In Jomtien I had to wait until the last day. Tried to go a few days early and after they looked at all the things you have to do making sure it was right I was told to come back the day of expiration. One other time I had a flight to Phuket a few days before it was due and I was going to Phuket for a while a week and the Donkey Hole told me to bad! I had to pay an agent to get it done! They can be real Donkey Hole there!
I'm paying under 1K for my flight Dec. 31- April 1. The key was looking for prices 6 months in advance. I do it twice a year and most of the time I get RT flight's under 1K