Made any travel mistakes lately?

[JohnK]

BNE-CNX return on SQ/TR was ~$5500 for 3 of us at Christmas. So I booked PER-CNX for wife/daughter for $2900 and my flights were going to be ~$1600 and use points to PER and back saving a fair amount of cash and using useless points stash.

Checking again now and there is very limited availability PER-CNX for me and what is available is $2300+. Cannot book on SQ as they redirect to Scoot only.

Looks like we will be travelling separately. There's also the possibility I may not find airfares to travel. Did someone say airfares are coming down? This is ridiculous. I have never seen airfares this high ever. Stress.

 

[drron]

Thought I had booked a flight at 8pm from DOH but it was an 0800 departure. About the time our cruise ship arrived. Fortunately 2 F awards the next day and the only date available in the next 3 wee. Talk about luck but cost me $100 cancellation fee

 

[LCC]

Thought I had booked a flight at 8pm from DOH but it was an 0800 departure. About the time our cruise ship arrived. Fortunately 2 F awards the next day and the only date available in the next 3 wee. Talk about luck but cost me $100 cancellation fee

I think I have finally trained myself when using booking.com to select 15:00 instead of 3:00 to tell the accommodation provider my time of arrival!

 

[drron]

I think I have finally trained myself when using booking.com to select 15:00 instead of 3:00 to tell the accommodation provider my time of arrival!

Wait until you are older and your brain starts turning to mush. I think I’m doing the right thing but it all turns out differently.

 

[k_sheep]

Thought I had booked a flight at 8pm from DOH but it was an 0800 departure. About the time our cruise ship arrived. Fortunately 2 F awards the next day and the only date available in the next 3 wee. Talk about luck but cost me $100 cancellation fee

Ooof, got out relatively cheaply for that one though. Close call!

 

[Blinky]

I have flown roughly 500 sectors on VA. But have only once made a wrong booking. Last Sunday I thought I had booked a 9amish flight back from OOL-MEL and arrived at the Lounge calm and relaxed. Only to be told there was no such flight. When I triumphantly showed the booking on my iPad, the “pm” was pointed out.

Thank goodness for fly forward. I got on a 11amish flight out.

 

[JohnK]

Has anyone ever booked flights in Thailand via an OTA and not direct with airline?

Thai Airways wants 8040 baht (~AUD330) for 3 of us to fly CNX-BKK next Friday.

Trip.com has charged AUD265 for same flight. 28 degrees has been charged but no e-ticket yet. They guarantee that e-ticket will be issued within 48 hours.

Hope no issues as this could be an expensive flight if booked on Tuesday for travel on Friday.

 

[p--and--t]

Has anyone ever booked flights in Thailand via an OTA and not direct with airline?

Thai Airways wants 8040 baht (~AUD330) for 3 of us to fly CNX-BKK next Friday.

Trip.com has charged AUD265 for same flight. 28 degrees has been charged but no e-ticket yet. They guarantee that e-ticket will be issued within 48 hours.

Hope no issues as this could be an expensive flight if booked on Tuesday for travel on Friday.

I used Trip.com.last year Bne-Sin a lot cheaper for same seat than on the airline direct (SingAir) but not always the case.

Watch out for the "free" enrolment to their "club". In 12 months time they will bill your credit card $99 renewal fee even though you didn't authorise.

 

[gaz0303]

I failed to read the fine print on partner earning rules for KrisFlyer. Booked a V class ticket with NZ, thinking I was safe from the L,S,G,K fares that are clearly highlighted as non-earners. Should have just booked earlier in S and saved a few dollars.

 

[JohnK]

So I've been watching the PER-CNX airfares rise on Skyscanner and Expedia.

Went to book PER-CNX-BKK-CNX/CNX-SIN-PER on SQ/TR/PG and Expedia informing that airfare has gone up from $2143 to $2213. No problem. Choose seats and then go to finalise booking and price increases to $2397. No indication of what may have increased the airfare. No mention of booking fee etc.

Tried Trip.com via Cashrewards. Had similar airfare at $2100-$2200 but starting searching for PER-BKK return and I'll book domestic legs.

I booked PER-SIN-BKK return for $1870 including reducing cancellation free to $260 and removing Trip.com fees for any change/cancellation. One leg BKK-SIN is Scoot and the rest on SQ. Have chosen seats already. Flights don't look full from seat maps so don't know what's causing the constant increase in airfare. I'll purchase BKK-CNX return separately on PG/TG.

I think I should get 2.5% back from Cashrewards? And as it turns out only PER-SIN-PER are with wife and daughter. The rest are on separate flights. Hope nothing goes wrong with these bookings.

Need to rethink our strategy if airfares continue to go up for future trips. Shouldn't airfares be coming down with increase in capacity? Maybe back to April and September trips with daughter out of school extra week each time until she goes to high school.

 

[Askance]

Thinking mid Wales would be quiet, not realising the RAF like doing donuts over Snowdonia

 

[JohnK]

Chatting with wife the other day and I realised that she is not covered for accidents on our trips to Thailand. She is fully covered for health issues but not as a result of an accident. Need to look at AXA insurance for future trips.

Note that my daughter is included for free on my annual travel insurance policy.

 

[justinbrett]

The latch on your hotel door (square 90 degree kind) is not meant for you to open and prevent your door from shutting while you go and get ice.

I can confirm it does a terrible job from preventing your door from locking, and an excellent job from keeping you or anyone else from re-entering.

View attachment 1720345715023.jpeg
No less than 5 security guards were required to open the door, including one that drew blood.

 

[Lost Redditor]

The latch on your hotel door (square 90 degree kind) is not meant for you to open and prevent your door from shutting while you go and get ice.

I can confirm it does a terrible job from preventing your door from locking, and an excellent job from keeping you or anyone else from re-entering.

View attachment 395458
No less than 5 security guards were required to open the door, including one that drew blood.

Curious how they got it open and even more curious how wedged that latch was!
I've seen people solve similar issues using two iPhones and FaceTime to see the inside (slid one phone under the door) and then using a straightened coat hanger to dislodge it

 

[justinbrett]

Curious how they got it open and even more curious how wedged that latch was!
I've seen people solve similar issues using two iPhones and FaceTime to see the inside (slid one phone under the door) and then using a straightened coat hanger to dislodge it

No way you’d get a phone under the door.

It was basically a bit of rigid wire with a hook, and lots of trial and error.

It sounded like I’m not the first to do it. Seems a bit of a design flaw.

 

[JohnK]

I've totally screwed up the planning of end of year trip to Thailand.

Last year we arrived in BKK and flew out of CNX so only needed 3 x one-way flights BKK-CNX. I booked these very late in December and were roughly THB3000 each which is expensive but not unexpected for bookings so close to travel.

This year wife/daughter are going in/out of CNX and due to my procrastination I'm going in/out of BKK.

I need a BKK-CNX return and all 3 of us will also go CNX-BKK return for a few days in Pattaya after New Years.

I don't know what made me check airfares early but earlier this month saw they were a little bit expensive for 5-6 months out. And then each day going up.

I've panicked and booked 2 airfares for me already for THB3200 and THB2700 and the CNX-BKK for the 3 of us at THB2200 each. Still need to book another 3 airfares. Lucky I checked otherwise airfares will be close th THB5000 one-way soon.

I don't want to travel end of year again. I hate this game the airlines ate playing. This is ridiculous. Everything including car hire and hotels is through the nose. We'll go back to April and September trips. Songkran isn't far off end of year prices but a little better.

 

[Flashback]

I've totally screwed up the planning of end of year trip to Thailand.

Last year we arrived in BKK and flew out of CNX so only needed 3 x one-way flights BKK-CNX. I booked these very late in December and were roughly THB3000 each which is expensive but not unexpected for bookings so close to travel.

This year wife/daughter are going in/out of CNX and due to my procrastination I'm going in/out of BKK.

I need a BKK-CNX return and all 3 of us will also go CNX-BKK return for a few days in Pattaya after New Years.

I don't know what made me check airfares early but earlier this month saw they were a little bit expensive for 5-6 months out. And then each day going up.

I've panicked and booked 2 airfares for me already for THB3200 and THB2700 and the CNX-BKK for the 3 of us at THB2200 each. Still need to book another 3 airfares. Lucky I checked otherwise airfares will be close th THB5000 one-way soon.

I don't want to travel end of year again. I hate this game the airlines ate playing. This is ridiculous. Everything including car hire and hotels is through the nose. We'll go back to April and September trips. Songkran isn't far off end of year prices but a little better.

It's supply and demand, everyone wants to travel then so hence prices are higher.

 

[JohnK]

It's supply and demand, everyone wants to travel then so hence prices are higher.

It's never that simple is it?

It's quite obvious there are not enough flights scheduled end of year between the 2 major cities in Thailand.

How do I know? Tourist numbers are down in Thailand. Not just low season bit high season tourist numbers are down and continue to remain down so airlines schedule less flights.

And that cannot be good for anyone, can it? Close to AUD1000 for domestic flights. That's totally ridiculous.

 

[Buzzard]

This morning when I packed my bag to check in, I forgot to pack my toiletries bag. Rather than unlock it and move stuff around, I just put it in my backpack to carry on, without giving it much thought.
3 pairs of scissors and a waiters friend were confiscated at security. $50 or so gone.

 

[SydneySwan]

This morning when I packed my bag to check in, I forgot to pack my toiletries bag. Rather than unlock it and move stuff around, I just put it in my backpack to carry on, without giving it much thought.
3 pairs of scissors and a waiters friend were confiscated at security. $50 or so gone.

Been there - done that! Only 2 scissors though!