Ex-LON Cheapest & Quickest route to 4-flight BAEC Qualification
Oct 3, 2016, 9:22 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: UK
Programs: BA Silver
Posts: 421
Ex-LON Cheapest & Quickest route to 4-flight BAEC Qualification
The title says it all. I will be Blue from early next year but I have enough flying booked with AA to get me to Silver. I do, however, need the 4 BA metal flights, so would like your suggestions for the most efficient way to do this in Jan - Feb please.
Oct 3, 2016, 9:36 am
#2
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: London
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 169
You can find day returns to MAD and BIO on BA codeshares for £50-£80. Another option is the cheap 'BAwayday' (are they still called that?) fares that are released and booked in G class
You can find details here:
Weekend day trip fares
Introducing BAwayday – a new, super cheap, last minute flight ticket!
You can find details here:
Weekend day trip fares
Introducing BAwayday – a new, super cheap, last minute flight ticket!
Oct 3, 2016, 9:40 am
#3
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
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Currently that will be LHR-LUX, £59 return, via T3, for some reason no-one wants to go there. There are currently 2 flights a day, so you could do it in day since it is back to back-able.
More usually it's LGW-JER. Cheapest is £68 return. There are a series of other LGW flights which are within a few pounds of this too, BOD, AMS, even places like Porto in the £70 range. Given it is out of season, an evening in OPO would be both interesting and cost-effective, though OPO is also back-to-backable, as is AMS and indeed BOD at a pinch.
BA.com has a page which assists you to consider your options, namely Find Our Cheapest Fares, off the Flights and Holidays tab.
More usually it's LGW-JER. Cheapest is £68 return. There are a series of other LGW flights which are within a few pounds of this too, BOD, AMS, even places like Porto in the £70 range. Given it is out of season, an evening in OPO would be both interesting and cost-effective, though OPO is also back-to-backable, as is AMS and indeed BOD at a pinch.
BA.com has a page which assists you to consider your options, namely Find Our Cheapest Fares, off the Flights and Holidays tab.
Oct 3, 2016, 2:12 pm
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: UK
Programs: BA Silver
Posts: 421
Thanks both.
Oct 6, 2016, 9:36 am
#6
FlyerTalk Evangelist
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IB flights also count, so anything connecting in Madrid to another destination in Spain will also get you to 4 (return obviously) without having to go back and forth twice from London.
Oct 6, 2016, 10:46 am
#7
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Berkshire
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Oct 6, 2016, 10:52 am
#8
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
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IB codes are fine, so long as they are not IB codeshares. Whereas BA codeshares are OK (which means my earlier hint about LUX being the cheapest may be superseded by the cheaper Vueling flights, if booked as a BA codeshare). There are some exceptions to this, I don't think IB Express is OK, but IB Express typically sells under IB codes as well, which I believe is OK. The other IB operators are generally OK, but it's probably best to check here to be sure.
Oct 6, 2016, 10:54 am
#9
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Oct 6, 2016, 12:52 pm
#10
Join Date: Jul 2010
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Pretty sure this can now include Iberia marketed and operated flights, so you could also look at a LON-MAD-XXX option with them, even if there's no BA flight code. Cost-wise it's about the same as 2 cheap return BA flights, but you can get to some quite nice places for a night or two, and some of them can be made to break overnight in Madrid at no charge.
Mar 26, 2018, 5:08 pm
#11
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: LON
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Mar 26, 2018, 5:37 pm
#12
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Sunny Singapore
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Posts: 911
No way to book any of your AA flights under a BA flight number and avoid the metal run all together..?
Mar 26, 2018, 7:58 pm
#13
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Alameda, CA, US
Programs: BAEC Gold (GGL/CCR), HHonors Diamond
Posts: 1,346
Mar 26, 2018, 9:13 pm
#14
FlyerTalk Evangelist
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Do they need to be booked on BA codes or will IB codes count too?
Mar 27, 2018, 2:54 am
#15
Community Director
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I think we may, by now, conclude that the OP has their answer and in the intervening couple of years has probably managed to pick up the required flights and is now enjoying the veritable fruits of status.
We'll therefore close the thread here to avoid what could eventually become misleading outdated information rising to the top of the forum.
/mod
We'll therefore close the thread here to avoid what could eventually become misleading outdated information rising to the top of the forum.
/mod