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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 Please add important information to it or correct outdated information by clicking the "Edit" button below!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 - £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.

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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


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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.

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

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BA Tier Point Runs | 2017 master thread

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Old May 20, 2017, 1:59 pm
  #1906  
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Programs: BA Executive Club and OnBusiness
Posts: 721
OTP - PHX

I've booked this for August. From memory I had to use muti search in Matrix

First leg OTP to HEL routing code LHR
then
HEL to PHX routing code LHR JFK
then
PHX to HEL routing code PHL,BOS LHR
then
HEL to OTP routing code LHR
You'll need to enter your own dates (can't do a broad calendar search).
I used the Powertools addon to Matrix and booked directly with AA European site (not US site which needs US credit card or Paypal)

paid approx £1,480
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Old May 20, 2017, 2:36 pm
  #1907  
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Vale of Glamorgan
Programs: BAEC Gold
Posts: 2,992
Originally Posted by woglet86
Thanks for posting. I'm trying to replicate on ITA, but the doubling back through LHR seems to cause issues. I always get "no flights found" if I use Matrix for the following

Start: OTP
End: PHX
Outbound routing code: LHR HEL LHR BOS /alliance oneworld
Dates: several tried, but for example August and March calendar views with 3 night stay.

Should this show on iTA, or do I have to search on AA.com directly?

Thanks
I just went straight to American Airlines' UK website, chose multicity and entered the following sectors:

Friday 30 March: OTP to HEL (morning)
Saturday 31 March HEL to BOS (morning)
Saturday 31 March: BOS to PHX (all day)
Wednesday 4 April: PHX to PHL (morning)
Wednesday 4 April: PHL to HEL (evening)
Friday 6 April: HEL to OTP (morning) (If you choose Thursday it offers an immediate turnaround at HEL and an 00:35 arrival in OTP, whereas I preferred to spend the night in HEL and fly at a more civilised time the next day).

You'll be offered a number of itineraries - I chose the ones with 3-4 hours at the main US connection cities, which gives time to clear immigration/customs and get some lounge time.
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Old May 21, 2017, 3:00 am
  #1908  
 
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: London
Programs: BA Gold (woohoo)
Posts: 189
Playing along at home and I can get it pricing in Matrix - you need to factor in the Saturday night stay clause (the inbound transatlantic must be at least the first Sunday after the outbound) and the 6 day rule (inbound transatlantic must be 6 days after outbound).

Getting £1,095 as the base pricing for OTP - LHR - HEL - ORD - PHX and return. Not TP optimised but 680 TPs at £1.61 each. I may stop playing along at home as I need 600 points to get to gold...

Looking at other West Coast cities and Phoenix is clearly the cheapest by a distance. Here's my question - is there a place to look at all of the ILN8R4C1 fares in one table? Rather than hacking them through Matrix one by one? Is that Expert Flyer territory?
Keep it Riel is offline  
Old May 21, 2017, 3:07 am
  #1909  
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 8,772
Originally Posted by Keep it Riel
Playing along at home and I can get it pricing in Matrix - you need to factor in the Saturday night stay clause (the inbound transatlantic must be at least the first Sunday after the outbound) and the 6 day rule (inbound transatlantic must be 6 days after outbound).
No 6-day rule on the AA fare - Sat night stay only.

On the BA fare, it's 6 days OR Sat night stay. You don't need to stay Sat night AND 6 days.
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Old May 21, 2017, 3:09 am
  #1910  
Ambassador, British Airways; FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Leeds, UK
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, GfL, HH Diamond
Posts: 42,977
Originally Posted by Keep it Riel
Playing along at home and I can get it pricing in Matrix - you need to factor in the Saturday night stay clause (the inbound transatlantic must be at least the first Sunday after the outbound) and the 6 day rule (inbound transatlantic must be 6 days after outbound).

Getting £1,095 as the base pricing for OTP - LHR - HEL - ORD - PHX and return. Not TP optimised but 680 TPs at £1.61 each. I may stop playing along at home as I need 600 points to get to gold...

Looking at other West Coast cities and Phoenix is clearly the cheapest by a distance. Here's my question - is there a place to look at all of the ILN8R4C1 fares in one table? Rather than hacking them through Matrix one by one? Is that Expert Flyer territory?
The fare details are in the linked post in the wiki. exOTP is 6 days or Saturday night.
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Old May 21, 2017, 3:18 am
  #1911  
 
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: London
Programs: BA Gold (woohoo)
Posts: 189
Originally Posted by Ldnn1
No 6-day rule on the AA fare - Sat night stay only.

On the BA fare, it's 6 days OR Sat night stay. You don't need to stay Sat night AND 6 days.
Thanks for the correction.

Thanks also Karfa. I am sure I am missing it but I can only see the Phx fare in the wiki linked post and that's showing as £150 more than the base fare I can see in matrix (before TP optimisation).

My question stands though - is there anywhere you can see a complete fare list?
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Old May 21, 2017, 3:20 am
  #1912  
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Join Date: Apr 2012
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Posts: 42,977
Originally Posted by Keep it Riel
Thanks for the correction.

Thanks also Karfa. I am sure I am missing it but I can only see the Phx fare in the wiki linked post and that's showing as £150 more than the base fare I can see in matrix (before TP optimisation).

My question stands though - is there anywhere you can see a complete fare list?
How do you mean complete fare list? All the destinations and routings?

The linked post at the top of the wiki under current sales and promotions give the important bits of the fares rules and some example prices to a few destinations.
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Old May 21, 2017, 3:24 am
  #1913  
 
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Bradford, England
Programs: BA GGL/CCR , HH Diamond
Posts: 274
Thank you Misco!

I pulled the trigger on one of these leaving OTP on March 30th 2018 but have just the Saturday night in PHX. One third of my way to maintaining GGL within a month of my TP renewal cycle is not too shabby.
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Old May 21, 2017, 3:30 am
  #1914  
 
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: London
Programs: BA Gold (woohoo)
Posts: 189
Originally Posted by KARFA
The linked post at the top of the wiki under current sales and promotions give the important bits of the fares rules and some example prices to a few destinations.
And an amazing resource it is too!

Originally Posted by KARFA
How do you mean complete fare list? All the destinations and routings?
I recall seeing that expertflyer has fare info. Showing each routing would be hideously impractical, but I'm wondering if there's a single place where you can see the base fares for ILN8R4C1. To see if perhaps TUS or RNO are equally cheap as destinations without having to clack them one by one through Matrix. The MAN to SAT fare also included LIN and OKC IIRC, neither of which would probably be top of mind for people searching for an interesting trip.
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Old May 21, 2017, 3:35 am
  #1915  
Ambassador, British Airways; FlyerTalk Posting Legend
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Posts: 42,977
Originally Posted by Keep it Riel
I recall seeing that expertflyer has fare info. Showing each routing would be hideously impractical, but I'm wondering if there's a single place where you can see the base fares for ILN8R4C1. To see if perhaps TUS or RNO are equally cheap as destinations without having to clack them one by one through Matrix. The MAN to SAT fare also included LIN and OKC IIRC, neither of which would probably be top of mind for people searching for an interesting trip.
Not that I can think of in EF. I can't think of anywhere like that where you could effectively get a query of all destinations and base fares covered by a specific fare code - that would be very useful if there is somewhere that has it.

I guess google flights would do this to some extent by showing all prices to a selected region? - I am not a big user of google flights.
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Old May 21, 2017, 4:06 am
  #1916  
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Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: London
Posts: 17,007
Originally Posted by Keep it Riel
And an amazing resource it is too!



I recall seeing that expertflyer has fare info. Showing each routing would be hideously impractical, but I'm wondering if there's a single place where you can see the base fares for ILN8R4C1. To see if perhaps TUS or RNO are equally cheap as destinations without having to clack them one by one through Matrix. The MAN to SAT fare also included LIN and OKC IIRC, neither of which would probably be top of mind for people searching for an interesting trip.
Alas no, or certainly not at a practical price, to my knowledge. Access to the raw published tariffs would be an invaluable resource. You can buy the data from ATPCO but it isn't cheap.
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Old May 21, 2017, 5:04 am
  #1917  
 
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: London
Programs: BA Gold (woohoo)
Posts: 189
Originally Posted by KARFA
I guess google flights would do this to some extent by showing all prices to a selected region? - I am not a big user of google flights.
I've spent a bit of time on google flights and it is a good resource for working out where to take a weekend break, but in my experience it misses some fares (it struggles to see HBO fares as an example, perhaps because it assumes you'd want luggage?). I don't think its that helpful for the kind of complex TP run we crave here.
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Old May 21, 2017, 8:57 am
  #1918  
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Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: London
Posts: 17,007
Originally Posted by Keep it Riel
I've spent a bit of time on google flights and it is a good resource for working out where to take a weekend break, but in my experience it misses some fares (it struggles to see HBO fares as an example, perhaps because it assumes you'd want luggage?). I don't think its that helpful for the kind of complex TP run we crave here.
BA's HBO fares are not in the "normal" published tariff, you have to request them. So probably ITA and Google won't see them by default.
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Old May 21, 2017, 10:32 am
  #1919  
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 7,464
For any intrepid TP runner, DUB-HNL is currently not a bad price (not anywhere near the £900 price we saw a few years ago!).

Book by 22nd May - Fare: ILN8S4C1

Routing via LON bumps the fare over MPM, but still ok for TPs gained

DUB-LHR-JFK-LAX-HNL-LAX-JFK-LHR-DUB - £1,546 - 920 TPs - £1.68/TP

Hat tip to the Premium Fares thread: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/premi...l#post28340732

Also available to MIA, SFO, LAX and no doubt others. Book quickly.

I'm sure @KARFA can made one of his nice fare information guides
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Old May 21, 2017, 11:10 am
  #1920  
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 7,464
Some interesting options for DUB-MIA.

600 TPs - £1,169 - £1.95/TP
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