OK you BKK travel veterans. Wondering about approximate time to get through immigration on arrival (not DM). I was complaining a while back on another thread about how bloody long it took in KL and am hoping it is considerably less. Arriving around noon. As well, getting out. 2 hours enough for checkin, immigration and security? Don't know the airport well, been about 15 years.

Got a hotel with free shuttle pickup and want to give them an approximate time I will exit the airport. If that falls through anybody know if taxis accept plastic there? I don't want to go to an ATM just to get 500 Baht.

TIA for any info.

I haven't heard any horror stories lately.
Some pro tips for BKK:
On arrival, have your boarding pass ready as well as your passport - you can see what the lines look like at the first immigration hall you come to, and you can look at the TV screen at the bottom of the ramp to see if the other one looks better.
Once you go up the ramp, look out for immigration staff who may be suggesting the best direction to go (left or right). After that, keep going to the very end of the available desks. Sometimes a line leads to two desks, sometimes to only one. Select accordingly. Choose lines with falang, they get processed quicker.

On departure:
You can peer through the frosted glass near the bottom of the escalators leading up to security, you will be able to see what the lines look like for each immigration hall.

Finally - if you are over 70, or are travelling with young children - use the Priority lanes. If there is nobody checking at the entrance to the Priority section, you can chance your luck and just go for it. The officers often do not bother sending you back. This won't work on departure where there is always someone cheking.

Personally I wouldn't bother with a pick-up from the hotel. Too much messing around. Just get a Bolt to pick you up, it won't cost much. Or get a free shuttle to the Bus Station and get a taxi from there (no lines and no airport surcharge).

johnny lightning wrote: ↑Fri Nov 03, 2023 7:48 pm OK you BKK travel veterans. Wondering about approximate time to get through immigration on arrival (not DM). I was complaining a while back on another thread about how bloody long it took in KL and am hoping it is considerably less. Arriving around noon. As well, getting out. 2 hours enough for checkin, immigration and security? Don't know the airport well, been about 15 years.

Got a hotel with free shuttle pickup and want to give them an approximate time I will exit the airport. If that falls through anybody know if taxis accept plastic there? I don't want to go to an ATM just to get 500 Baht.

TIA for any info.

I did the same last Wednesday, arrived at 1 PM. One hour from landing to taxi stand.

johnny lightning wrote: ↑Fri Nov 03, 2023 7:48 pm If that falls through anybody know if taxis accept plastic there? I don't want to go to an ATM just to get 500 Baht.

TIA for any info.

You could exchange 20$ at the airport. The boots in the train station offer a slightly better rate than other boots in the airprt. Still a rip-off, but cheaper than using ATM. Using ATM's with non-Thai cards is very expensive these days in Thailand.

Kammekor wrote: ↑Sat Nov 04, 2023 8:44 am

johnny lightning wrote: ↑Fri Nov 03, 2023 7:48 pm If that falls through anybody know if taxis accept plastic there? I don't want to go to an ATM just to get 500 Baht.

TIA for any info.

You could exchange 20$ at the airport. The boots in the train station offer a slightly better rate than other boots in the airprt. Still a rip-off, but cheaper than using ATM. Using ATM's with non-Thai cards is very expensive these days in Thailand.

220 baht/withdrawal and lousy rates as well ;-(

Cash is and will always be..... King

johnny lightning wrote: ↑Fri Nov 03, 2023 7:48 pm OK you BKK travel veterans. Wondering about approximate time to get through immigration on arrival (not DM). I was complaining a while back on another thread about how bloody long it took in KL and am hoping it is considerably less. Arriving around noon. As well, getting out. 2 hours enough for checkin, immigration and security? Don't know the airport well, been about 15 years.

Got a hotel with free shuttle pickup and want to give them an approximate time I will exit the airport. If that falls through anybody know if taxis accept plastic there? I don't want to go to an ATM just to get 500 Baht.

TIA for any info.

Honestly, just take the free shuttle.

I’ve done this several times, just give the flight # and arrival time.

Thanks all. I am definitely going to try the free shuttle. It is included in my hotel fee so why not? If that falls through I will grab a cab. I am coming from PP so as mentioned I can just get a few hundred Baht there before I leave. I get the feeling this hotel has a lot of customers that use the shuttle. They have been quite forthcoming about the details even sending me a separate email with instructions.