Bangkok Airways has brought back their Elite & Elite Plus cards, which offer cardholders unlimited flights with the carrier for one year, throughout 2025.
Interested customers have to apply for the product until November 30, 2022 and Bangkok Airways will then process the purchase and payment.
You can access more information about The Elite on the Bangkok Airways website here and here.
Interested customers have to apply for the product until December 16, 2024 and Bangkok Airways will then process the purchase and payment.
Both cards differ in flight availability in that the Elite Card includes all domestic routes within Thailand, while the Elite Plus Card also includes all of Bangkok Airways’ international destinations.
Here are the current routes served by Bangkok Airways:
The international routes currently served by PG are Samui-Hong Kong, Samui-Singapore, Bangkok-Maldives, Bangkok-Phnom Penh, Bangkok-Siem Reap, and Bangkok-Luang Prabang.
The cost for the two card products is as follows:
- ELITE CARD (Domestic): 120,000 Thai Baht + 7% VAT = 128,400 THB
- ELITE PLUS CARD (Add Routes): 190,000 Thai Baht + 7% VAT = 203.300 THB
Here is a description of the product supplied previously:
Bangkok Airways Elite Card is considered a “one-of-a-kind” product and an amazing opportunity for Bangkok Airways frequent-flyers who are seeking top value-for-money products. Bangkok Airways Elite Card will be offered in two categories which are: Elite category and Elite Plus category. The Elite card will allow its members to enjoy unlimited travel on all domestic flights, while the Elite Plus card will allow its members to enjoy unlimited journeys on domestic and international flights with Bangkok Airways throughout 2024. (1 January – 31 December)
Bangkok Airways Elite Card holders will be entitled to great benefits including preferred seat assignments, priority status (boarding and baggage delivery, premier check-in counter at available airports), and free unlimited reservation modifications including travel date and flight changes. In addition to that, members will get Blue Ribbon Club lounge access (BRC), extra baggage allowance of 10 kilograms over the normal 20 kilograms, and discount privileges on offers with our Beyond Flying Privileges partners.
It’s hard to say if this product has a good value. It was available before (in 2020) for 100,000 Baht and has now increased to 128,000 Baht incl VAT which is US$3694.
Yes, these are unlimited flights, but at the end of the day, it all comes down to how often someone is actually able to use them. The only worthwhile case I can make for this is for commuters who live in one part of Thailand but work, for example, in Bangkok.
Another choice, especially for the international Elite Plus Card, is for business travelers with projects and frequent appointments at international destinations.
The card can be purchased via this website link directly from the airline:
For leisure travelers, this will be an investment that’s hard to justify. Just break it down to a weekly amount:
- ELITE: 2,469 THB per week
- ELITE PLUS: 3,909 THB per week
The definition of “Unlimited travel” is only valid for the base fare and does not include ancillaries, add-ons, airport charges, taxes and regulatory fees, or other applicable charges.
You would have to fly every single week in order to maintain this value considering the pricing for pretty much any other domestic destination other than Samui, you can buy a round trip for less than this. And as soon as you miss one week the ratio moves up, making it even harder to benefit.
A one-way ticket on Bangkok Airways’ (or Thai Airways) domestic network runs 1500-2000 Baht, with the exception of Samui, which is usually 2400-4000 Baht. You can obviously get it a lot cheaper when using low-cost carriers such as Air Asia and VietJet (not for Samui, though).
For international routes, it could indeed be interesting from a value perspective but again, how often would one take an international trip, let alone to the most expensive destination, the Maldives?
Let’s look at the benefits of the card:
Benefits and Privileges
- Unlimited travel with The Elite Card on economy class one-way or return tickets to any domestic destination for Elite and any domestic and international destination for Elite Plus operated by Bangkok Airways
- Eligible for reservation from 23 December 2024 – 31 December 2025, and traveling from 01 January 2025 to 31 December 2025
- Upgrade to FlyerBonus Premier membership status throughout year 2025 (Premier Plus status remain unchanged)
- Preferred seat assignment
- Priority Baggage handling
- Priority airport stand-by
- Premier Check-in Counter (where available)
- Blue Ribbon Club lounge access (only for valid The Elite Card holder) and receive 5 complimentary Blue Ribbon Club lounge vouchers (5 vouchers) value at 4,750 THB for Elite and Elite Plus
- Extra baggage allowance on Bangkok Airways operating flight according to Flyer Bonus Premier status
- Free unlimited reservation change
- Discount privileges from Beyond Flying Program partners (Beyond Flying Privileges)
FlyerBonus members can earn FlyerBonus points when flying with Bangkok Airways flights and will receive special Tier Bonus points. Tier Bonus points are the number of pre-calculated base points earned from eligible Bangkok Airways flights and membership status on the day of flight activity. Click here for more details.
With this membership, you obviously have a lot more benefits and ticket flexibility than with a standard saver ticket without holding elite status. Plus, you’ll earn additional miles for each flight as loyalty currency.
Interestingly, last time this was offered, there were additional sweeteners, such as a hotel voucher for a free hotel night in the Maldives. This has gone away. The 1SIAM shopping benefits are also gone from what I see.
Conclusion
Bangkok Airways has returned the option to purchase an unlimited pass for flights in the 2025 calendar year. This time, it will come in two versions, one for domestic flights and the other for the carrier’s international destinations.
I’m a bit skeptical about this product because I think the price is a bit too high so that it could be considered a sweet spot. Mind you, in 2020, Bangkok Airways sold the same domestic pass for 100,000 Baht, which was slightly better. But that was during the height of the pandemic.
To make this product worthwhile, you really need to be a very frequent traveler on Bangkok Airways and commute pretty much weekly. Otherwise, you might be better off and more flexible just purchasing tickets on an individual basis.
These are the Terms and Conditions for this product:
Members of The Elite can unlimitedly travel on domestic and The Elite Plus can unlimitedly travel on domestic and international flights operated by Bangkok Airways or other carriers under leasing by Bangkok Airways, during the period from January 1 to December 31, 2025.The Elite is available to be purchased by FlyerBonus Members only. Become a member, click hereThe Elite member must ensure their details registered in FlyerBonus Member account (e.g. full name and date of birth) are correct and identical to the spelling in passport or identity card. These details will be used for flight booking.Bookings can be made online at www.bangkokair.com/theelite2025 (The Elite member must log in to FlyerBonus Member account to book flights online), Ticket Office or Bangkok Airways call center 1771 (+66 2270 6699).Unlimited travel is only valid for the base fare and does not include ancillaries, add-ons, airport charges, taxes and regulatory fees, or other applicable charges, if any, which shall be payable by the The Elite member at the time of booking.The benefits and privileges are reserved for The Elite members only.The Elite is non-transferable and unable to be exchanged for any cash or kind. Any attempt to transfer or book flight using The Elite for someone other than the member will result in immediate forfeiture of The Elite.After issuing a ticket, flight/date change is permitted without fee. The Elite member names cannot be changed.The Elite members are allowed up to five (5) no-shows. In the event The Elite member exceeds the number of no-shows permitted, Bangkok Airways have the right to cancel The Elite privileges entirely including any future flight(s) booked and/or confirmed, without any liability on the part of Bangkok Airways.The Elite and tickets are non-refundable and cannot be changed into cash.Not valid in conjunction with other promotions, discounts or vouchers.No reissue or reimbursement for any lost, misplaced, or stolen physical The Elite Card.The purchase dates, flight booking dates, and travel dates of The Elite specified herein are based on Thailand local time (GMT+7).The Elite is available in limited numbers.Bangkok Airways reserves its absolute right at any time to delete, add, alter, modify, change or vary any or all of the terms and conditions stated herein without any prior notice.1 purchase per 1 Flyerbonus member.FlyerBonus members are required to complete the order themselves.Refunds are not permitted under any circumstances.The membership card and receipt will be sent within 7 days after the end of the sales period.For further information, please contact Bangkok Airways Call Center 1771 or +66 (2) 270 6699 during office hours (08.00 – 20.00 hours every day).These terms and conditions may change at any time without notice and other conditions may apply.The airline’s routes may increase or decrease throughout the year, depending on the airline’s operational discretion.Passengers can check the flight schedule at https://www.bangkokair.com/flight/flight-schedule.
