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 Please add important information to it or correct outdated information by clicking the "Edit" button below!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
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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
Aug 25, 2017, 5:33 am
#3031
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: South Coast, UK
Programs: BAEC Gold, Hilton HHonors Diamond, Club Carlson Gold
Posts: 20
Trying to convince the lady to do the LCA-LAS return and it's proving tricky... how easy is it do a B2B at LCA? Seems to be only one BA flight from LHR each day and prefer to get straight back on it!
Also how you do you 'force' an A Fare code on the Trans con flights? Always seem to get D these days ever since the changes last year. Cheers!
Also how you do you 'force' an A Fare code on the Trans con flights? Always seem to get D these days ever since the changes last year. Cheers!
Aug 25, 2017, 5:39 am
#3032
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Manchester, UK
Programs: BAEC Silver
Posts: 194
Hey,
I asked this recently in the B2B thread and CWS assured me that it's nice and easy
I'll be doing the same thing in March next year.
There's 2 flights a day from LHR and apparently the evening one is a bit slower at turning around for the next flight, so that's the one I went for.
In terms of forcing an A fare code, nufnuf77 helped me on this - it has to be a BA codeshare, it has to have I=0 and A availability and then it'll book into First!
I asked this recently in the B2B thread and CWS assured me that it's nice and easy
I'll be doing the same thing in March next year.There's 2 flights a day from LHR and apparently the evening one is a bit slower at turning around for the next flight, so that's the one I went for.
In terms of forcing an A fare code, nufnuf77 helped me on this - it has to be a BA codeshare, it has to have I=0 and A availability and then it'll book into First!
Trying to convince the lady to do the LCA-LAS return and it's proving tricky... how easy is it do a B2B at LCA? Seems to be only one BA flight from LHR each day and prefer to get straight back on it!
Also how you do you 'force' an A Fare code on the Trans con flights? Always seem to get D these days ever since the changes last year. Cheers!
Also how you do you 'force' an A Fare code on the Trans con flights? Always seem to get D these days ever since the changes last year. Cheers!
Aug 25, 2017, 5:41 am
#3033
Join Date: Mar 2012
Programs: UA 1K, BA GGL/CCR, TK Elite Plus, Marriott Gold4Lyfe, HH Diamond, Avis PC, Hertz PC, Tesco Blue
Posts: 270
Hey,
I asked this recently in the B2B thread and CWS assured me that it's nice and easy I'll be doing the same thing in March next year.
There's 2 flights a day from LHR and apparently the evening one is a bit slower at turning around for the next flight, so that's the one I went for.
In terms of forcing an A fare code, nufnuf77 helped me on this - it has to be a BA codeshare, it has to have I=0 and A availability and then it'll book into First!
I asked this recently in the B2B thread and CWS assured me that it's nice and easy
I'll be doing the same thing in March next year.There's 2 flights a day from LHR and apparently the evening one is a bit slower at turning around for the next flight, so that's the one I went for.
In terms of forcing an A fare code, nufnuf77 helped me on this - it has to be a BA codeshare, it has to have I=0 and A availability and then it'll book into First!
Last edited by SkyTeem; Aug 25, 2017 at 9:34 am
Aug 25, 2017, 5:45 am
#3034
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: South Coast, UK
Programs: BAEC Gold, Hilton HHonors Diamond, Club Carlson Gold
Posts: 20
Great thanks guys! I'll have more of a play later - we're looking to go mid Jan and availability is good.
Just incase others don't know the fare holds up routing through MIA and BOS not just JFK/EWR. So we'll be doing JFK on the outbound with a 24 hour wait then BOS on the return with a 2 hour.
Just incase others don't know the fare holds up routing through MIA and BOS not just JFK/EWR. So we'll be doing JFK on the outbound with a 24 hour wait then BOS on the return with a 2 hour.
Aug 25, 2017, 6:44 am
#3035
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Berkshire
Programs: BA Gold, LH FT
Posts: 14
TP Run Changes
I'm due to set off on a MAN-HEL-ORD-DFW-SAT run tomorrow. Due to Hurricane Harvey it's unlikely that the SAT bit will happen. AA are offering free rebooking. Any suggestions on an alternative that could squeeze out a few more points?
Aug 25, 2017, 8:38 am
#3036
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Jerusalem
Programs: ba gold
Posts: 103
maybe try man-hel-nyc-phx-sat as that would give you a extra 2000+ mile segment
Aug 25, 2017, 9:01 am
#3037
Join Date: Apr 2016
Posts: 250
What is considered a good TP ratio? I paid 1600£ for 1020TP which gives around 1.56£ per TP point. Maybe it is written somewhere but could not find it.
My route is OSL-HEL-LHR-JFK-LAS-LAX return.
I guess HNL used to be the best place to go for TP run but that route has no more good deals?
Have a nice weekend
My route is OSL-HEL-LHR-JFK-LAS-LAX return.
I guess HNL used to be the best place to go for TP run but that route has no more good deals?
Have a nice weekend
Aug 25, 2017, 9:43 am
#3038
Moderator: Hyatt Gold Passport & Star Alliance
Join Date: May 1998
Location: London, UK
Programs: UA-1K 3MM/HY- LT Globalist/BA-GGL/GfL
Posts: 12,090
I am doing mine tomorrow, by which time I hope things will have settled down in Texas!
Aug 25, 2017, 9:55 am
#3039
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: London
Posts: 17,007
This thread tops out at £3 / TP.
The best runs we see are probably about £0.80 / TP, but we haven't seen anything like that since Brexit was decided.
Aug 25, 2017, 1:08 pm
#3040
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: Helsinki
Programs: BAEC Gold
Posts: 143
It isn't looking good, Harvey is now Cat 3, though San Antonio is currently clear and no sign of the storm. But its predicted to start this evening and tomorrow at least 50cm of rain with same on Sunday which means potential of flash floods, so if I were you I'd try for that re-route to PHX.
Aug 25, 2017, 1:13 pm
#3041
Join Date: Nov 2016
Programs: BA Gold; IHG Plat
Posts: 116
I wouldn't be too confident of things settling down, but even if they re-route for less than intended I'd assume you'd be able to ask for the ORC? I'm sure someone better versed in such matters could confirm either way; I've only had to ask for them on EU based flights with no advanced warning.
Aug 25, 2017, 1:56 pm
#3042
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 4,709
I wouldn't be too confident of things settling down, but even if they re-route for less than intended I'd assume you'd be able to ask for the ORC? I'm sure someone better versed in such matters could confirm either way; I've only had to ask for them on EU based flights with no advanced warning.
Aug 25, 2017, 10:04 pm
#3043
Moderator: Hyatt Gold Passport & Star Alliance
Join Date: May 1998
Location: London, UK
Programs: UA-1K 3MM/HY- LT Globalist/BA-GGL/GfL
Posts: 12,090
It isn't looking good, Harvey is now Cat 3, though San Antonio is currently clear and no sign of the storm. But its predicted to start this evening and tomorrow at least 50cm of rain with same on Sunday which means potential of flash floods, so if I were you I'd try for that re-route to PHX.
Aug 26, 2017, 11:23 am
#3044
Join Date: Mar 2007
Programs: BA GGL/CCR
Posts: 384
msm2000uk - I've just tried to do the same with the GGL Line, armed with an itinerary from Matrix - but they're quoting almost exactly £1,000 more. Did you have any problems like this? I'm wondering if it is something to do with booking into 'A' on the Transcon between JFK and LAX, and whether, if I ask them to book me into 'I' then the price will come down again but I'll be booked into First? Was this an issue for you?
Thanks for the tips and the threads.
I downloaded Power-Tools, but none of the websites could find the fare as there seemed to be ghost availability on one of the flights.
So, instead, I called the GGL line and drove two people crazy. However, they were fantastically patient, gave me options where I was struggling to think of them, and I'm now booked and ticketed!
So, 1020 TPs for £1,533 - which I'm quite happy with. I will cancel it, if I'm able to get the flight times I'd prefer, but at least I have it booked in the interim!
It gives me the Friday night in London, which was the key request, and A class on the trans-con flights - so a very happy msm2000uk
Massive thanks to you for all your help, and to KARFA and wonderman for the various suggestions!
M
I downloaded Power-Tools, but none of the websites could find the fare as there seemed to be ghost availability on one of the flights.
So, instead, I called the GGL line and drove two people crazy. However, they were fantastically patient, gave me options where I was struggling to think of them, and I'm now booked and ticketed!
So, 1020 TPs for £1,533 - which I'm quite happy with. I will cancel it, if I'm able to get the flight times I'd prefer, but at least I have it booked in the interim!
It gives me the Friday night in London, which was the key request, and A class on the trans-con flights - so a very happy msm2000uk
Massive thanks to you for all your help, and to KARFA and wonderman for the various suggestions!
M
Aug 26, 2017, 12:46 pm
#3045
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Bristol
Programs: BA GGL, UA Plat, DL Plat, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 2,380
Have you spoken to dutch_122 ?
He seems to be able to untie a good number of Gordian knots...
He seems to be able to untie a good number of Gordian knots...