Fly: one stop, about a day.
There is no nonstop flight between the United States and Thailand. The nearest thing is Air Canada's Vancouver to Bangkok.2 From Texas the trip is two flights, and the only real choice is where you change.
Where Texas connects
Miles are the two flights added together, in a straight line, so you can compare the roads.1 The map on the front page draws all seven.
The yellow row is the shortest road of the nine. Houston's Tokyo figure is by way of Haneda; through Narita it is three miles more.1
From Austin or San Antonio
Start with a short hop to Dallas, Houston or the West Coast, and book it on the same ticket as the long flights, so that a late first leg is the airline's problem and not yours.
Through Los Angeles on one flight number
United 820 leaves Los Angeles at 11:15 at night, stops in Hong Kong, and lands in Bangkok at 11:25 in the morning two days later. Coming home, United 821 leaves Bangkok at 4:55 in the afternoon and reaches Los Angeles at 8:25 the same evening.13
The front of the plane, for fewer miles
American Airlines is the hometown airline at Dallas Fort Worth. Its miles still come with a published price list for flights on partner airlines, which is rare now. Work out your own total.
| To | Economy | Premium economy | Business | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan or South Korea | 35,000 | 50,000 | 60,000 | 80,000 |
| Thailand | 37,500 | 50,000 | 70,000 | 110,000 |
Thailand sits in what American calls Asia Region 2, along with Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore.16 One award can take you through Tokyo on Japan Airlines or through Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific and on to Bangkok for the Thailand price.18 19
American calls these figures estimated starting values, and the hard part is finding a partner seat at all.17 20 Search early, search one seat at a time, and be ready to take the dates the seats are on.
First class is still sold on this road
Japan Airlines flies its newest long-haul airplane, the A350-1000, every day between Dallas and Tokyo Haneda.7 The chart prices a first class seat to Japan at 80,000 miles and to Thailand at 110,000.15
Other miles that reach the Texas flights
- ANA flies Houston to Tokyo.9 Its business class can be booked with Virgin Atlantic points: 52,500 one way from the West Coast, 60,000 from the East. Check which side Houston falls on before you move points.21
- EVA Air flies both Dallas and Houston to Taipei.7 Air Canada's Aeroplan points book it; the two guides we read put business class at 85,000 to 87,500 points one way.22 19
Five seats, not two
A family needs three to six seats on the same flight, and that is its own craft.23 Keep points in a bank that feeds more than one airline. Citi points move to EVA and Cathay Pacific, Capital One points to EVA, Cathay and Japan Airlines, and American Express points to ANA.23
Make the stop part of the trip
You have to change planes somewhere. Three of the hubs will pay you to stay a while.
Papers at each end
Americans entering Thailand
No visa for a stay of up to 30 days. That is the rule since September 15, 2026; before that it was 60.28 One 30-day extension costs 1,900 baht at an immigration office.29
Everyone fills in the Thailand Digital Arrival Card online in the three days before landing. It is free on the government's own site.29 30
Thais entering the United States
Thailand is not one of the Visa Waiver countries, so a Thai passport needs a visitor visa in it before the flight.31 Apply through the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok or the Consulate General in Chiang Mai, and do it well before you buy tickets.