of time.

If this is your first time in Thailand, this is what I would recommend. Book a private tour guide and have them pick you up at BKK. You can choose itinerary before hand based on your interest and get right to it. It has been some time since I used a guide in BKK, but if you need assistance in locating one, PM me.

Of course, if you are more interested in just heading out on your own, it is possible. Taxi or skytrain into town and just experience the great city of Bangkok.

Some options: Great Thai food, shopping, temple (Wat in Thai language) sightseeing, etc.

dsquared37

I don't see why a tour guide would be needed. Just get a map, do some research, and take the train into town.

goodeats21

Certainly not needed, but I found it to be an excellent value for gleaning some information on Thai history and culture. For someone with limited time wishing to check out the Palace, Wat Pho, etc. it makes sense to me.

Of course, it depends on each person. I have often done the "wander around and just take things in approach" and had a great time.

Either way works.

kleinh17

Reading TG's website, I am not quite sure that I understand them correctly regarding the qualification periods and requirements for status (silver or gold).

"10,000 Qualifying Miles from the date of enrolment up to December 31 of the same year, or 10,000 Qualifying Miles during the first complete calendar year after enrolment" (or 50000 miles for gold).
A calender year is 1.Jan to 31.Dec.
So, if I enrol now, March 2011, if I fly 10,000 miles until 31.Dec.2011 I will be silver status.
But if I only fly, 5,000 miles in 2011, and another 6,000 in 2012, I will become silver status in 2012 upon reaching the 10,000 miles.
Or should it be a full 10,000 in 2012, and forget about the 9,999 miles 2011 (ignoring the next paragraph for now)?

Now they go on:
"15,000 Qualifying Miles from the date of enrolment up to December 31 of the next complete calendar year." (80,000 for gold).
Isn't that the same period as above, but now they require 15,000 miles?

How do I requalify, 10,000 in one calender year or 15,000 in two calender years?

Somewhere else TG states that the status is obtained upon having enough miles (no need to wait until end of year), and that the status is valid for two years. Does that mean two calender years plus the remaining of the year the status was obtained, or two years (24 months) from the date the status was obtained?

I am a UA MP member (no status anymore, TG declined a status match last year) and as I will be flying more TG now, I consider switching, but wonder what the benefits will be. Two years status is great, a longer qualifying period may be also be great as I am not such a super-frequent flyer. On the other hand I found that UA always had a lot of seats for award traveling even on *A flights; and I still have some UA miles in stock. I hardly flew UA though, only *A (TG, LH, LX, etc.)....
How's ROP handling complimentary upgrades, strictly by the rules and only on operational requirements, or do they 'voluntarily' upgrade you up if seats are available?

Thanks for your help and advice or comments.

bpe

Hi everyone,

I would like to book an economy award ticket for July, and my parents have a bunch of extra TG miles. All I can find online is that its 40 000 miles for an award ticket within the US (from the *A site) and that I would need to call Thai to get the ticket.
Does anyone have any experience with this?

Thanks

dsquared37

Before anything can be booked you would need to be added to your parents' award nominee list in their account(s).

bpe

Alright, I added myself as a nominee (although it seems strange as I have never heard of other airlines doing this).
I haven't tried booking the ticket yet, but was mostly wondering what flights they have available and how easy it is to book them. If I book the ticket now for travel in July, will I be able to select pretty much any UA flight that has open seats?

hgp

For kleinh17

Status qualification applies from when you hit the threshold. So if you hit 50k in May 2011, you'll be Gold from May 2011 to May 2013. You can requalify by flying 50k in the year following qualification (ie. flying 50k in 2012) and this will give you an automatic 2 year extension on Gold to May 2015.

Status applies from when you qualify for 2 years, not 2 years from the end of the year in which you qualify.

ROP look after their Golds (although this depends a lot on the TG*ROP person you're dealing with) to open up award availability where possible. Complimentary upgrades are not as common as on some airlines, but neither are they unheard of. Mostly they will occur for operational reasons (or if you're a TIP).

One short comment. I wouldn't bother with ROP unless you're planning on hitting Gold. The benefits of Silver are nothing much, but Gold is quite nice. On the one hand there are no bonus miles for ROP*G (like UA*PE's receive) but on the other hand award availability is good and the GUPs are a nice perk.

hgp

Depends upon the award inventory UA opens up to *A carriers - it's nothing to do with TG.

Try the ANA website to find UA award flights.

As always, the earlier you book, the greater your chances of getting the flight you want.

forumpersona999

Does that still work ?

I was under the impression that ANA changed their web tools last year sometime and you now need to have had some EQM with ANA in order to use the *A award finder tool.

dsquared37

There are several work arounds that have been discussed quite a bit. Miles are not necessary for the search.

markdg

As with many Qs in this thread, apologies if this has been asked before.... but this is my first trip with TG and I'm unsure what to expect

I'm travelling from CDG-BKK-DPS, returning DPS-BKK-FRA-LHR on a BD points flight (for our honeymoon), and am in F for all legs other than the last FRA-LHR leg where it's not available. (So I hope we'll get to try all three varieties of TG F in one trip!)

This question is about our return flight. It's ticketed all the way through as a single trip. We arrive in BKK at 19:30 and depart BKK the next day at 12:45. As it's our first time in BKK, I've booked us into a hotel in the city for the overnight as it seems to make more sense than just staying by the airport (you've GOT to get at least a little feel of every place you go to, right?!)

So, a few questions, if I may....

1. Since we're in F, do TG do any limo services to and from the airport? ie would they take us to our hotel?
2. It IS a connecting flight as far as I'm aware, but not quite, since it's an overnight. I presume we'll have to take all our luggage with us...?
3. I presume we'll have to pay the 300? Baht Departure tax? That's something we pay on check-in, I presume?
4. Obviously, we'll bypass breakfast in the hotel, and arrive nice and early for a decent F lounge and spa experience

Is there anything I should know about, or be considering?

Thanks all ^

hgp

1. No limo service
2. Depends on check-in. If you check your luggage through to your final destination when you check-in at LHR, then no... but to minimise chance of loss, I recommend collecting your bags in BKK
3. Yes.
4. Spot on... and enjoy!

markdg

Thanks hgp ^

Sorry to be dosy, but I've never flown a flight before where I've had the option of either checking through or collecting. I presume you just tell them at your departure airport that you want to collect?

Re: 4 - Oh yes, I fully intend to

hgp

Correct. Just say you want to check your luggage as far as BKK (and check the luggage tags to make sure it's correct). If they query (which I doubt they will), explain you have a long layover and will be leaving the airport.