Qantas Frequent Flyers can now book Classic Flight Reward seats on Bangkok Airways. That makes the Thai carrier Qantas’ 30th airline partner on which members can redeem points.

Redemptions in Economy Class start at 10,100 Qantas points (plus taxes) on short-hops such as Bangkok to Phuket while the longer North – South routes such as Chiang Mai to Krabi is priced from 14,800 Qantas points.

Redeem Qantas points on Bangkok Airways to fly around Thailand

As you can see above, bookings can be made online and in theory at least, this includes Business Class seats. In practice though, Bangkok Airways isn’t very generous at making Business Class reward seats available to partners.

Given that most routes within Thailand come in under 2 hours of flying time, I suspect most people will be happy to fly Economy anyway.

Here are a few more examples of Classic Flight Reward seat pricing on Bangkok Airways, all prices are for Economy Class;

Who is Bangkok Airways

Bangkok Airways is a full service airline and primarily operates out of Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok. It operates a fleet of 100% narrow body planes such as Airbus 319, 320 and ATR’s, so don’t expect lie-flat seats if you are planning to fly Business Class with them.

Bangkok Airways also operate a handful of what they call, Boutique & Blue Ribbon lounges at Bangkok, Phuket & Chiang Mai, with the former open to all passengers and not just those flying Business Class. Their lounges also form part of the Priority Pass network of lounges, meaning that if you have Priority Pass membership you can access them regardless of which airline or cabin class you are flying.

Relevant Reading : Get Free Priority Pass membership with The American Express Platinum Card

While dwarfed in size and route network by the national carrier and Star Alliance member Thai Airways, Bangkok Airways serve 11 destinations throughout Thailand and a further 13 destinations in neighbouring countries such as Cambodia, Maldives and Singapore.

You can check out full Bangkok Airways route map over here.

Why this new partnership is significant for Qantas Frequent Flyers

Domestic flights within South-East Asia are abundant and cheap, so in most instances it does not make sense to redeem points. That said, there is one exception – flights to and from Koh Samui which is a Bangkok Airways monopoly airport.

If you are not aware, Koh Samui Airport is owned by Bangkok Airways which allows it to ward off any competition and keep the entire market to itself. Unlike other airports in Thailand where low cost carriers like AirAsia throw massive amounts of capacity and help keep fares low, Koh Samui remains firmly out of bounds for them. This means that flights into and out of Koh Samui can often times be insanely expensive.

Koh Samui Airport – Image Courtsey; flickr.com

Consider this, average one-way fares on routes such as Bangkok – Phuket (distance 417 miles) or Bangkok – Chiang Mai (distance 369 miles) are more than 60% cheaper than Bangkok – Koh Samui (distance 288 miles).

During busy travel periods such as School Holidays, return Economy flights between Chiang Mai and Koh Samui can sell for over $600, so to be able to redeem just 29,600 Qantas points (plus taxes) for this trip offers good value IMO.

In the past, we have seen the likes of Thai Airways and Singapore Airlines operate flights out of Koh Samui. This ended with the onset of Covid-19, and to this day, the airport remains a Bangkok Airways monopoly.

In Conclusion

Qantas have just opened redemptions on Bangkok Airways which is excellent news. Though cash fares in Thailand and most of South-East Asia are generally affordable, points can come handy if your travel takes you to Koh Samui.

While there are other points currencies such as Etihad Guest Miles and Asia Miles which allow cheaper redemptions on Bangkok Airways, those bookings cannot be made online. The ease of earning Qantas points, in conjunction with the ability to make online bookings mean that for most people in Australia, it will be the currency of choice for travel on Bangkok Airways.

Will you consider redeeming Qantas points on Bangkok Airways? Leave a comment below.