Jan 2, 2017, 6:09 pm
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 Please add important information to it or correct outdated information by clicking the "Edit" button below!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
Advanced Promotion Fares
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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This thread lists attractive tier point (TP) runs under £3 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:
Please see the links at the bottom of the wiki for archives of runs from previous years.
From Europe
24APR £0.90/TP £400 440 TLL-BA/AY-HEL-LON-GLA-KOI-ABZ ; TLL-BA/AY-HEL-LON-GLA-SDZ-ABZ (see post #1221)
02NOV £1.33/TP £583 440 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 £1.33/TP £346 260 JER-LGW-RAK-LGW-RAK I/I/I/I BA.com ramops
14AUG £1.65/TP £593 360 OSL-HEL-AGP-HEL-OSL I-I-I-I ITA Flythe96flag SH J cabin + possible red-eye (!) AY
26JUL £1.81/TP £72.70 40 MAD-FRA Z lan.com Prospero 787 flat bed LA
1JAN £1.85/TP £444 240 JER-LGW/LHR-HEL J/I/I/J ITA Matrix flatlander Available most weekends first half of 2016, fare IM0R
23NOV £1.89/TP £377 200 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 £1.91/TP £765.00 400 BUD-DOH-SHJ I/A/I/A QR.com Wozza2404 A320 QR
11AUG £2.10/TP £420 200 AMS-LHR-GLA-LSI-ABZ-LSI-GLA-LHR-AMS I/I/I/I/I/I/I/I ITA Matrix --> Priceline.com MrMutton
13NOV £2.56/TP £410 160 LHR-HEL ? BA.com Lorcancoyle wide open as flight+hotel, can reduce with TCB cash back BA
From North, Central and South America
26Jan £1.50/TP £960 640 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 £40 more - see post 388 AA
10MAY £2.50/TP £203 80 ORF-CLT-ORD I/I AA.com
21MAY £2.08/TP £250 120 YYZ-PHL/LGA-CLT-ORF/PHF I/I/I AA.com
22NOV £1.43/TP £172 120 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 £0.99/TP £356 360 TPE-xKUL-PEN(JHB)-xKUL-TPE Z http://www.malaysiaairlines.com ermen two day min stay, promo fare MH
04JAN £1.10/TP £44 40 KUL-PEN D http://www.malaysiaairlines.com/uk/en.html fitch Works in both directions, rtn £80 if you can make the timnings work MH
11Nov £0.85/TP £307 360 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 £300 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 £500.
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 £520. Also the BA fare for LHR-HEL-TLL at ~£235 is still available and would get 200 TPs for a return.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Historic information
2016 Archive
2015 Archive (6 months Jul to Dec)
2015 Archive (6 months Jan to Jun)
2014 Archive
.
** 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 - £1,033, MIA - £1,133, ATL - £1,080, 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 - £1,252, see linked post for details
- from AMS to BKK INCEU60 reported here, e.g. BKK - £1,216, 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This thread lists attractive tier point (TP) runs under £3 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 £0.90/TP £400 440 TLL-BA/AY-HEL-LON-GLA-KOI-ABZ ; TLL-BA/AY-HEL-LON-GLA-SDZ-ABZ (see post #1221)
02NOV £1.33/TP £583 440 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 £1.33/TP £346 260 JER-LGW-RAK-LGW-RAK I/I/I/I BA.com ramops
14AUG £1.65/TP £593 360 OSL-HEL-AGP-HEL-OSL I-I-I-I ITA Flythe96flag SH J cabin + possible red-eye (!) AY
26JUL £1.81/TP £72.70 40 MAD-FRA Z lan.com Prospero 787 flat bed LA
1JAN £1.85/TP £444 240 JER-LGW/LHR-HEL J/I/I/J ITA Matrix flatlander Available most weekends first half of 2016, fare IM0R
23NOV £1.89/TP £377 200 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 £1.91/TP £765.00 400 BUD-DOH-SHJ I/A/I/A QR.com Wozza2404 A320 QR
11AUG £2.10/TP £420 200 AMS-LHR-GLA-LSI-ABZ-LSI-GLA-LHR-AMS I/I/I/I/I/I/I/I ITA Matrix --> Priceline.com MrMutton
13NOV £2.56/TP £410 160 LHR-HEL ? BA.com Lorcancoyle wide open as flight+hotel, can reduce with TCB cash back BA
From North, Central and South America
26Jan £1.50/TP £960 640 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 £40 more - see post 388 AA
10MAY £2.50/TP £203 80 ORF-CLT-ORD I/I AA.com
21MAY £2.08/TP £250 120 YYZ-PHL/LGA-CLT-ORF/PHF I/I/I AA.com
22NOV £1.43/TP £172 120 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 £0.99/TP £356 360 TPE-xKUL-PEN(JHB)-xKUL-TPE Z http://www.malaysiaairlines.com ermen two day min stay, promo fare MH
04JAN £1.10/TP £44 40 KUL-PEN D http://www.malaysiaairlines.com/uk/en.html fitch Works in both directions, rtn £80 if you can make the timnings work MH
11Nov £0.85/TP £307 360 TPE-KUL-SIN-KUL-TPE Z http://www.malaysiaairlines.com neofung
From Africa
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 £300 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 £500.
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 £520. Also the BA fare for LHR-HEL-TLL at ~£235 is still available and would get 200 TPs for a return.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Historic information
2016 Archive
2015 Archive (6 months Jul to Dec)
2015 Archive (6 months Jan to Jun)
2014 Archive
.
BA Tier Point Runs | 2017 master thread
May 5, 2017, 3:51 pm
#1636
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: The North
Posts: 1,845
I'm curious too, I'd quite fancy doing a "Scottish islands to Tallin" trip at some point if the price is right...
May 5, 2017, 5:09 pm
#1637
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Bristol
Programs: BA GGL, UA Plat, DL Plat, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 2,380
The agent struggled at first to get BA primes on all codes but persevered and the followimg day I got an e-ticket receipt for...
GBP 393.50
May 5, 2017, 11:20 pm
#1638
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Switzerland
Programs: AY+ Platinum, SK Gold, BAEC Silver, airbaltic VIP, Radisson VIP
Posts: 6,530
Pretty damn good £/TP ratio (89p)!
May 6, 2017, 12:25 am
#1639
Join Date: Aug 2006
Programs: BAEC Gold/GGL, IHG Diamond AMB
Posts: 1,074
I think I'll book that ABZ-TLL special Research required
Research required
May 6, 2017, 12:26 am
#1640
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: London, UK
Programs: BAGGL, A3G, Accor Gold, Hilton Diamond, IHG Diamond, LHW Sterling
Posts: 1,308
Not very creative/really a TP run, but for the lazier amongst us, the current sale on HEL and IST is putting those routes in CE at around £280, or £1.75 a TP. Weekend dates are available. I just put IST on hold for June.
May 6, 2017, 2:51 am
#1642
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Bristol
Programs: BA GGL, UA Plat, DL Plat, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 2,380
That £485-odd price is what I was quoted to start off with, but a decent agent will (should !) be able to get you BA prime codes on the TLL-HEL & HEL-TLL sectors.
In my case, this reduced fhe price significantly (to £393.50).
Overall, for me the trip has fitted in nicely with a planned visit to the Helsinki office. I fly ABZ to TLL the first weekend, hop the Star ferry to Helsinki, work from there in the week, ferry back on Friday afternoon, spend Saturday in Tallinn then on Sunday fly back to Aberdeen.
In my case, this reduced fhe price significantly (to £393.50).
Overall, for me the trip has fitted in nicely with a planned visit to the Helsinki office. I fly ABZ to TLL the first weekend, hop the Star ferry to Helsinki, work from there in the week, ferry back on Friday afternoon, spend Saturday in Tallinn then on Sunday fly back to Aberdeen.
May 6, 2017, 3:16 am
#1643
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: The North
Posts: 1,845
Fitch, thank you for the insight. I notice you said you rang the GGL. Any tips on who might be best to handle odd routing/ticketing requests like this for those of us without access to the GGL agents?
Is this something that a regular BA agent would likely baulk at? And I'm guessing there's a way to avoid the telephone booking charge (as the website certainly won't be able to cope with this), but again I suspect it's easier to persuade GGL to do this than the regular number?
I'd be interested in doing something like EDI–xxx–EDI/GLA–LHR at each end of the TLL trip, if that helps
Is this something that a regular BA agent would likely baulk at? And I'm guessing there's a way to avoid the telephone booking charge (as the website certainly won't be able to cope with this), but again I suspect it's easier to persuade GGL to do this than the regular number?
I'd be interested in doing something like EDI–xxx–EDI/GLA–LHR at each end of the TLL trip, if that helps
Last edited by squawk; May 6, 2017 at 3:17 am Reason: Add detail
May 6, 2017, 3:22 am
#1644
Join Date: Jul 2016
Location: ABZ
Programs: BA Gold, IHG Spire Ambassador
Posts: 98
Well, I tried booking this with a Silver agent yesterday, and got the flight priced at around £1400!!!
I looked at BookWithMatrix, which redirected me to Priceline - annoyingly, it changed the ABZ>LHR (and back) legs to Economy rather than CE.
So, like @squawk, any insight on booking such flights would be really useful!
I looked at BookWithMatrix, which redirected me to Priceline - annoyingly, it changed the ABZ>LHR (and back) legs to Economy rather than CE.
So, like @squawk, any insight on booking such flights would be really useful!
May 6, 2017, 3:23 am
#1645
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 27
Fitch, thank you for the insight. I notice you said you rang the GGL. Any tips on who might be best to handle odd routing/ticketing requests like this for those of us without access to the GGL agents?
Is this something that a regular BA agent would likely baulk at? And I'm guessing there's a way to avoid the telephone booking charge (as the website certainly won't be able to cope with this), but again I suspect it's easier to persuade GGL to do this than the regular number?
I'd be interested in doing something like EDI–xxx–EDI/GLA–LHR at each end of the TLL trip, if that helps
Is this something that a regular BA agent would likely baulk at? And I'm guessing there's a way to avoid the telephone booking charge (as the website certainly won't be able to cope with this), but again I suspect it's easier to persuade GGL to do this than the regular number?
I'd be interested in doing something like EDI–xxx–EDI/GLA–LHR at each end of the TLL trip, if that helps
May 6, 2017, 3:29 am
#1646
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: The North
Posts: 1,845
With Matrix I've been able to get an ABZ–TLL route for £466, with the final outbound booking into AY rather than BA. I'm guessing from the comments made by Fitch, if one was able to coerce this onto a BA code it would bring the price down again, perhaps to the £393 mentioned.
I haven't been able to find anything cheaper than about £700 from EDI yet (this was a straight swap of EDI to ABZ in the routing).
I haven't been able to find anything cheaper than about £700 from EDI yet (this was a straight swap of EDI to ABZ in the routing).
May 6, 2017, 4:03 am
#1647
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: London
Programs: BA Executive Club, Aeroplan
Posts: 196
This is a very minor question, but I only need 20 tier points to tier up, so I was wondering whats the best way to get this from LON? I can go at pretty much any time, and a day trip is preferable.
Thanks for any help anyone can offer!
Thanks for any help anyone can offer!
May 6, 2017, 4:16 am
#1648
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: The North
Posts: 1,845
Or, a flexible economy (Y, B, H) for 20TP or Club Europe for 40TP to any domestic destination, and hopping on a cheap train back (or vice versa). Suspect MAN or LBA would be easiest, quickest, and/or cheapest. A lot will depend on how easy it is for you to get to/from the relevant airports and Euston or St Pancras. Advance train tickets for specific times are pretty cheap if you're flexible on destinations, and if you make a day trip of it then you can allow yourself several hours in a city of your choice to wander around a bit.
May 6, 2017, 8:04 am
#1649
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Bristol
Programs: BA GGL, UA Plat, DL Plat, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 2,380
May 6, 2017, 8:05 am
#1650
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Bristol
Programs: BA GGL, UA Plat, DL Plat, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 2,380
Dup deleted.