Last edit by: OWBA
Welcome to the thread. This is a continuation of the highly popular 2017 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 Please add important information to it or correct outdated information by clicking the "Edit" button below.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 #9 for a 2018 archive of exEU sale fare, and see this post in the 2017 thread for last years 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:
Please see the links at the bottom of the wiki for archives of runs from previous years.
From Europe
From North, Central and South America
23Sep £1.48/TP £650 (US$853) 440 TPs JFK-CLT/BOS-LAX-LAS and return all I class aa.com
6Sep £1.50/TP US$457 240TPs RIC-CLT-DCA-BOS, BOS-LGA/PHL-CLT-RIC all I class aa.com
Jan/Feb wide open £1.94/TP £700(US$883) 360 TPs SEA-CLT-MCO-PHX-SEA all I class aa.com
From Middle East, Asia and Australasia
18Jan £1.58/TP £883 560 CMB-xHKG-CGK return I cathaypacific.com ermen CX
28Feb £1.44/TP £575 400 MCT-DOH-BKK-DOH-MCT A/R/R/A travel.americanexpress.co.uk QR
21Feb £1.53/TP £860 560 HKG-CMB-MEL return I Expedia.com.hk Firemin UL
16Mar £1.22/TP £687 560 CGK-CMB-DXB return I srilankan.com Firemin UL
01Apr £0.87/TP £314 360 PEN-KUL-KTM return Malaysian.com cgtechuk MH
01Apr £1.19/TP £335 280 KUL-PER return Malaysian.com cgtechuk MH
01Apr £1.28/TP £335 360 PEN-KUL-PER return Malaysian.com cgtechuk MH
05Apr £2.00/TP £320 160 CAN-HKG-TPE return CathayPacific.com littlevoices CX/KA (flexible fare, bookable up to 24 hours in advance, allows stopovers, book with CX directly)
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. Some information on how to use ITA matrix is in post #4 of this thread (or just click 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 along with UK domestic returns. Additionally you may find that trips in to mainland Europe require a one night stay whereas the cheapest domestic CE returns do not have any minimum stay so can be booked as a same day return. If doing a back to back AMS and JER can be easier than DUB for an immediate turnaround - more information can be found in the back to back thread listed in the forum dashboard. 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). UK domestic route, Bilbao, Jersey and Amsterdam seem 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 of this thread, 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.
DUB-LHR-HEL return (or return to LHR) is currently a very efficient way of hitting 200-240 TPs
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Historic information
2017 Archive
2016 Archive
2015 Archive (6 months Jul to Dec)
2015 Archive (6 months Jan to Jun)
2014 Archive
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 JER to PDX IKN8T1S6 reported in this post, e.g. PDX £1,082, needs to be booked by 8 May, see linked post for details
Advanced Promotion Fares
- from OTP to PHX ILN8C8S4 reported here, e.g. PHX - £1,296, see linked post for details
- from AMS to BKK INCEU60 reported here, e.g. BKK - £1,340, see linked post for details
See here in post #9 for a 2018 archive of exEU sale fare, and see this post in the 2017 thread for last years 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
Code:
3Feb 200TPs DUB-LHR-HEL/HEL-LHR all I class ba.com
23Sep £1.48/TP £650 (US$853) 440 TPs JFK-CLT/BOS-LAX-LAS and return all I class aa.com
6Sep £1.50/TP US$457 240TPs RIC-CLT-DCA-BOS, BOS-LGA/PHL-CLT-RIC all I class aa.com
Jan/Feb wide open £1.94/TP £700(US$883) 360 TPs SEA-CLT-MCO-PHX-SEA all I class aa.com
From Middle East, Asia and Australasia
18Jan £1.58/TP £883 560 CMB-xHKG-CGK return I cathaypacific.com ermen CX
28Feb £1.44/TP £575 400 MCT-DOH-BKK-DOH-MCT A/R/R/A travel.americanexpress.co.uk QR
21Feb £1.53/TP £860 560 HKG-CMB-MEL return I Expedia.com.hk Firemin UL
16Mar £1.22/TP £687 560 CGK-CMB-DXB return I srilankan.com Firemin UL
01Apr £0.87/TP £314 360 PEN-KUL-KTM return Malaysian.com cgtechuk MH
01Apr £1.19/TP £335 280 KUL-PER return Malaysian.com cgtechuk MH
01Apr £1.28/TP £335 360 PEN-KUL-PER return Malaysian.com cgtechuk MH
05Apr £2.00/TP £320 160 CAN-HKG-TPE return CathayPacific.com littlevoices CX/KA (flexible fare, bookable up to 24 hours in advance, allows stopovers, book with CX directly)
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. Some information on how to use ITA matrix is in post #4 of this thread (or just click 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 along with UK domestic returns. Additionally you may find that trips in to mainland Europe require a one night stay whereas the cheapest domestic CE returns do not have any minimum stay so can be booked as a same day return. If doing a back to back AMS and JER can be easier than DUB for an immediate turnaround - more information can be found in the back to back thread listed in the forum dashboard. 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). UK domestic route, Bilbao, Jersey and Amsterdam seem 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 of this thread, 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.
DUB-LHR-HEL return (or return to LHR) is currently a very efficient way of hitting 200-240 TPs
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Historic information
2017 Archive
2016 Archive
2015 Archive (6 months Jul to Dec)
2015 Archive (6 months Jan to Jun)
2014 Archive
BA Tier Point Runs | 2018 master thread
#1636
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: London
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 259
As part of an EC261 settlement I received a Finnair voucher (long story, but the voucher is ~ EUR 200), which I believe can be used on any AY coded flights - so I was wondering if anyone had come across any runs that would be bookable under an AY code? I had looked into adding an HEL into something like OTP-PHX, but I wasn't able to make this bookable on AY.
Any suggestions welcome, otherwise I'll just take a trip to HEL again...
~S
Any suggestions welcome, otherwise I'll just take a trip to HEL again...
~S
#1637
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Cumbria
Programs: BAEC GGL/CCR, Hilton Diamond, Starbucks Gold
Posts: 4,510
As part of an EC261 settlement I received a Finnair voucher (long story, but the voucher is ~ EUR 200), which I believe can be used on any AY coded flights - so I was wondering if anyone had come across any runs that would be bookable under an AY code? I had looked into adding an HEL into something like OTP-PHX, but I wasn't able to make this bookable on AY.
Any suggestions welcome, otherwise I'll just take a trip to HEL again...
~S
Any suggestions welcome, otherwise I'll just take a trip to HEL again...
~S
Last edited by madfish; Mar 26, 2018 at 2:48 am
#1638
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: London
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 259
The DUB/LHR/HEL runs don't work (at a reasonable price anyway) on AY, but the LHR/HEL/OSL looks good - just the ticket thanks!
#1639
Join Date: Jan 2017
Posts: 42
Can't work out a cheap way to get across the states though
#1640
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: 7,330
Fly to ORD from INV rather than PHL and then book a £100 one way Y ticket to LAX?
#1641
Join Date: Jan 2017
Posts: 42
Thanks
#1642
Join Date: May 2014
Location: BRU
Programs: BA GGL, TK E (*G), ITA exec
Posts: 4,102
I need 20TP for one of the kids to retain silver, and I want to take advantage of a little family weekend in UK to get them.
Unfortunately for the flights I need, BA is offering only O class online.
Is there a way to know in advance the price difference between fare classes without EF premium access and without phoning BA?
I would like to know in advance if It's cheaper to upgrade the O class or book one way in CE and the other in ET.
Unfortunately for the flights I need, BA is offering only O class online.
Is there a way to know in advance the price difference between fare classes without EF premium access and without phoning BA?
I would like to know in advance if It's cheaper to upgrade the O class or book one way in CE and the other in ET.
#1643
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: London, UK
Programs: BAEC Silver, ITA Club Executive, Hilton Gold, Marriott Gold
Posts: 3,599
I need 20TP for one of the kids to retain silver, and I want to take advantage of a little family weekend in UK to get them.
Unfortunately for the flights I need, BA is offering only O class online.
Is there a way to know in advance the price difference between fare classes without EF premium access and without phoning BA?
I would like to know in advance if It's cheaper to upgrade the O class or book one way in CE and the other in ET.
Unfortunately for the flights I need, BA is offering only O class online.
Is there a way to know in advance the price difference between fare classes without EF premium access and without phoning BA?
I would like to know in advance if It's cheaper to upgrade the O class or book one way in CE and the other in ET.
#1644
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: London, UK
Programs: BA GGL
Posts: 1,578
I need 20TP for one of the kids to retain silver, and I want to take advantage of a little family weekend in UK to get them.
Unfortunately for the flights I need, BA is offering only O class online.
Is there a way to know in advance the price difference between fare classes without EF premium access and without phoning BA?
I would like to know in advance if It's cheaper to upgrade the O class or book one way in CE and the other in ET.
Unfortunately for the flights I need, BA is offering only O class online.
Is there a way to know in advance the price difference between fare classes without EF premium access and without phoning BA?
I would like to know in advance if It's cheaper to upgrade the O class or book one way in CE and the other in ET.
You'd probably have to book with BA over the phone, or with a competent travel agent to get tickets in a specific class like that.
Last edited by armouredant; Mar 27, 2018 at 11:22 am
#1645
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Cumbria
Programs: BAEC GGL/CCR, Hilton Diamond, Starbucks Gold
Posts: 4,510
You can find out what the 10TP earning economy fares cost using ITA Matrix, and putting the following in the Extension Codes box: f ~bc=Q ~bc=O ~bc=G
You'd probably have to book with BA over the phone, or with a competent travel agent to get tickets in a specific class like that.
You'd probably have to book with BA over the phone, or with a competent travel agent to get tickets in a specific class like that.
#1646
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: London, UK
Programs: BA GGL
Posts: 1,578
There should be vertical bar/pipe symbols before the second two tildes (~) in my reply above. The forum is stripping them out.
#1647
#1648
Join Date: May 2014
Location: BRU
Programs: BA GGL, TK E (*G), ITA exec
Posts: 4,102
Thank you ringingup, armouredant, madfish
Yes, it was indeed N
Maybe I can try directly at LHR since I'm passing through early next week...? It would be easier than by phone for me.
I can surely confirm this. Same dates & flights, 1 adult O fare class: ITA €156.83, BA.com €103.83. The fare before taxes seems to be €90 on ITA and €38 on BA...
You can find out what the 10TP earning economy fares cost using ITA Matrix, and putting the following in the Extension Codes box: f ~bc=Q ~bc=O ~bc=G
You'd probably have to book with BA over the phone, or with a competent travel agent to get tickets in a specific class like that.
You'd probably have to book with BA over the phone, or with a competent travel agent to get tickets in a specific class like that.
I can surely confirm this. Same dates & flights, 1 adult O fare class: ITA €156.83, BA.com €103.83. The fare before taxes seems to be €90 on ITA and €38 on BA...
#1649
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: London, UK
Programs: BAEC Silver, ITA Club Executive, Hilton Gold, Marriott Gold
Posts: 3,599
There are differences in identifical fares being reported and they are true, but remember that ITA Matrix dos not show hand baggage only fares though.
Last edited by ringingup; Mar 28, 2018 at 6:25 am
#1650
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Cumbria
Programs: BAEC GGL/CCR, Hilton Diamond, Starbucks Gold
Posts: 4,510