Old Jan 2, 2017, 6:09 pm
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: EsherFlyer
** AA Domestic First on two cabin will earn business TPs and avios for departures on or after 11 January 2017 - see reference posts for more details **

** Note that the practice of AA Domestic 3-class service flights booking into A for 210 TPs when I was no longer available ceased in September 2017. Discussion here. **

Welcome to the thread. This is a continuation of the highly popular 2016 Tier Point thread. We keep track of other prices, as well as useful reference information for those planning tier point runs.

Please read the first few posts in this thread first as it contains lots of information which may answer your question.

This is a community-maintained wiki post. Please add important information to it or correct outdated information by clicking the "Edit" button below!

Current Promotions of Interest
Sale Fares
  • from AMS/RTM to US ILN4T7S6/INX6T7S6 reported in this post and this post, e.g. NYC - €1,461, ORD - €1,492, LAS - €1,460, needs to be booked by 25 September, see linked post for details
  • from PRG to US ILN4T8S6 reported in this post, e.g. IAD - Ł1,033, MIA - Ł1,133, ATL - Ł1,080, needs to be booked by 21 September, see linked post for details

Advanced Promotion Fares
  • from DUB to US ILN8C1S6 reported here, e.g. NYC - €1,472, MIA - €1,578, see linked post for details
  • froM DUB to US ILN8S4C1 reported here, e.g. JFK - €1,427, MIA - €1,532, LAS - €1,667, LAX - €1,795, HNL - €2,095, this is an advanced purchase fare so no book by deadline, see linked post for details
  • from OTP to PHX ILN8R4C1 reported here, e.g. PHX - Ł1,252, see linked post for details
  • from AMS to BKK INCEU60 reported here, e.g. BKK - Ł1,216, see linked post for details

See here in post # 8 for a 2017 archive of exEU sale fare, and see here in post # 445 for a 2016 archive of exEU sale fares.

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This thread lists attractive tier point (TP) runs under Ł3 per TP grouped within different (departure) geographies

Please note that current availability is not guaranteed and all prices include taxes. Please use the following convention when adding tier point runs to this wiki post:
Date fare checked Price per Tier Point Total Price Total Tier Points Route Booking Classes Booking Channel Credit Notes (if applicable) Airlines

Please remember to:
  • Convert currencies to GBP, rounding to the nearest pound.
  • Post full routes and full booking classes.
  • Note any restrictions on booking in the Notes section.
  • List in order of price per tier point within the relevant departure area.

Please see the links at the bottom of the wiki for archives of runs from previous years.

From Europe

24APR Ł0.90/TP Ł400 440 TLL-BA/AY-HEL-LON-GLA-KOI-ABZ ; TLL-BA/AY-HEL-LON-GLA-SDZ-ABZ (see post #1221)
02NOV Ł1.33/TP Ł583 440 LHR-HEL-TLL/TLL-HEL-LHR-NCL//NCL-LHR-HEL-TLL/TLL-HEL-LHR IIIIIIIIII Google Flights armouredant 2 nested tickets, both other a Saturday night. BA ticket, BA & AY metal, AY A350 possible LHR-HEL
08FEB Ł1.33/TP Ł346 260 JER-LGW-RAK-LGW-RAK I/I/I/I BA.com ramops
14AUG Ł1.65/TP Ł593 360 OSL-HEL-AGP-HEL-OSL I-I-I-I ITA Flythe96flag SH J cabin + possible red-eye (!) AY
26JUL Ł1.81/TP Ł72.70 40 MAD-FRA Z lan.com Prospero 787 flat bed LA
1JAN Ł1.85/TP Ł444 240 JER-LGW/LHR-HEL J/I/I/J ITA Matrix flatlander Available most weekends first half of 2016, fare IM0R
23NOV Ł1.89/TP Ł377 200 DUB-LHR-MAD-SVQ r/t I-I-I-I-I-I ITA Lorcancoyle IM0B IB DUB to SVQ BA and IB flights (I2 for domestic under IB code), random dates in December available, A340 on some dates (helpfully pointed out by Temps that domestic Spain is only 20 TPs)
24NOV Ł1.91/TP Ł765.00 400 BUD-DOH-SHJ I/A/I/A QR.com Wozza2404 A320 QR
11AUG Ł2.10/TP Ł420 200 AMS-LHR-GLA-LSI-ABZ-LSI-GLA-LHR-AMS I/I/I/I/I/I/I/I ITA Matrix --> Priceline.com MrMutton
13NOV Ł2.56/TP Ł410 160 LHR-HEL ? BA.com Lorcancoyle wide open as flight+hotel, can reduce with TCB cash back BA

From North, Central and South America
26Jan Ł1.50/TP Ł960 640 LGA-CMH-DCA-PHL-RDU-CLT-ATL-MIA-PTY and return I/I/I/I/I/I/I/I/I/I/I/I/I/I/I/I ITA Matrix--> BookWithMatrix dot com --> AA.com HPN-HRL other routings available; reverse routing is Ł40 more - see post 388 AA
10MAY Ł2.50/TP Ł203 80 ORF-CLT-ORD I/I AA.com
21MAY Ł2.08/TP Ł250 120 YYZ-PHL/LGA-CLT-ORF/PHF I/I/I AA.com
22NOV Ł1.43/TP Ł172 120 DCA-(LGA/BOS/PHL)-CLT-RDU (one way, reverse works as well) I/I/I ITA->BWM->priceline.com

From Middle East, Asia and Australasia
23Feb Ł0.99/TP Ł356 360 TPE-xKUL-PEN(JHB)-xKUL-TPE Z http://www.malaysiaairlines.com ermen two day min stay, promo fare MH
04JAN Ł1.10/TP Ł44 40 KUL-PEN D http://www.malaysiaairlines.com/uk/en.html fitch Works in both directions, rtn Ł80 if you can make the timnings work MH
11Nov Ł0.85/TP Ł307 360 TPE-KUL-SIN-KUL-TPE Z http://www.malaysiaairlines.com neofung

From Africa


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Need a year-end TP run (ex-LON) to make / retain status?
Some tips for searching for the year-end TP run for newcomers, the below is indicative only, but hopefully provides a bit of guidance for relatively straightforward runs ex-LON. The guide to using ITA matrix in post #4 (see here) along with these ideas, might come in handy. Feel free to share results, problems or general questions in the thread as these may not always work and there might be better deals out there...

For overnight trips remember to check BA and Iberia for their flights and hotel option as well, can get hotel for almost no extra cost at times

Need 80 TPs or fewer
Club Europe return somewhere close by is best - DUB, AMS and JER usually cheapest. AMS and JER easier than DUB for an immediate turnaround. The BA.com low fare finder can be very useful.

If you need as few as 45 TPs you might consider booking economy flights and hoping for a proactive online upgrade offer - but they're not guaranteed to materialise (so not one if you have no more time left in your TP collection year). Alternatively, booking a return to one of the 40 tier point destinations with one way in CE and the return in ET (or vice versa if cheaper). Bilbao, Jersey and Amsterdam seems the most cost effective for this.

Need 85-120 TPs
Iberia flights via MAD to regional Spanish airports will get you 120 TPs as the domestic Spanish flights are 20 TPs in business. Under Ł300 including hotel can be available. Check BIO, GRX, VLC, BCN, SVQ etc. Example here

Need 125-160 TPs
Take a look at the shorthaul plus routes earning 80 TPs each way in business listed in the first post (here) MLA, IST, HEL and RAK are usually available. If time sensitive take a look at BA flight and hotel option to HEL, where you can usually get the last BA flight out on a Saturday, airport hotel and first return Sunday for well under Ł500.

Alternative options include positioning to JER and flying JER-LGW-XXX (AMS usually works well and avoids switching airports)

Need more than 160 TPs
You'll most likely be heading north then - OSL or VNO via HEL will get you 240 TPs, as will JER-LGW/LHR-HEL e.g. LHR-HEL-OSL for Ł520. Also the BA fare for LHR-HEL-TLL at ~Ł235 is still available and would get 200 TPs for a return.

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Historic information
2016 Archive
2015 Archive (6 months Jul to Dec)
2015 Archive (6 months Jan to Jun)
2014 Archive

.
Print Wikipost

BA Tier Point Runs | 2017 master thread

Old Apr 26, 2017, 6:49 am
  #1546  
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: UK
Programs: BA Pyrite
Posts: 179
Originally Posted by Laphroaig57
I now find myself needing to be in Chicago for any time during the day on Saturday 28th Oct and not leaving before late 20:00 hrs on Tuesday 02nd Nov '17.

Dublin (DUB) to London (LHR) — Sat, Oct 28
American 6765 Dep: 7:30 am Arr: 9:10 am
1h 40m
Airbus A320, Business (D), OPERATED BY BRITISH AIRWAYS

London (LHR) to New York (JFK) — Sat, Oct 28
American 6214 Dep: 11:20 am Arr: 2:05 pm
7h 45m
Boeing 747, Business (I), OPERATED BY BRITISH AIRWAYS

New York (JFK) to Charlotte (CLT) — Sat, Oct 28
American 1808, Dep: 5:13 pm, Arr: 7:10 pm
1h 57m
Airbus A320, First (J)

Charlotte (CLT) to Chicago (ORD) — Sat, Oct 28
American 1866, Dep: 7:50 pm, Arr: 8:50 pm
2h 0m
Airbus A321, First (J)


Chicago (ORD) to Boston (BOS) — Fri, Nov 3
American 1119, Dep: 1:25 pm, Arr: 4:51 pm
2h 26m
Boeing 737, First (J)

Boston (BOS) to New York (JFK) — Fri, Nov 3
American 2314, Dep: 5:40 pm, Arr: 7:03 pm
1h 23m
Airbus A321 (Sharklets), First (J)

New York (JFK) to London (LHR) — Fri, Nov 3
American 106, Dep: 8:45 pm, Arr: 7:50 am (Sat Nov 4)
7h 5m
Boeing 777, Business (I)

London (LHR) to Stockholm (ARN) — Sat, Nov 4
American 6529, Dep: 10:45 am, Arr: 2:20 pm
2h 35m
Airbus A320, Business (D), OPERATED BY BRITISH AIRWAYS


Total cost for 1 passenger
Ł1,859.32

520 TPs so Ł3.58 per TP which round these parts is considered expensive.
But I don't think you'll necessarily squeeze much more out on a single PNR with ORD as the destination.
I assumed you meant Thursday 2nd November, rather than Tuesday.

How to book? You should be able to get this in to AA's multicity tool. If not, give them a call. Alternatively get familiar with ITAMatrix + BookWithMatrix.
The latter might be a good idea anyway as there are a number of minor variations on the above that you might prefer. I'm happy doing a 40 min transfer at Charlotte, you might not be...
Also, other US east coast entry points are possible: PHL, BOS, EWR etc.
Zzzap is offline  
Old Apr 27, 2017, 4:00 am
  #1547  
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Programs: BAEC Silver, Hilton Gold, IHG Gold, SPG Preferred Plus
Posts: 23
Apologies if I missed an earlier mention of what seem to be decent TP prices for Catania flights compared to Malta pricing over summer. Google flights showing (and BA site offering):

160TP Gatwick-Catania return as low as Ł271 (Ł1.69 / TP) from May to October.

240TP Jersey-Gatwick-Catania return as low as Ł349 (Ł1.45/TP) in May / June /October or Ł373 (Ł1.55/TP) from May - October.

Or Ł1.35/TP if you can travel 3-5 May, 9-11 May or 17-19 May when the JER-CTA return is Ł323.
3 May 13:55 JER > 14:55 LGW / 16:55 LGW > 21:00 CTA
5 May 12:25 CTA > 14:45 LGW / 17:40 LGW > 18:45 JER
All flights above in I bucket, BA site pricing at Ł322.58
docklandsguest is offline  
Old Apr 27, 2017, 8:15 am
  #1548  
 
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: London
Programs: BAEC Silver, HH Diamond, Avis President's Club
Posts: 1,219
Originally Posted by docklandsguest
Apologies if I missed an earlier mention of what seem to be decent TP prices for Catania flights compared to Malta pricing over summer.
I didn't even know that CTA was a SH+ so I've learnt something too ^
Foltan is offline  
Old Apr 27, 2017, 8:30 am
  #1549  
Ambassador, British Airways; FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Leeds, UK
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, GfL, HH Diamond
Posts: 42,702
Originally Posted by Foltan
I didn't even know that CTA was a SH+ so I've learnt something too ^
All detailed in the reference posts at the start of the thread. There is a comprehensive list of all sh+ routes in post #1.
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Old Apr 27, 2017, 6:49 pm
  #1550  
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: MSP
Programs: DL PlatMM, BA and Alaska Emerald, HHonors DIA, Accor, Marriott Titanium, IHG Plat Amb, UA Silver, AA
Posts: 4,503
Originally Posted by Misco60
If your profile is up to date, and you're still based in MSP, then you're much more likely to find good TP runs from there than from South America (where, as you have said, business class fares are high and the opportunities to earn TPs quite low). There are a lot of suggestions for North America-based runs further up this thread, and getting the 600 TPs you need to retain Silver would be neither difficult nor very expensive.
You make a good point! However, the only time I have a 2-3 week window is when I'm in South America already, so was hoping for something reasonable from there.
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Old Apr 28, 2017, 7:37 am
  #1551  
 
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: Cotswolds, UK
Programs: BA Silver
Posts: 29
Smile My First Attempt At TP RUN (LHR-BOS-PHX-BOS-LHR)

I'm travelling to Boston 1st weekend in June. My company will only pay economy, so I'm either looking to upgrade myself to Club World or First and then potentially do a TP run in the US (BOS to PHX) while I'm Stateside. I fly out on Friday 2nd June and need to be working in Boston on Tuesday 6th, so I figured this gives me Sat/Sun/Mon to do a TP run.

I've read multiple posts in this thread and figured I'll earn something like this for my stateside TP run (+ whatever I earn on the flights between LHR and BOS, TBC):

Day Date Depart Arrive Flight From To Flight Time GBP USD Points
Saturday 3rd June 16:30 19:11 AA452 BOS PHX 05:41 Ł960.00 $1,239.00 140
Saturday 3rd June 21:55 05:47 AA1280 PHX JFK 04:52 Ł1,115.00 $1,439.00 140
Sunday 4th June 16:29 19:03 AA1587 JFK PHX 05:34 - - 140
Monday 5th June 12:30 20:32 AA2189 PHX BOS 05:02 - - 140

I'm going to lose my silver status on May 8th as I only have 115 TP's this year and I don't have time (or funds) to do a TP run before my year-end. I haven't booked yet, but I'm hoping there may be a sale coming over the next few weeks, otherwise, it's going to cost me a few quid.

Any tips/advice before I book?

Last edited by Damien Davis; Apr 28, 2017 at 7:59 am Reason: I don't want to post multiple threads - I have new info.
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Old Apr 28, 2017, 7:45 am
  #1552  
 
Join Date: May 2016
Location: London
Programs: BA Gold, Accor Gold
Posts: 1,407
Originally Posted by Damien Davis
I'm travelling to Boston 1st weekend in June. My company will only pay economy, so looking to upgrade myself to Club World or First......

Any tips/advice before I book?
Not quite sure how you'll book it, but if your company books you into WT you'll only be able to upgrade 1 cabin to WT+.
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Old Apr 28, 2017, 7:46 am
  #1553  
DVT
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: UK
Programs: BA Bronze
Posts: 523
Originally Posted by Damien Davis
Any tips/advice before I book?
What is your budget?
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Old Apr 28, 2017, 8:01 am
  #1554  
 
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: Cotswolds, UK
Programs: BA Silver
Posts: 29
Originally Posted by DVT
What is your budget?
Just updated my original post. Ideally want to keep any personal expense on this TP run under #3K GBP. I think I can do a domestic TP run in the US for this. Timings look do-able, if a little brutal on the body clock...
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Old Apr 28, 2017, 9:26 am
  #1555  
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Programs: BA Executive Club and OnBusiness
Posts: 714
Originally Posted by Damien Davis
Just updated my original post. Ideally want to keep any personal expense on this TP run under #3K GBP. I think I can do a domestic TP run in the US for this. Timings look do-able, if a little brutal on the body clock...
To be honest, I wouldn't do that. You'd be spending Ł3K to get silver until end of June 2018 (one year)

Wait for your year to end then do a TP run. You can do Sweden to NZ on Qatar for example - Ł1.5K for 600 points. Instant Silver. Which you then keep until June 2019 (two years instead of one)

12 months of silver for Ł3K
or
24 months of silver for Ł1.5K

Easy choice in my book
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Old Apr 28, 2017, 7:32 pm
  #1556  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: May 2000
Location: Little dot in Asia
Programs: AA-EP, TK-*G, HL-DM, HY-GLO, MR-LTP
Posts: 25,924
Sorry to be daft..

Trying to do my 4 sectors on BA for as cheap and​ quickly as possible. Do the elcheapo ET fates earn 5TPs per sector?

Looking to originate from Greece, Germany or Spain. Was originally thinking FRA to DUB via LHR but ba.com kept offering me the direct flight instead.
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Old Apr 28, 2017, 10:36 pm
  #1557  
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 4,691
Originally Posted by Guy Betsy
Trying to do my 4 sectors on BA for as cheap and​ quickly as possible. Do the elcheapo ET fates earn 5TPs per sector?

Looking to originate from Greece, Germany or Spain. Was originally thinking FRA to DUB via LHR but ba.com kept offering me the direct flight instead.
They most certainly do. How about BIO-LHR-DUB vv?
flashware is offline  
Old Apr 28, 2017, 10:43 pm
  #1558  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: MEL CHC
Posts: 20,921
Originally Posted by Guy Betsy
Trying to do my 4 sectors on BA for as cheap and​ quickly as possible. Do the elcheapo ET fates earn 5TPs per sector?

Looking to originate from Greece, Germany or Spain. Was originally thinking FRA to DUB via LHR but ba.com kept offering me the direct flight instead.
IB flights also qualify according to post 4 of Your guide to the Executive Club, attaining status and earning Avios
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Old May 1, 2017, 4:50 am
  #1559  
 
Join Date: Jul 2016
Programs: Executive Club
Posts: 78
I've been BA Silver for a couple of years, and have successfully earned enough points to keep Silver this year. My TP year ends 8th July, and I had been thinking of doing a run after that, to renew Silver and keep it until 2019. However, once my latest flights post to my account, I'll only be 440TP short of Gold.

Have I imagined it, or is it right that if you earn Gold and don't maintain it, you drop down to Silver the following year (rather than straight down to Blue)? In which case, I might be better to do a run before 8th July to have Gold until 2018 and Silver until 2019. Thanks!
bras0978 is offline  
Old May 1, 2017, 5:05 am
  #1560  
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: The North
Posts: 1,836
Originally Posted by bras0978
Have I imagined it, or is it right that if you earn Gold and don't maintain it, you drop down to Silver the following year (rather than straight down to Blue)? In which case, I might be better to do a run before 8th July to have Gold until 2018 and Silver until 2019. Thanks!
You have not imagined it bras0978 - this is the "soft landing" between tiers, which is explained in full in the stickied thread at the top of the forum.

If you are able to get 440 more TP before your year ends, you will indeed have Gold to 2018, before dropping to silver for the following year (and bronze the year afterwards) if you don't hit the threshold for gold again.

Having said that, it seems that Gold status can be addictive, so you may find yourself doing it again next year
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