Qantas Frequent Flyer members can now redeem their points for Classic Flight Reward seats on Bangkok Airways, a boutique airline based in Thailand.
The expansion of Qantas’ partnership with Bangkok Airways was first announced in 2019 but delayed due to COVID-19. It’s now finally a reality.
Classic Flight Reward seats in Economy Class are available to book on the Qantas website. Pricing is based on the Partner Classic Flight Reward table, with reward seats starting from 10,000 Qantas points for one-way flights up to 600 miles in length.
Business Class reward seats do not appear to be available for travel on Bangkok Airways.
Bangkok Airways operates a network of short-haul flights out of Thailand using Airbus A320 family and ATR72 aircraft. Destinations served include Bangkok, Phuket, Chiang Mai, Ko Samui, Siem Reap, Da Nang, Singapore and the Maldives.
There are no carrier charges when redeeming Qantas points for flights operated by Bangkok Airways. You’ll just need to pay any third-party taxes applicable to your booking.
On a Classic Reward seat from Singapore to Ko Samui, for example, you’d pay 14,000 Qantas points + SGD62 (~AU$68) in taxes:
Compared to the usual airfares on this route starting from SGD267 (~AU$294) one-way, that’s reasonable value.
As well as for travel within Southeast Asia, the partnership between Qantas and Bangkok Airways could be useful when connecting from Qantas or Jetstar flights into Singapore, Bangkok or Phuket to other destinations across the region. For example, you could redeem Qantas points to fly from Melbourne to Singapore and then connect onwards from Singapore to Ko Samui on the same reward ticket.
About Bangkok Airways
Bangkok Airways is a regional full-service airline offering a complimentary checked baggage allowance and on-board catering for all passengers. The airline generally has good reviews. For what it’s worth, it also has a 4-star Skytrax rating.
A unique feature of Bangkok Airways is that, when flying from selected airports, complimentary lounge access is available to all passengers – including in Economy Class!
Join the discussion on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum: Qantas reward bookings on Bangkok Airways
