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AirAsia Asean Pass - ~ $175 10 Credits, ~ $313 20 Credits - Very Cheap SE Asia Flights

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I'm pretty sure everyone here loves their cheap SE Asian getaways and now Air Asia is offering what seems like a pretty awesome deal for tourists who want to fly around a few countries. They have a new system where you can pre purchase "Credits" for flights in bulk and then redeem them for different flights. Lots of flights are 1 credit and some are 3 credits so you should get a minimum 4 flights and possibly 6 or more (10 is possible but would be pretty restricted) for your 10 credits. Note you still have to pay taxes and baggage isn't included but taxes in particular are quite cheap at SE Asian airports.

The cost is $499 Malaysian Ringits (~$175 AUD) for 10 credits with 30 days expiry or $888 MYR (~$313 AUD) for 20 credits and 60 days expiry. The expiry date is measured from the time of the first flight so you can book now and the 30 days doesn't start until you take your first flight. You have 1 year to book the first flight before it expires.

There is heaps of information on how it works in the deal link.

And please refrain from to many comments about their recent crash in Indonsesia, they fly hundreds of routes a day and have some of the most modern planes in Asia.

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closed Comments

  • +1

    Sounds like great value but redemption is via Bigshot login instead of their normal flight booking procedure. This means they can restrict seat availability any which way they like. Chances are that you'll be flying unsociable hours during peak seasons.

    Can I get a seat on any flight that I want to redeem?
    Flight redemption is limited and subject to seat's availability, it may not be available on every flight or day, ie weekend, public holiday and school holiday.

    • +2

      Good point, Luckily when you're on holidays weekends probably don't mean as much to you :D

  • +3

    Need to highlight those important conditions at top of deal description:

    Use all credit within 30/60 days of first flight or lose credits
    Plus taxes
    Plus baggage

    Plus usual seat booking fee, meals, etc

    Handy to give examples of where different amounts of credit will get you within ASEAN country limit…
    ASEAN is a 10-country political and economic association consisting of
    Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, the Philippines, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.

    The AirAsia Asean Pass is a travel pass that allows guests to book our low fares with credits, at least 14 days or more before the departure date to travel to more than 140 routes all across ASEAN.

    That's quite a few conditions!!

    I usually book on sale cheaper.

    • Yeah, there were a lot to post but I did mention the expiry, taxes and baggage above. Thanks for highlighting it. Mods could you include this bold in the deal description.

      • It's best to know these important details up front. I usually travel for longer, so might not suit me. Also most fares are quite cheap in sales.

        Also I think a lot of people in Australia don't know the membership of ASEAN countries that make up the destinations in an ASEAN PASS ;-) (it's in the link)

        • Yeah sale fares normally need to be booked months in advance though. Assuming there is decent availability only needing to book 14 days in advance will be a lot better.

        • @stirlo:
          A 14 day wait period with a Pass that expires within 30 days of activation is definitely a worry!

          I have been in Malaysia when a very cheap sale came up - which was for flights in a few days.

          I don't mind booking sale flights weeks in advance when planning a trip. But when in a country, a 14 day wait to leave certainly does not suit me. I often have left within a few days from one country to another when weather conditions changed, I wanted to go to a festival or to continue travelling with a new friend.

          But restrictions may suit others.
          Certainly no criticism of OP. I'm always travelling - cheaply.

        • @brucefromaustralia: Yeah I see what you mean. I'm more of a set my itinery for 3 weeks in advance guy. :D

        • @stirlo:
          Poop! Poop!
          What a stunning means of locomotion!
          What a glorious and stirring sight!
          As powerful as the open ocean,
          As graceful as a swan in flight!
          Now that’s the way to really travel,
          Oh, how its fenders gleamed and glowed!
          Here today, next week tomorrow,
          That’s the Life on the Open Road…

          I do like uninhibited travel, well as best as I can do on a budget up to 9 months a year ;-)

  • -8

    Bet it's impossible to book decent flights without paying a 'premium.'

    Pass.

    • There isn't a premium option, however they may be unavailable I guess. I've bought a 10 pass and I'm planning to go Bangkok to Hanoi so I'll book it in and see how availability is. The Bangkok Hanoi flight was costing around $150 alone and with this pass its only 1 credit so I think it will be hard to come out worse off.

    • Not a valid reason for a neg!
      And apparently not even correct.

  • Taxes are often many times the cost of the airfare itself, so while it seems like a good deal you'll still be paying a fair bit in cash.

    Here was my breakdown for my 1hr flight between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur a couple of years ago:

    1 Guest $6.40 airfare
    Passenger Security Fee $8.00
    Passenger Service Fee $13.90
    Airport Fee $3.00
    Aviation Levy $6.10
    Fuel Surcharge $5.00 (now no longer charged)
    Sub Total $42.40

    So that's $36SGD in taxes and fees.

    • The airfare is almost free when AirAsia has its frequent sales. It's usually the add on charges people complain about on OzBargain.

    • Yes for some destinations, but it's the other way in others. Here's an example of Bangkok to Bali. Without deal $335.80. With deal 6 credits (~$110) plus $29 tax which makes it cheaper even if you don't use the remaining 4 credits.

      BOOKING SUMMARY
      Total AUD
      ≈335.68
      Bangkok - Don Mueang (DMK) to Bali (DPS)
      DEPART
      FD 396 DMKDPS 1130, 15 Apr 2015
      0615, 15 Apr 2015
      Fare
      1 x ≈178.24 AUD
      1 Adult(s)

      Taxes and fees
      ≈29.00 AUD
      Airport charges and fees
      ≈207.23 AUD
      RETURN
      QZ 520 DPSDMK 1125, 22 Apr 2015
      0745, 22 Apr 2015
      Fare
      1 x ≈128.45 AUD
      1 Adult(s)

      Taxes and fees
      ≈0.00 AUD
      Airport charges and fees
      ≈128.45 AUD

  • +3

    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/183534

    There's a link in there to a blog describing an actual experience buying and redeeming the pass credits. IMO unless you're very flexible, I would be very hesitant to buy the pass.

    Main cons to me from reading people experience was only allows bookings 1 person at a time and lack of flight availability.

    • To be fair, the poster who left a response that they experienced issues was trying to fly to Chiang Mai for Songkran. They also were looking to fly to destinations that weren't directly served by AirAsia, causing them to have to yoyo back through the AirAsia hub.

      That being said, there's clearly only a specific market these passes will be suitable for and it's likely to end in disappointment for many who buy them.

  • no thanks! Air Asia safety rating on airlineratings has Air Asia a 2/7 and Air Asia X 4/7.

  • -2

    Air Asia is shit! I will never fly them again!

    I'm currently awaiting compensation for the infamous Melbourne Bali cancelled flights in December 2014.

    Their customer service is the worst I've ever seen! Emails unanswered, longest wait on phones etc. etc. etc.

    My 2c - please avoid this airline to the extent possible!

    They will sell these cheap tickets and then cancel the flights!

    • -2

      Why Neg? There is nothing untrue about what I said! They are a crap airline and will continue to be that way!

  • +4

    I'm sure I could have gotten plenty of use from this in the past when I was a frequent traveler around SE Asia. It looks like it might bring back some of the magic of the old AirAsia sales too.

    Certainly I know there were plenty of places I traveled to just because they were on sale and had a great time as a result. Padang in Indonesia and Labuan in Malaysia are two places I'd probably never have visited if it wasn't for stupidly cheap tickets.

    I think the value for this pass is for anyone who's just looking for a holiday without a particular destination in mind. For them I'm sure it could lead to a serendipitous adventure at a reasonable price. If you had set destinations or dates that weren't flexible then it looks like it's unlikely to be suitable unfortunately.

    • +1

      Great attitude to travelling. :-)

  • All I can say is that bloody goodness in Australia we now have a law that says all charges need to be included in our advertised fares.

  • Plotted out a rough itinerary of Singapore - Bandung - KL - Yangon - Bangkok - Hanoi (Hanoi to Siem Reap by land) - KL. Total cost of airfares would be roughly $505. Taxes were $141. Meaning total savings of about $189. This is with carry on only and as mentioned above, all flights would need to be available. Not bad though I suppose.

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