6 Payment Methods of AirAsia Flight Booking

Air Asia, the Malaysian budget carrier, having a sizeable presence in South and South-east Asia region, provides easy online booking facility with its user-friendly website and mobile application interface. Even when people want to fly on its subsidiaries in other countries, they can use the same interface in their respective countries for Air Asia flight booking. It has tied-up with prominent travel agencies in respective countries to facilitate the sale of its tickets. While booking tickets, passengers have the choice of many different payment options. These varied choices cover almost all ways in which a traveller can make the payment so that online ticket booking is not hampered by availability of suitable payment mode. These modes of payment are mentioned here.

Credit Cards

Air Asia accepts all major types of credit cards from passengers. These include Visa, Mastercard, Amex, JCB and UnionPay. Out of these, Visa and Mastercard are accepted for all currencies whereas Amex is used for currencies of Malaysia, Thailand, the USA, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong and India. JCB is used for Japanese Yen and Thai Baht. UnionPay credit cards are used only for Thai Baht. However, it shall be noted that JCB and UnionPay cards are used at the sales counters operated by Thai AirAsia and the airport only.

Prepaid Cards

Three prepaid cards, which are actually the cobranded cards of BIG frequent flyer program with Visa and MasterCard and the AirAsia ezpay cards, are also one of the methods of payment for tickets booked online.

Debit Cards

At present AirAsia airline provides the debit card method of payment for Indonesian Rupiah only.

Direct Debit

Air Asia has tied up with a number of payment portal solution providers or directly with banks for direct debit for various currencies. It has arrangements with FPX for Malaysian Ringgit, Siam Commercial Bank and GHL Thai Debit for Thailand Baht, KlikBCA, BCA KlikPay and CIMB Niaga for Indonesian Rupiah, eNETS for Singaporean Dollars, Dragonpay Corporation for Philippine Peso, AliPay, Tenpay and UnionPay for Renminbi, CC Avenue and Axis Bank for Indian Rupee, PayPal and POLi for Australian Dollar, Smartlink for US Dollar and some banks of Japan for Yen.

ATM Payments

It accepts ATM payments from passengers for Indonesian Rupiah, Vietnamese Dong and Japanese Yen. The airline has tie-ups with local partners for this purpose.

Over the Counter and Cash on Delivery Options

To facilitate convenient online Air Asia flight booking, the carrier also provides convenient cash on delivery options in some countries where it operates. It also provides over the counter (OTC) payment facility for some currencies through designated retailers.

OTC payments for Indonesian Rupiah are taken by Indomaret and Alfamart outlets, for Indian Rupee by Smart Shop, for Japanese Yen by a number of banks and for Thailand Baht by 7-Eleven, K-Bank and Siam Commercial Bank.

Cash on Delivery mode of payment for the tickets booked with AirAsia is available in India for Indian rupee payments only.

It also has a number of payment partners for online bookings. For South Korean Won, the partner is Korea Cyber Payment. For Philippine Peso, these are Bayad Centre, 7- Eleven, Robinsons and others with some attached conditions.

With all these diversified options provided by the carrier and also by travel agencies in India, prospective travellers will not face any issue for using their preferred mode of payment while doing Air Asia flight booking.

6 Tips for Finding Cheap International Flights

While air travel used to be one of the most expensive modes of transport a few decades ago, the era of expensive flight tickets is now gone. The development of modern, cheaper technology has given rise to various low-cost carriers (LCCs) that emphasize on providing affordable options to flyers. While most LCCs fly domestically, there are some that offer cheap international flights to travelers. Though most people can now afford to travel by air, flyers are continuously on the lookout to save more money. The following are a few things that travelers can do to ensure that they get the best deals available.

Book Tickets Early

It is no secret that the price of flight tickets rise as the departure date comes close. Especially during peak travel periods, people could be facing situations when they have to pay a price that is significantly higher than the usual amount charged for the same ticket. To avoid such circumstances, flyers should book their ticket at least two to three weeks before the domestic flight, and three to six months in the case of international.

Buy Tickets as Late as Possible

People, who have lost the opportunity to book flights early, could delay booking the flight as sometimes the prices go down near the departure date. This scenario is perfect for travelers who are flexible with their itinerary and can adjust their plans according to the deals in the market. Such offers can easily be found on the web pages of airlines or various portals of online travel agencies (OTAs). Such portals also offer cheap international flights to various destinations of the world.  

Use Frequent Flyer Points

Almost all carriers, whether it is Air India, United Airlines or Emirates, have frequent flyer programmes. People who travel often can register themselves in a frequent flyer programme and start accumulating points from their first flight. These air miles can be used for availing different benefits that are especially tailor-made for members only. While some airlines give extra baggage allowance to their frequent flyers, a few even provide priority check-in and baggage handling as well as lounge access and award tickets.

Know Various Offers

Flyers can also avail cheap airfares while booking flights with OTAs. For instance, Yatra.com is currently offering an eCash of up to 25 per cent on booking international flights. This cashback or credit can be utilised by a flyer while buying another flight tickets with the portal. The website is also offering other discounts like a 100 per cent eCash on bus booking and buying flight tickets with its partner banks.

Check the Hidden Costs

Though various airlines offer cheap international flights, there are many hidden costs that a flyer should be aware of at the time of booking. Fees for carry-on bags, checked bags and advanced seat assignments/selection can sometimes cause the ticket total to go up.  Such situations can be avoided by checking or booking all the required amenities in advance. Along with this, being aware of fuel surcharges, carbon tax and airport fees will always ensure better calculation of expenditure at passenger level.

Buy Packages

Almost all travel agencies or OTAs offer special packages that include flight tickets and hotel stays in their itinerary. By buying such packages, flyers not only get cheaper deals, but they can also ensure the availability of accommodation for a hassle-free journey.

Another way to avail cheap international flights is by being flexible dates and travel destinations. It is often seen that airfares on popular routes are extraordinarily higher than that on lesser-known ones. Travelers can check the ticket prices to the nearby airports of their destination and see if they can save some money.