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 Please add important information to it or correct outdated information by clicking the "Edit" button below!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
Nov 27, 2017, 3:41 am
#3961
Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: UK
Posts: 10,126
Welcome to Flyertalk and the BA Forum DANDL. It's hard to say when is the best time to book as no one knows when a sale will be along however if you want to go business class I would strongly recommend doing an ex-EU if you can (starting from elsewhere in the UK such as Oslo) Club World is around £2500 each pp at the moment on ba.com but they do go lower than that to around £2300 ish. BA 11 and BA 15 are the best options if choosing BA rather than BA 15 all the way through which is classed as one flight whereas 11 and 15 are 2 seperate flights which = more tier points.
However do have a look Qatar, also part of oneworld, who do some very good sales to Australia at times so it's worth signing up for e-mail alerts, sometimes they do flash sales so read the Qatar forum as well as on here. Have a read on headforpoints too which can highlight some examples of low fares, sometimes well under 2k each and will get you BA Silver in one go (assuming you do 4 BA coded flights)
I'm no expert in fare rules however a lot of fares do allow a free stopover both ways and definitely worth considering to break the flights up.
However do have a look Qatar, also part of oneworld, who do some very good sales to Australia at times so it's worth signing up for e-mail alerts, sometimes they do flash sales so read the Qatar forum as well as on here. Have a read on headforpoints too which can highlight some examples of low fares, sometimes well under 2k each and will get you BA Silver in one go (assuming you do 4 BA coded flights)
I'm no expert in fare rules however a lot of fares do allow a free stopover both ways and definitely worth considering to break the flights up.
Last edited by PETER01; Nov 27, 2017 at 3:47 am
Nov 27, 2017, 3:42 am
#3962
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Vale of Glamorgan
Programs: BAEC Gold
Posts: 2,988
Hi Mikeyfly,
Thanks for replying.
Sorry - flying from London Heathrow.
As regards cost, the cheaper the better as I'm paying for them myself.
I'm quite keen to get on and book them - with any helpful advice on price reduction - and am wary that as the weeks/months go by, the price may go up.
Apart from the extra costs of staying over somewhere (Hong Kong/Singapore) does that impact on flight costs ?
In principle we'd probably plan to fly straight through but if there is a benefit in stopping over - tier points/avios etc - we'd look at that.
As you can gather, I'm an innocent lamb in this and would be very grateful for advice.
Thanks for replying.
Sorry - flying from London Heathrow.
As regards cost, the cheaper the better as I'm paying for them myself.
I'm quite keen to get on and book them - with any helpful advice on price reduction - and am wary that as the weeks/months go by, the price may go up.
Apart from the extra costs of staying over somewhere (Hong Kong/Singapore) does that impact on flight costs ?
In principle we'd probably plan to fly straight through but if there is a benefit in stopping over - tier points/avios etc - we'd look at that.
As you can gather, I'm an innocent lamb in this and would be very grateful for advice.
What is certain is that London is not the cheapest starting point for business class flights to Australia. You should check the fares from other cities, particularly those in Scandinavia - you can often save well over £1,000 per person by flying from Stockholm or Gothenburg, for example, even flying with British Airways via London. You'd have to factor in the time and expense of positioning to the starting pint, and possibly of overnight accommodation there, but you'll still save money.
Fares for next November haven't yet been published, but I did a quick check on flights to Sydney in October on OneWorld airlines. The cheapest from London is £3,300, but you can get a return from Oslo with Qatar Airways for £2,156.
Do some research using Google Flights, to get an idea of the fares from various cities, and set up an alert to let you know when the fare changes. And keep an eye on the premium fare deals thread in this forum.
Nov 27, 2017, 6:26 am
#3963
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: BHX
Programs: BA GGL CCR GfL, SQ Gold, Hyatt Glob, HH Diamond, Marriott Plat, Cafe Nero Loyalty Card (7 Stamps)
Posts: 7,325
Any decent one world options for DXB? The BA fares from MIL look to have gone (or at least are gone for my dates). I need to go in Jan so I'm also within 60 days.
Wondered if I was missing a slightly more obscure starting point Ex-EU that has good fares to the GCC?
Edit: Never mind. BA still an option; just full on a few days around my preferred date. Slight jiggling of dates has given me the £1180 option out of LIN.
Wondered if I was missing a slightly more obscure starting point Ex-EU that has good fares to the GCC?
Edit: Never mind. BA still an option; just full on a few days around my preferred date. Slight jiggling of dates has given me the £1180 option out of LIN.
Nov 27, 2017, 6:35 am
#3964
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Switzerland / Estonia
Programs: AY+ Platinum, BAEC Silver, airbaltic VIP, HH Diamond, Radisson VIP, IHG Diamond Elite
Posts: 6,525
Nov 28, 2017, 4:28 am
#3965
Join Date: Jul 2010
Programs: BA GGL
Posts: 611
You're in luck. MH is still running the sale for PVG-KUL-SIN. 500 USD return but you'll have to book within the next 36 hours.
https://www.google.com/flights/#sear...PVG0MH388;sc=b
https://www.google.com/flights/#sear...PVG0MH388;sc=b
If I were to do this I would have to start by positioning from KUL, meaning KUL-PVG-KUL-SIN-KUL-PVG-KUL. As far as I know the transit visa on arrival does not allow returning to the same country, but would this particular itinerary be permitted since the final destination is different from the point of origin? Or not permitted because the destination of the first flight into/out of China is KUL in all cases?
Nov 28, 2017, 6:53 am
#3966
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Beijing
Programs: SK EBG, BAEC Gold
Posts: 932
If I were to do this I would have to start by positioning from KUL, meaning KUL-PVG-KUL-SIN-KUL-PVG-KUL. As far as I know the transit visa on arrival does not allow returning to the same country, but would this particular itinerary be permitted since the final destination is different from the point of origin? Or not permitted because the destination of the first flight into/out of China is KUL in all cases?
PVG - KUL - SIN - KUL - PVG (360 TPs at 3268 CNY (498 USD)
SIN - KUL - PEN - KUL - SIN (160 TPs at 3412 CNY (517 USD)
(total of 1015 USD). Prices and availability as seen using Google flights.
Nov 28, 2017, 7:03 am
#3967
Join Date: Jul 2010
Programs: BA GGL
Posts: 611
Thanks for the quick answer. Any idea how the authorities would view an application for a double entry tourist visa for this sort of itinerary, with less than 24h in PVG both times? Is there a significant chance it would be denied?
Nov 28, 2017, 7:25 am
#3968
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Beijing
Programs: SK EBG, BAEC Gold
Posts: 932
I can't really think of a reason why this could be a problem so think it should be fine (two closely spaced short business trips to China from SE Asia is not going to be so unusual).
I only have direct experience though with visa applications for China in Denmark. In that case though it is fairly easy to get s multiple entry tourist visa. You could as s backup leave enough time on one of the PVG stays to add a PVG-HKG-PVG return (so you would be travelling KUL-PVG-HKG and in reverse).
I only have direct experience though with visa applications for China in Denmark. In that case though it is fairly easy to get s multiple entry tourist visa. You could as s backup leave enough time on one of the PVG stays to add a PVG-HKG-PVG return (so you would be travelling KUL-PVG-HKG and in reverse).
Nov 28, 2017, 1:58 pm
#3969
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 192
Looks like this has been extended from the 36 hours mentioned, as it seems to still be available?
If I were to do this I would have to start by positioning from KUL, meaning KUL-PVG-KUL-SIN-KUL-PVG-KUL. As far as I know the transit visa on arrival does not allow returning to the same country, but would this particular itinerary be permitted since the final destination is different from the point of origin? Or not permitted because the destination of the first flight into/out of China is KUL in all cases?
If I were to do this I would have to start by positioning from KUL, meaning KUL-PVG-KUL-SIN-KUL-PVG-KUL. As far as I know the transit visa on arrival does not allow returning to the same country, but would this particular itinerary be permitted since the final destination is different from the point of origin? Or not permitted because the destination of the first flight into/out of China is KUL in all cases?
Nov 29, 2017, 3:24 am
#3971
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: ORD
Programs: BA, AA, SQ, UA, AC, WS, MR TIT
Posts: 8,658
Nov 29, 2017, 3:36 am
#3972
Moderator: Qatar Airways
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: LHR/NCE/MIA
Programs: BAEC GfL & GGL, SQ Gold, Amex Centurion, Mucci des Chevaliers des Bons Mots et Qui Savent Moucher
Posts: 8,944
Plug the routing in as a Multi-City option, and the prices you've seen on Matrix, will come up.
M
Nov 29, 2017, 5:23 am
#3973
Join Date: Jul 2010
Programs: BA GGL
Posts: 611
EDIT: I have to amend the above - I was trying routings originating in FRA, but I've since been able to price up several examples originating in LCA using the multi-city option on srilankan.com, as suggested by msm2000uk.
Last edited by JonV; Nov 29, 2017 at 10:08 am
Nov 29, 2017, 6:31 am
#3974
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: ORD
Programs: BA, AA, SQ, UA, AC, WS, MR TIT
Posts: 8,658
Nov 29, 2017, 6:45 am
#3975
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Switzerland / Estonia
Programs: AY+ Platinum, BAEC Silver, airbaltic VIP, HH Diamond, Radisson VIP, IHG Diamond Elite
Posts: 6,525
As every winter, BA will serve GVA from LGW.
GVA-LGW return can be had for CHF 294 (about £222) in Club, which yields 80TPs (£2.77/TP). Not great, but for us based in Switzerland not bad either.
Example:
https://www.google.com/flights/#sear...VA0BA2736;sc=b
GVA-LGW return can be had for CHF 294 (about £222) in Club, which yields 80TPs (£2.77/TP). Not great, but for us based in Switzerland not bad either.
Example:
https://www.google.com/flights/#sear...VA0BA2736;sc=b
