Am thnking of going on Priceline to bid for tickets Houston to Bangkok. What would be the lowest price I could get for an April 2004 trip?
Can I pick my airports?
Will priceline assure me that I will arrive in Bangkok on the 2nd day (as most flight options provide?) and also guarantee that I will return home on the same day as departure?
Any other advice before I do this?

Just for laughs, I ran a one-week itinerary from Houston to Bangkok on Northwest World Vacations next April and came up with a ticket price of $852. I'm thinking you could probably get it for even less at some point between now and then. Are you going to need a hotel, etc.? The reason I mention this is because with package deals, you can often access lower airfares and decent deals on other accommodations that you would have been booking anyway. Moreover, in addition to whatever schedule you might end up with on Priceline -- and it's a long trip with even good connections -- you will be leaving from 18,000-20,000 FF miles on the table and a chance to make elite status with perhaps only one more trip during the course of the year. That's a LOT. The bottom line is that if you're going the Priceline route, be sure to discount the lost bennies from your bid. I would estimate them at $250-$300.

I agree about the lost FF miles. I was thinking of posting a bid of $500. If priceline wants to sell me a ticket for that amount then its worth the loss of ff miles. Otherwise I'll shop the ttravel sites for the best deal on airfare. We are staying at the penninsula under a package so I'm not shopping for a air/hotel deal.

As a frequent long-distance traveller, why not call around and see what is the lowest fare you can buy from an airline AND use miles to upgrade? Believe me, the few extra $$ you spend will make your journey (and it's a slog no matter what anyone says cause you have to stop somewhere en route be in Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong) easier. The miles you earn on the trip will go a long way toward replacing the miles you redeem to upgrade. Also, if you can manage to do this trip on Thai or Singapore you will really notice the difference between Asian and domestic USA carriers (you'd have to find which partner airline your miles could be used for). Start with Continental as they're based in Houston and see what options/combinations they can offer. Just a thought.........

With a reputable consolidator you can save $$ and accumulate FF miles. Call your travel agent.

Have used Priceline a few times for much shorter trips - got some real funky schedules, times and connections, which did not really matter on a short trip. Am not sure I would want to risk that on a trip with travel time the length you will have.

wcpx2,
The problem with that is, the lowest upgradeable fares are usually several hundred dollars more (sometimes twice as much) vs. the cheapest economy available. Not everyone considers that a good tradeoff.

Patty,

Not unless you fly AA
Any published economy fare is upgradeable!

Is AA the only major U.S. carrier that still allows this? I know AS does too but you're limited in how far you can go on AS. DL only upgrades Y/B/M - I wanted to use miles to upgrade on a transatlantic route and it would have cost me $800 more for an 'upgradeable' coach ticket!

Patty,

I'm not sure if that's the only one, but YEAH, it's a beautiful thing!