Thai Royal Orchid Plus

What Thai Royal Orchid Plus is

A change has been announced but is not in force: the new qualification criteria for status were originally due to start on August 5, 2026, and THAI has postponed the date. Until further notice the current criteria and program terms apply unchanged. This text therefore describes the current state. Gold and Platinum status that expired or will expire between June 1 and December 31, 2026 is extended to June 30, 2027.

How a frequent flyer program works: earning miles with Royal Orchid Plus

On THAI flights the credit depends on the fare paid and the booking class, as well as the distance flown. A class bonus comes on top of the miles flown: Economy earns 100 to 110%, Premium Economy 110%, Royal Silk 125 to 150% and Royal First 200 to 250%. Where you land within a range depends on the booking class. For flights under 500 miles in distance, THAI credits at least 500 miles.

New members receive 2,500 bonus miles with their first THAI flight. If a credit is missing, you can claim it within 180 days after the flight. There is no retroactive credit for flights before enrollment, so sign up before the first flight.

We could not document earning routes away from flights, such as credit cards or hotels. The partner pages load their list by script and could not be read, and there are no country pages for Germany or Austria. We make no statement on this.

Redeeming miles

Award flights are priced by geographic zone. Prices are quoted one way, and a round trip costs double. The chart for THAI and Star Alliance partners has 12 zones based on the Star Alliance zones.

The destination country Thailand belongs to Zone 1 (Asia 1). We do not list mileage prices for single routes here; they are in THAI’s official award chart.

Star Alliance awards can be booked online only for trips departing from Bangkok. For other departure cities you contact a THAI office. An award trip must be completed within one year of the ticket issue date.

Taxes, surcharges and fees

Miles do not cover every cost of an award trip with Royal Orchid Plus. On THAI awards, taxes and surcharges fall to the member or ticket holder. On Star Alliance awards, members or travelers additionally bear the airport taxes as well as surcharges and fees. The pages we checked state no amounts for these.

Outside Thailand, THAI asks for service fees in USD or the local currency equivalent. Rebooking a Star Alliance award costs THB 3,750 or USD 125 in every class. Whoever redeposits an intercontinental award ticket pays THB 5,700 or USD 190, or alternatively 15,000 miles. Miles that have already expired inside the award are not credited back on a redeposit. THAI states the fees only in THB and USD, and we convert nothing. We give no value per mile in cents or Rappen because we lack a documented basis.

Mile expiry

Miles are valid for 3 years. They expire at the end of the quarter that falls 3 years after the quarter in which they were credited. While Platinum status is valid, no miles expire.

A transfer to another program is ruled out: accrued miles cannot be transferred to another program under any circumstance. Miles you collect have to be redeemed with THAI or its Star Alliance partners.

Status tiers Silver, Gold and Platinum

Status is based on qualifying miles: actual miles flown on paid tickets with THAI and Star Alliance airlines, including the class bonus. Bonus miles, promotional miles and every other partner mile do not count, and neither do tier status bonus miles. Silver and Gold are valid for 24 months, and to retain them the miles must be earned within that validity.

We make no statement on the entry level without status, because the pages we checked name nothing for it.

Silver

Silver offers little, but a few fixed benefits. Each time you reach or retain it you get 3,000 bonus miles, plus 5% of the miles flown on international THAI flights as tier status bonus miles. On THAI flights it adds 1 extra checked bag of 23 kg. You get priority on waitlists for Star Alliance flights, but not on award tickets. For lounges, upgrades, seats and guests the pages we checked say nothing about Silver.

Gold

Gold is the tier where Star Alliance lounges and upgrades come into play. Reaching and retaining it earns 5,000 bonus miles, plus 10% of the miles flown on international THAI flights. Once a year you get 50% off one round-trip award booking on international THAI flights.

With a paid Star Alliance ticket and a Gold card you can enter lounges displaying the Star Alliance Gold symbol. We make no statement on further lounges or on guests, because we could not confirm them.

Gold checks in with priority at counters displaying the Star Alliance Gold symbol, boards with priority and uses the Gold Track lanes at selected airports. It also adds 1 extra checked bag on THAI flights, at 32 kg in Royal First and Royal Silk or 23 kg in Premium Economy and Economy.

Within its 2 years of validity, Gold gets up to 2 complimentary round-trip upgrades on international THAI routes. They apply to the next higher class only.

Platinum

Platinum builds on Gold and keeps miles from expiring. Reaching or retaining it earns 10,000 bonus miles, plus 20% of the miles flown on international THAI flights. Each year it gives 50% off two round-trip award bookings on international THAI flights.

We make no statement on THAI’s own lounges. On Star Alliance flights a paid ticket and the Platinum card get you into lounges displaying the Star Alliance Gold symbol. Check-in has priority, as does boarding, and on THAI flights there are 2 extra checked bags of 32 kg each in Royal First and Royal Silk or 23 kg each in Premium Economy and Economy. Further complimentary upgrades come with each 50,000 tier miles flown in Royal First or Royal Silk on THAI.

For seats, the pages we checked say nothing about Gold and Platinum.

Frequent flyer program for Switzerland, Germany and Austria

Royal Orchid Plus works in the German-speaking region through the Star Alliance partners. In Switzerland, SWISS operates hubs in Zurich (ZRH) and Geneva (GVA), in Germany Lufthansa in Frankfurt (FRA) and Munich (MUC), and Austrian Airlines is based in Vienna (VIE).

As a guide to distance, the THAI mileage table lists 5,618 miles for Bangkok and Zurich, 5,584 miles for Bangkok and Frankfurt and 5,459 miles for Bangkok and Munich. We could not document country-specific earning routes for Switzerland, Germany or Austria and therefore state none.

Who Royal Orchid Plus is not for

Miles & More alternatives: Royal Orchid Plus compared

Which mileage program is best depends on which airline you fly and from which airport. If you are looking for alternatives to Miles & More, Royal Orchid Plus fits mainly when Thai Airways and Bangkok are on your main route. All programs are listed in the program archive.