Tips To Redeem Flights With ZERO AirAsia BIG Points

AirAsia not only offers affordable flight tickets but as a BIG Member, you can also redeem flight tickets to your dream destinations without using up all of your hard earned BIG Points. One Malaysian managed to redeem a return flight ticket to Manila for Zero BIG Point (excluding airport taxes and processing fees), not only once, but a total of three times!

Yes, you read that right, Joey Ma, a travel junkie working in the advertising industry has always been interested in scoring cheap flight tickets to visit her best friend in Manila. “We are very close. So, when I found out that she will be moving away from Malaysia to work in the Philippines, we made a deal to visit each other frequently, whether it’s me travelling to the Philippines or her coming back to Malaysia,” Moritz explained.

With less than 1,000 AirAsia BIG Points in her BIG Membership account, she went on to search for flights that could be redeemed for under 500 BIG Points and she got lucky, finding 3 different return flights to Manila (at different times of the year) for Zero BIG Point each during AirAsia’s FREE Seats Promo! She only had to pay for airport taxes and processing fees.

Joey shares some of her tips so you can do the same!

How To Score Flight Ticket Redemptions With The Lowest AirAsia BIG Points

1. Do It When Everyone Else Is Still Asleep

As an AirAsia BIG Member, you get to enjoy a 24-hour priority access to the FREE SEATS sale before it is available to the general public. Take advantage of this and try to wake up early on the day of the priority access and start searching for flights at 6am.

“Skip the midnight rush and wait time when priority access starts. Most people are still sleeping at 6am and will only start searching for cheap flights on their way to work or in the office. The early bird gets choice tickets!” Joey pointed out.

2. Avoid Public Holidays In Both Local And Destination Countries

Before starting your search for cheap flight redemptions, try to have your calendar or at least Google Search ready by your side. You will need it to avoid public holidays in both Malaysia and the destination countries because flight fares will be much higher than usual.

Similar to the concept of peak and low season, demand for flights during peak season are higher which will push prices up and it is very unlikely you will find affordable tickets for this
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3. Be Flexible With Dates & Destinations

You do not want to be too rigid with your dates or destinations as you might get disappointed when the flight fares do not meet your expectations. Let’s face it, we all know the rules of demand-supply.

“So if you want to truly enjoy the thrill of redeeming flights with low or zero BIG Points, be flexible. You can list down a few places and start searching for the right dates for redemption. Most of the time, the tickets you finally redeem are quite a few months ahead of the actual flight and that gives you enough time to prepare and make other logistical arrangements for your stay.” – Joey M.

4. Get Your Travel Buddies In Standby Mode

Joey also shared her experience that if you are planning a trip with your friends, they better be in standby mode when you are scouting for flights. “When you find the right flight, you’ll need an immediate response from them rather than waiting for a nod and risk losing the flights,” said Joey.

So if you are travelling in a group, everyone needs to come to an agreement in terms of delegating tasks such as flight and accommodation booking. The key element is communication.

See also: 8 Ways You Can Earn AirAsia BIG Points to Redeem Free Flights

5. Use Direct Debit Instead Of Credit/Debit Card

AirAsia charges a processing fee for all payments. Select the direct debit option for a flat fee of RM4 per booking instead of higher fees on credit, debit and charge cards that are calculated per guest on each flight sector.

This also applies to BIG Points flight redemption when you are paying for the airport taxes and surcharges. Save money here so it can go towards paying for the delicious inflight meals.

6. Avoid Departing or Arriving On Weekends

If you have annual leave to spare, try to plan your getaway trip starting between Tuesday and Thursday and return on Monday or Friday. This way, you can still enjoy your weekend and have a higher chance of scoring cheaper flight redemptions.

As mentioned earlier, you need to consider that weekends are also considered a peak period to travel and it is harder to spot a cheap flight. As a general rule of thumb, weekdays are good and weekends are best to avoid when it comes to searching for flight tickets.

7. Be Prepared Whenever A Promo Campaign Is Near

In case you are not aware, AirAsia BIG has three major promo campaigns: Final Call Sale, Final Call Sale X, and FREE SEATS Promo. Read this to learn more about these promos!

AirAsia BIG Members will get a 24-hour priority access for FREE SEAT campaigns and the occasional BIG Members-only redemption campaigns. Just remember, you are still competing with other BIG Members who are just as hungry for cheap flights as you are. So planning your trips (with few locations) ahead will make things easier for you when the time comes.

8. Be Patient

All the browsing and planning requires a lot of patience especially if you are doing it early in the morning. Just remember that this is supposed to be an exciting trip and you should not let anything bring you down.

As long as you communicate well with your travel partners, be flexible with the dates and destinations and have a rough plan of your trip before the promo campaigns start, you are good-to-go on AirAsia flight redemptions with low BIG Points!

There you have it! Do you have any more tips to share for flight redemptions with low BIG Points? Leave them in the comment section below and spread the word. Lastly, a big shout out to Joey for sharing these great tips with us!