Jan 1, 2018, 5:20 am
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 Please add important information to it or correct outdated information by clicking the "Edit" button below.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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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
Jun 25, 2018, 9:45 am
#2761
Join Date: Mar 2018
Posts: 8
Edinburgh to Gatwick in club seems reasonable on that Sunday, according to Skyscanner. Around £100 on very early morning flight, £150 on evening flight which would avoid an overnight stay, and many possibilities to get up there cheaply.
Jun 25, 2018, 9:57 am
#2762
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 16
Thanks, is it true you need an overnight stay for points with club?
Jun 25, 2018, 10:05 am
#2763
Join Date: May 2017
Location: London, UK
Programs: BAEC Gold, Sheraton/Marriott, IHG blah blah
Posts: 5
Hi All,
Have just received gold for the first time and keen to retain it and get to 1500TPs asap.
I am off to Santiago again next month (depart around 16/7 for 7-10 days) and usually fly through MIA or DFW from LHR with BA/AA as it gets me 560TPs round trip rather than flying direct to South America as it only gets me 360 (with a stopover). The downside is there is a 12-16 hour layover in Miami or DFW on the return. Having now read this site I could be using that time more effectively to get Tier points rather than shopping for my wife...
Using ITA Matrix I have found that I can fly to LHR-SEA-MIA-SCL return for the same price and an extra 280 TPs. However, it means a 5.5hr red eye flight from SEA-MIA on the 737 and a 15hr layover in MIA on outward journey.
I am a novice with ITA Matrix despite reading this forum and so wondered whether anybody on here had some grand ideas to maximise my Tier points while retaining the business class cost (Circa £3k). I don't mind how many stops (within reason).
Thanks
Thanks all,
Have just received gold for the first time and keen to retain it and get to 1500TPs asap.
I am off to Santiago again next month (depart around 16/7 for 7-10 days) and usually fly through MIA or DFW from LHR with BA/AA as it gets me 560TPs round trip rather than flying direct to South America as it only gets me 360 (with a stopover). The downside is there is a 12-16 hour layover in Miami or DFW on the return. Having now read this site I could be using that time more effectively to get Tier points rather than shopping for my wife...
Using ITA Matrix I have found that I can fly to LHR-SEA-MIA-SCL return for the same price and an extra 280 TPs. However, it means a 5.5hr red eye flight from SEA-MIA on the 737 and a 15hr layover in MIA on outward journey.
I am a novice with ITA Matrix despite reading this forum and so wondered whether anybody on here had some grand ideas to maximise my Tier points while retaining the business class cost (Circa £3k). I don't mind how many stops (within reason).
Thanks
Thanks all,
Jun 25, 2018, 10:10 am
#2764
Join Date: Mar 2018
Posts: 8
No need to spend a night: tier points and miles awarded just for being on the flight, whether single or return. (Sometimes special offer fares require spending a night, often a Saturday night.)
Jun 25, 2018, 11:00 am
#2766
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Surrey, UK
Programs: BA Gold, *A Gold, IHG Platinum
Posts: 653
Theres some pretty nice fares with IB in J to SVQ/VLC over the next few weekends.
I paid £265 for LHR-MAD-VLC return on the A340 and back on the BA 777. Will get 120tp's and around 8500tp's.
I paid £265 for LHR-MAD-VLC return on the A340 and back on the BA 777. Will get 120tp's and around 8500tp's.
Jun 25, 2018, 11:49 am
#2767
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Sheffield, UK
Programs: BA - Silver,Hilton-Diamond, IHG - PlatAmb, GHA - Plat
Posts: 766
Anyone have any interesting TP runs from LBA or MAN as only need 65TP's before September as my flying this year has been severly hampered by a broken foot and a family bereavment...
Jun 25, 2018, 12:28 pm
#2768
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Cumbria
Programs: BAEC GGL/CCR, Hilton Diamond, Starbucks Gold
Posts: 4,510
Jun 25, 2018, 3:14 pm
#2769
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 3
Hi guys,
I'm very new to this so please be patient with me...
I've been scraping silver status with BA for a couple of years now, but I want to push for gold.
I've read a lot of posts about something called tier point runs which essentially sounds like a miserable day or two of travelling in order to get a decent return in tier points.
Most of the posts show itineraries from OTP to PHX (or somewhere starting and finishing in Europe, travelling through the US). However, I've not found many if any suggestions for trips starting and finishing in London.
My first question is, is the idea to not bother catching the European flights(i.e. OTP - LHR) but just get on in London. Or, would I need to catch a separate flight to those countries in Europe?
My second question is, if the answer to the question above is you can't hop on in London, then does anyone have any suggestions for those starting and finishing in London?
I've tried to search an answer to this but I didn't have much luck.
Thanks,
Alex
I'm very new to this so please be patient with me...
I've been scraping silver status with BA for a couple of years now, but I want to push for gold.
I've read a lot of posts about something called tier point runs which essentially sounds like a miserable day or two of travelling in order to get a decent return in tier points.
Most of the posts show itineraries from OTP to PHX (or somewhere starting and finishing in Europe, travelling through the US). However, I've not found many if any suggestions for trips starting and finishing in London.
My first question is, is the idea to not bother catching the European flights(i.e. OTP - LHR) but just get on in London. Or, would I need to catch a separate flight to those countries in Europe?
My second question is, if the answer to the question above is you can't hop on in London, then does anyone have any suggestions for those starting and finishing in London?
I've tried to search an answer to this but I didn't have much luck.
Thanks,
Alex
Last edited by alex clark; Jun 25, 2018 at 3:35 pm
Jun 25, 2018, 3:37 pm
#2770
Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: UK
Posts: 10,129
Hi guys,
I'm very new to this so please be patient with me...
i've been scrapping silver status with BA for a couple of years now, but i want to push for gold.
I've read a lot of posts about something called tier point runs which essentially sounds like a miserable day or two of travelling in order to get a decent return in tier points. Most of the posts show itineraries from OTP to PHX (or somewhere starting and finishing in Europe, travelling through the US). i've not found many if any suggestions for those starting and finishing in London.
my first question is, is the idea to not bother catching the European flights but just get on at London. Or, would i need to catch separate flights to those countries in Europe?
my second questions is, if the answer tot the question above is you can't hop on at London, then are there are suggestions for those starting and finishing in London?
I've tried to search an answer to this but I didn't have much luck.
Thanks,
Alex
I'm very new to this so please be patient with me...
i've been scrapping silver status with BA for a couple of years now, but i want to push for gold.
I've read a lot of posts about something called tier point runs which essentially sounds like a miserable day or two of travelling in order to get a decent return in tier points. Most of the posts show itineraries from OTP to PHX (or somewhere starting and finishing in Europe, travelling through the US). i've not found many if any suggestions for those starting and finishing in London.
my first question is, is the idea to not bother catching the European flights but just get on at London. Or, would i need to catch separate flights to those countries in Europe?
my second questions is, if the answer tot the question above is you can't hop on at London, then are there are suggestions for those starting and finishing in London?
I've tried to search an answer to this but I didn't have much luck.
Thanks,
Alex
First of all to get the best fares the general advice is you have to start your journey from an ex-EU starting point which offer decent fares, not as good as they used to be, but nonetheless good value. If booking one of these you MUST start from that point otherwise the rest of your ticket and will be cancelled.
You can still do tier point runs from London but you'll find they are more expensive, sometimes by quite a lot.
However, there are people who drop the last leg of ex-EU fares and get off at London. If you take checked baggage then it probably won't be checked short back to LHR but members usually go hand baggage only (HBO) and if you no show for your last flight you will get your luggage but will have to wait sometime for it to be retrieved as it obviously can't fly without you.
There is more info on the TP Run thread and it is a good way to maximise TP's to get to Gold and ultimately worth it I think. Plus if you attain Gold into your membership year early on then you can get almost 2 years worth of Gold.
BA Tier Point Runs | 2018 master thread
Jun 25, 2018, 3:54 pm
#2771
Join Date: Jun 2017
Programs: BAEC - Silver, HHonors - Silver
Posts: 31
I recently did a MAN-LHR-DUB-MAN on a Friday afternoon/evening. All for under £300 and if it wasn't for a late flight back to MAN I was only going to be out of the house for about 8 hours if I remember correctly!
Jun 25, 2018, 3:57 pm
#2772
Join Date: Jun 2017
Programs: BAEC - Silver, HHonors - Silver
Posts: 31
Showing £295 on Friday 24th August. So just in time for your deadline too. Other Fridays also work but are a bit more expensive. Bookable direct from BA searching MAN-DUB return :-)
Jun 25, 2018, 5:35 pm
#2773
Join Date: Mar 2018
Posts: 8
Hi guys,
I'm very new to this so please be patient with me...
I've been scraping silver status with BA for a couple of years now, but I want to push for gold.
I've read a lot of posts about something called tier point runs which essentially sounds like a miserable day or two of travelling in order to get a decent return in tier points.
Most of the posts show itineraries from OTP to PHX (or somewhere starting and finishing in Europe, travelling through the US). However, I've not found many if any suggestions for trips starting and finishing in London.
My first question is, is the idea to not bother catching the European flights(i.e. OTP - LHR) but just get on in London. Or, would I need to catch a separate flight to those countries in Europe?
My second question is, if the answer to the question above is you can't hop on in London, then does anyone have any suggestions for those starting and finishing in London?
I've tried to search an answer to this but I didn't have much luck.
Thanks,
Alex
I'm very new to this so please be patient with me...
I've been scraping silver status with BA for a couple of years now, but I want to push for gold.
I've read a lot of posts about something called tier point runs which essentially sounds like a miserable day or two of travelling in order to get a decent return in tier points.
Most of the posts show itineraries from OTP to PHX (or somewhere starting and finishing in Europe, travelling through the US). However, I've not found many if any suggestions for trips starting and finishing in London.
My first question is, is the idea to not bother catching the European flights(i.e. OTP - LHR) but just get on in London. Or, would I need to catch a separate flight to those countries in Europe?
My second question is, if the answer to the question above is you can't hop on in London, then does anyone have any suggestions for those starting and finishing in London?
I've tried to search an answer to this but I didn't have much luck.
Thanks,
Alex
Also, BA trying to compete from EU cities against direct flights of local airlines - explains why ex Oslo can be a good deal, given Norwegian increasing long haul flights.
What you save in ££ you lose in time - extra 1/2 day at start and end at least, but if the object is simply TIER points as cheap as possible, this is usually best way.
Jun 25, 2018, 5:41 pm
#2774
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 3
hey, thanks for getting back to me.
i took your advice and tried the following but the cheapest i could find was <£2500. i couldn't get anything close to the £1500 mentioned in the post.
any suggestions?
Flight 1
Depart: OTP
Routing Codes: LHR
Extension Codes: ALLIANCE ONEWORLD
Destination: HEL
Date: 08/24/2018
Flight 2
Depart: HEL
Routing Codes: AY1331,BA6031 LHR JFK
Extension Codes: ALLIANCE ONEWORLD
Destination: PHX
Date: 08/25/2018
Flight 3
Depart: PHX
Routing Codes: JFK LHR AY1332,BA6032
Extension Codes: ALLIANCE ONEWORLD
Destination: HEL
Date: 08/26/2018
Flight 4
Depart: HEL
Routing Codes: AY1337 LHR
Extension Codes: ALLIANCE ONEWORLD
Destination: OTP
Date: 08/27/2018
Cabin: Business class or higher
Stops: No limit
Extra stops: Up to 1 extra stop
Currency: GBP
i took your advice and tried the following but the cheapest i could find was <£2500. i couldn't get anything close to the £1500 mentioned in the post.
any suggestions?
Flight 1
Depart: OTP
Routing Codes: LHR
Extension Codes: ALLIANCE ONEWORLD
Destination: HEL
Date: 08/24/2018
Flight 2
Depart: HEL
Routing Codes: AY1331,BA6031 LHR JFK
Extension Codes: ALLIANCE ONEWORLD
Destination: PHX
Date: 08/25/2018
Flight 3
Depart: PHX
Routing Codes: JFK LHR AY1332,BA6032
Extension Codes: ALLIANCE ONEWORLD
Destination: HEL
Date: 08/26/2018
Flight 4
Depart: HEL
Routing Codes: AY1337 LHR
Extension Codes: ALLIANCE ONEWORLD
Destination: OTP
Date: 08/27/2018
Cabin: Business class or higher
Stops: No limit
Extra stops: Up to 1 extra stop
Currency: GBP
Jun 26, 2018, 2:24 am
#2775
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: half way between AMS and BRU
Programs: BA gold, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 265
I would try a less sophisticated search in Matrix, i.e. requesting a return from OTP to PHX, just putting the intermediate airports in advanced controls instead of specific flightnumbers.
Matrix is showing GBP 1552, see below
Matrix is showing GBP 1552, see below