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Thai Airways’ frequent flyer program, Royal Orchid Plus, offers a variety of ways for travelers to earn and redeem miles. However, it has its strengths and weaknesses, and it's important to have realistic expectations when engaging with the program. This guide will provide an overview of how to earn Royal Orchid Plus miles, highlight redemption options, explain the expiration policy, and how to navigate Thai Airways’ award pricing.
How to Earn Royal Orchid Plus Miles
Flying On Thai Airways
Earning Royal Orchid Plus miles is relatively straightforward when flying with Thai Airways. The miles earned depend on the fare class and the distance flown.
For instance, if you fly Thai Airways Premium Economy in any fare class (U, Y, B), you’ll earn 110% of miles flown.
Flying On Airline Partners
Thai Airways is a member of the Star Alliance, which means you can also earn miles when flying with any of the 26 Star Alliance member airlines, including Lufthansa, United Airlines, and Singapore Airlines.

The earn chart is extremely simple, purely based on the class of service.

Credit Card Transfer Partners

Thai Airways only has one major US-based transfer partner, Citi (1:1). If you don’t have an eligible ThankYou points earning Citi card, it can actually be difficult to rapidly accumulate Thai Royal Orchid Plus miles.

Buy Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus Miles
Thai lets its members purchase up to a maximum of 30,000 miles per award and up to 150,000 miles per year, in increments of 1,000 miles. To purchase miles, you must contact a Thai office.

Miles can be purchased at a rate of $35 USD / 1,000 miles. Not a particularly good rate, but if you need to buy a few miles to secure an award ticket, it might be worth considering.

Do Royal Orchid Plus Miles Expire?
Royal Orchid Plus miles expire after three years, with no option to extend their validity. Miles accrued in each quarter of any given year, and not redeemed, expire at the end of the corresponding quarter 3 years there after.
This strict expiration policy means that infrequent travelers may find it challenging to accumulate and use miles before they expire. Keeping track of your miles and planning your redemptions strategically is essential.
How To Earn TAP Miles&Go Elite Status

Royal Orchid Plus offers three elite status tiers, providing different benefits to frequent flyers. To qualify for status, you need to earn Qualifying Miles by flying on Thai Airways or its partner airlines.

  • Silver: 10,000 Qualifying miles (rolling 12 month period) or 15,000 Qualifying miles (rolling 24 month period)
  • Gold: 50,000 Qualifying miles (rolling 12 month period) or 80,000 Qualifying miles (rolling 24 month period) or complete 40 international sectors on Thai in any 12 rolling month period
  • Platinum: Accumulation of 80,000 miles with THAI, for paid fare travel in Royal First Class or Royal Silk Class only for 2 consecutive 12 month periods
Benefits of elite status include priority check-in, extra baggage allowance, and lounge access. Top tier Thai Platinum fliers will receive an incredible experience when flying, including access to specialized Platinum check-in desks, waived fees, top waitlist/standby priority, more free baggage, etc.
Who Are Thai’s Airline Partners?

As a member of the Star Alliance, Thai Airways has partnerships with 26 other member airlines, including:

  • Lufthansa
  • United Airlines
  • Singapore Airlines
  • Air Canada
  • ANA
These partnerships allow you to earn and redeem miles across the Star Alliance network, providing extensive global coverage.
How Thai Prices Its Award Flights
Thai Airways uses a zone-based award chart to price its award flights. The chart categorizes destinations into zones, and the mileage cost is determined by the origin and destination zones and the class of service. This system can be relatively easy to navigate, but high redemption rates and limited availability can be frustrating.

The following award chart is used for direct point to point travel for domestic and international Thai itineraries marketed & operated by Thai Airways:

The following award chart is used for international award travel with Thai to depart from or arrive to any domestic Thailand destination with a connection in Bangkok (essentially using Bangkok as a layover).

Thai also has a published award chart for Star Alliance partner flights, but this is a very complicated chart with many options (and is a bit of an eyesore). I’ve put it below as an optional dropdown, so proceed cautiously.

Thai Airways Star Alliance Partner Award Chart Dropdown

Thai Airways Sweet Spot Redemptions 2024
While Thai Airways’ Royal Orchid Plus program may not be the most generous (and updated/well-maintained) program available, there are still some sweet spot redemptions that can provide decent value for your miles:
Travel Intra “North America/Caribbean” In Star Alliance Business Class For Just 27,500 Miles One Way
The Thai Airways award chart offers some solid redemptions for intra “North America/Caribbean” flights. This zone defines North America/Caribbean as USA (excluding Hawaii), Canada, Anguilla, Antigua, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Curacao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Nevis, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St. Martin, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos, Virgin Islands (US and UK).
So, that means you could book any of these flights in business class for just 27,500 miles each way:
  • United Airlines: Newark <> Nassau, Bahamas (3 hr flight)
  • Air Canada: Toronto <> Punta Cana (4.5 hr flight)
  • United Airlines: Newark <> Aruba (5 hr flight)
Take Thai Airways First Class Between Bangkok And Europe For 125k Miles One Way
Thai usually releases just one first class award seat on its Bangkok/Europe route, making it an incredibly difficult award to secure. However, booking through Thai is usually the best way to do it since you’ll get earlier access to book.
  • Bangkok <> London (LHR)
  • Bangkok <> Frankfurt (FRA)
Lie Down In United Airlines Business Class Via USA <> South America For 65k Miles One Way
Flying to South America from the United States can be a long flight, but you can make that experience all that much better by flying in Polaris business class. If you can find the availability, all of these flights cost just 65k Thai miles each way:
  • Newark <> Bogotá (6 hour flight)
  • Houston <> Bogotá (5 hour flight)
  • Newark <> Sao Paulo (10 hour flight)
  • Newark <> Lima (8 hour flight)
Thai Airways Award Cancellation Policy
Thai charges a pretty hefty fee to redeposit your award miles (you also have the option to pay with miles if preferred):
Thai Airways Stopover Policy for Award Bookings
Thai Airways offers a convenient stopover policy for award bookings, allowing travelers to break up their journey and explore additional destinations without incurring significant additional costs.
Booking a stopover is simple (in theory):
  • Online Booking: Use the multi-city booking option on the Thai Airways website to include a stopover in Bangkok when searching for award flights.
  • Customer Service: If you encounter difficulties booking a stopover online, contact Thai Airways customer service. They can assist in adding a stopover to your award booking.
Stopovers incur a $95 USD fee for each stopover.
Conclusion
The Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus program offers a range of earning and redemption opportunities, but it has its drawbacks. High mileage requirements, limited award availability, and a strict expiration policy can make it challenging for infrequent travelers to get significant value from their miles. However, with careful planning and by focusing on sweet spot redemptions, it is possible to find decent value in the program.