lmschmale

Has anyone ever had difficulty booking a flight on the Bangkok Airways website from the US (or ourside SE Asia)? I have tried three times now, with 2 different Visa cards, and they have been rejected. I get an error message saying "Sorry this transaction cannot be completed" Before booking, I called the credit card company to inform them of our travel booking and plans so they are not blocking the transaction, and in fact we have had no other problem booking other flights and hotels in the region with these cards. Is this typical? Do I need someone there, like a friend or travel agent, to book for me? I tried calling the 1-866-BANGKOK number but they were not helpful and referred me to the number in Thailand which will be an expensive call (I assume...) We're just trying to purchase a flight from Siem Reap to Bangkok. Thanks in advance for your assistance!

simpsonc510

I have not tried to book on line, but I can tell you this. As a business owner in the USA, we cannot process credit card payments from other countries "on line." They will be denied everytime. I don't know why...

WillJame

Phone an agent of Bangkok Air in NYC, Chicago, or San francisco (nos. on their website). They are sticky about credit cards anywhere in the world!

lmschmale

The number I called the morning is the number listed for their NYC and Chicago office although I'm pretty sure the person I spoke to was NOT in the US. They had no idea how to help me.

cestgaston

On June 11, I have booked BKK to Siem Reap with Bangkok Airways thru their web site and the only problem I had was that they did not want to take my Business Master Card but they took my Macy's Visa.There is also an extra step before closing the transaction.You are redirected to their credit card processor and complete the transaction there.
Good luck

lcuy

Both times I was booking with Bangkok Air, I had the exact same problem. To make matters worse, one time it was for last minute tickets during Christmas and I was worried I would lose the seats when the purchase wasn't completed.

That time, I finally got through the US number and got the tickets over the phone.

the other time, I just kept trying and the transaction finally just worked. I did use a Visa card, and they use that "validate with visa" thing at the end. Register with that first, and call your credit card company right before you try to do the transaction. It's really irritating, but I've found with a lot foreign airlines, I literally have to call within 10 minutes or Visa (& AMEX) will reject it.

WillJame

Imschmale, this is a common problem that many have reported in the past; but there is a work-around. Check their website for American representatives, and DON'T use the 1-866- number. You can email them, e.g., [email protected] in Chicago and ask for a direct phone number in the US. But see the post above for an online option.

travelduo

I had the same problem when booking tickets from my wife and Tong to CM. I eneded up just sending them an email telling them what I needed and we took care of it all that way. I had the same problem with buying train tickets for a our Peru trip next month also, because my Visa was not part of their verified by Visa program.

lmschmale

Thanks! I've emailed their NYC office since I live in NYC so hopefully I can figure it out this way. I've had similar problems booking train tickets for within Italy from the US as well. Hopefully Bangkok Airways' NYC office can help because I leave in about 3 weeks! Thanks everyone

Mandilulur

I just had to keep trying! First the website told me that there were no flights on Bangkok Air to Siem Reap, then it didn't want to take my credit card. I must have tried four or five times over two days before everything worked.

mohan

I tried to call the NYC office last week and nobody ever picked up the phone. it sound like a fax line to me.

Then I called the 1-866-Bangkok to ask if i could go to the NYC office to book my tickets and go thru the terms and conditions with a real person. The 1-866 rep told me no and said i should do the bookings on the 1-866 phone line. I asked what if I have to change the time and date of the flight in the middle of the trip. The rep said i should call the 1-866 number at all times even when I am in BKK. When she said that, I decided not to book the tickets with her and do some research on my own. It didn't make too much sense to me and she didn't sound too sure.

it's not a bad idea to post on Trip advisor as well since you only have three weeks left.

Good luck.

lmschmale

For future reference to people on this board, this is what I ended up doing: I emailed Bangkok Airways' NYC office and they promptly emailed me back with their local phone number: 212-502-4941 (Mon-Fri 9am-5:30pm). Unfortunately, they were not able to offer me the same price as listed on the website; it was US$40 more. I had 2 options: give the woman my credit card number over the phone and pay an additional 7percent processing fee for the credit card; or I could go to their office (450 7th Ave, Suite 705) and pay in cash to avoid the additional 7percent. Hopefully, this is helpful for someone else in the future!!!

bizzyb

I read this post with interest because I needed to book 5 tickets from Bangkok to Koh Samui. So today I held my breathe and booked the flight. No problems whatsoever, they did direct me to their site to process the credit card transaction and I do have the "verified by visa" on my Chase credit card.

FirstTimeToAsia

I recently booked a trip from BKK to Samui and did not encounter any difficulties (but was also directed to the "verified by visa." Sorry you had difficulty--hope it works out!

nibblette

Anybody know how to book a multi-segment on the website? Even using BKK as the originating airport, only 5 options are offered, all domestic. As BKK is their hub, obviously they fly to multiple international locales.