Old Jan 1, 2018, 5:20 am
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
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 Please add important information to it or correct outdated information by clicking the "Edit" button below.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
  • 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.

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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
Code:
3Feb 200TPs DUB-LHR-HEL/HEL-LHR all I class ba.com
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
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Historic information
2017 Archive
2016 Archive
2015 Archive (6 months Jul to Dec)
2015 Archive (6 months Jan to Jun)
2014 Archive
Print Wikipost

BA Tier Point Runs | 2018 master thread

Old Jul 22, 2018, 10:46 am
  #3076  
 
Join Date: May 2016
Location: London
Programs: BA Gold, Accor Gold
Posts: 1,406
Any of you geniuses find anything decent to PTY or anywhere in Colombia for a couple of weeks mid-November?

Last years AMS-MAD-PTY-MIA-LHR is way dearer than last year.
bhbloke is online now  
Old Jul 22, 2018, 10:47 am
  #3077  
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: near Heathrow
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, GfL (OWE), SA LifePlat (*G), BD Gold to the end, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 2,902
I'm well impressed nufnuf77. I'll need to find out on the PHX Do how you find these fares exist.
One note of caution. The PHL-LAX 330 usually parks up in the maintenance area due to gate congestion and not needing the aircraft until the next morning. Transfer to T4 is via stairs from the plane and bus to the terminal so that will eat into your 56 mins transfer time at LAX, and you'll still need to get from T4 to Eagles Nest via another bus for the YVR flight.
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Old Jul 22, 2018, 10:50 am
  #3078  
 
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Somewhere around Europe...
Programs: BA Gold; MB Ti; HH Diamond; IHG Plat; RR Gold
Posts: 530
Just put this on hold, slightly better timings for me (allowing a couple of proper overnight's) but a bit more expensive at 640.
dakaix is offline  
Old Jul 22, 2018, 12:26 pm
  #3079  
Hilton Contributor Badge
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: 38,000 feet
Programs: LH HON, BA GGL, AF Plat, EK Plat
Posts: 6,423
It seems there is a small panama do on June 3 when 4 of us are going already. Feel free to join us all.
cgtechuk likes this.
nufnuf77 is offline  
Old Jul 22, 2018, 12:47 pm
  #3080  
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: AMS/DUS
Programs: BAEC Gold and Honors Gold
Posts: 21
I placed a hold for one in January/February. Secures gold for another year.Thnx!
kevinvdwal is offline  
Old Jul 22, 2018, 1:21 pm
  #3081  
 
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Helsinki, Finland
Programs: BA/VS Gold, Marriott Plat, HH Diamond
Posts: 628
Quick update on my ITA Powertools to European AA.com booking saga from earlier. Long story short, I messed up and tried to book an all BA coded itinerary on AA, and that's something that will appear to complete but will never get ticketed. The actual booking for the European AA.com sites happens at bookaa.amadeus.com, and this will fail in a way that leaves only an Amadeus PNR in place, so AA customer reps will have no way to access your booking.

Solved by calling AA, choosing the "website support" option, talking to a bloke who managed to escalate this to someone who could cancel the booking by accessing AA's bridge between Sabre and Amadeus. Then rebooked on Priceline with zero issues.
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Old Jul 22, 2018, 1:29 pm
  #3082  
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: AMS
Programs: BAEC Silver, Flying Blue Gold, TK M&S Nobody
Posts: 2,413
Originally Posted by Markonen
Thanks again etiene, definitely sounds like the same issue. Could you provide a couple of data points:
- How quickly did you start calling them?
- Were you charged immediately or only after you got the booking ticketed?

I'm still wondering whether this is not queued for someone's manual intervention on Monday.
Sorry - been out all day.

I called after about 28 hours - I had one booking to make sure theyd cancelled and one to push through. Both PNRs were still active despite a previous call, both had a call to finish your booking warning on the AA site. I could see no charge on my Lloyds Amex at that point.

The second level supervisor told me it was sorted and would be ticketed within a couple of hours- that didnt happen and a second call recreated the ticket and took payment details over the phone. Then I could see pending charge, and tickets arrived the next morning (a Saturday).
Markonen likes this.
etiene is offline  
Old Jul 22, 2018, 1:34 pm
  #3083  
 
Join Date: Jul 2016
Location: Oxford (&Western Isles )
Programs: BA GGL, CCR; RyanAir MillionMiler :( ;
Posts: 750
Originally Posted by Markonen
Quick update on my ITA Powertools to European AA.com booking saga from earlier. Long story short, I messed up and tried to book an all BA coded itinerary on AA, and that's something that will appear to complete but will never get ticketed. The actual booking for the European AA.com sites happens at bookaa.amadeus.com, and this will fail in a way that leaves only an Amadeus PNR in place, so AA customer reps will have no way to access your booking.

Solved by calling AA, choosing the "website support" option, talking to a bloke who managed to escalate this to someone who could cancel the booking by accessing AA's bridge between Sabre and Amadeus. Then rebooked on Priceline with zero issues.
LOL - That's what I suggested! ^
Markonen likes this.
wanderingjock is offline  
Old Jul 22, 2018, 2:10 pm
  #3084  
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: WAW ✈ LHR ✈ GLA
Programs: BA GfL/GGL/CCR, HH Diamond, IHG Diamond Ambassador
Posts: 2,492
Originally Posted by Markonen
Quick update on my ITA Powertools to European AA.com booking saga from earlier. Long story short, I messed up and tried to book an all BA coded itinerary on AA, and that's something that will appear to complete but will never get ticketed. The actual booking for the European AA.com sites happens at bookaa.amadeus.com, and this will fail in a way that leaves only an Amadeus PNR in place, so AA customer reps will have no way to access your booking.

Solved by calling AA, choosing the "website support" option, talking to a bloke who managed to escalate this to someone who could cancel the booking by accessing AA's bridge between Sabre and Amadeus. Then rebooked on Priceline with zero issues.
If you have an itinerary with all BA coded flights, why not to call BA and book with them?
megaloman is offline  
Old Jul 22, 2018, 2:53 pm
  #3085  
 
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: London, UK
Programs: BA GGL
Posts: 1,577
Originally Posted by megaloman
If you have an itinerary with all BA coded flights, why not to call BA and book with them?
Scroll up:

Originally Posted by Markonen
Called BA too to see if they would ticket this instead. Was quoted approx 2500 for the recreating the same itinerary, so that doesn't work.
armouredant is offline  
Old Jul 22, 2018, 2:54 pm
  #3086  
 
Join Date: May 2017
Programs: BA Exec Club - Gold
Posts: 171
Originally Posted by nufnuf77


How on Earth do you manage to get it to split the first segment into 5 journeys?! I'd love an online ITA course run by our resident FT experts - or alternatively I need to make sure I make it to a do so I can pick up some tips!
flyer_tom is offline  
Old Jul 22, 2018, 2:56 pm
  #3087  
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: London
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 257
Originally Posted by nufnuf77
It's a very simple itinerary, I am just a countryside boy:

YVR-LAX-SAN-PHX-LAS-PHL-CLT-JAX-MIA-PTY-MIA-MCO-CLT-RDU-PHL-LAX-YVR with A330 on PHL-LAX. 555 for 840TPs
You sir, are a genius!

Do any of the collective have a sensible routing to get to YVR? Ive never been there other than from DUB.

Cheers,
~S
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Old Jul 22, 2018, 3:42 pm
  #3088  
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Programs: BA GGL/CCR
Posts: 384
Originally Posted by dakaix
Just put this on hold, slightly better timings for me (allowing a couple of proper overnight's) but a bit more expensive at 640.
I just can't replicate these fares in ITA Matrix - has the fare gone?
pjh981 is online now  
Old Jul 22, 2018, 3:45 pm
  #3089  
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: LHR/BHD
Programs: BAEC (Blue, usually)
Posts: 40
Hi all,

Long time lurker, first time post now and hoping I can pick a few brains from some trip planning experts as I'm new to doing this myself. I'm planning a trip to SIN for an event in mid-October and have the fortune of being able to take advantage of the exAMS to BKK deal and I'll be doing enough travel so that at least getting to Silver should be straightforward in due time. Right now, I do an itinerary of the following (apologies for the awkward formatting, I can't appear to post images until I have more posts!):

AMS-LHR-SIN-BKK-SIN-LHR-AMS
AMS-LHR-SIN on 11th October (arrive SIN on 12th), SIN-BKK on 15th then BKK-SIN-LHR-AMS on 21st (arrive AMS on 22nd). This gets me at 1,627.85.

The question: I'm meeting a friend in SIN who's coming from TPE who's also coming in from Oct 12th-15th and wanted to see if there's a way to get to TPE in I/J or better without substantially increasing the cost. I'm quite new to using ITA but couldn't get anything remotely reasonable playing around with the dates whether it was doing something like SIN-HKG-TPE-BKK or some other mixture of combinations.

AMS-LHR-SIN is locked in date wise but I'm somewhat flexible after that I don't mind getting into TPE on the 16th instead and I can also take the whole return stretch a day or two later as well. Worst comes to worst, I may just get a nested ticket within and give myself enough wiggle room to return or just make a trip of SIN/BKK instead. Many thanks.
ifearn0thing is offline  
Old Jul 22, 2018, 4:01 pm
  #3090  
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: London
Programs: BA Silver, LH Senator, SPG Plat
Posts: 26
The AMS-BKK fare unfortunately doesnt allow for stops in TPE. My suggestion would be to book a HKG-TPE-HKG flight on avios. Its quite cheap and there is usually good availability. Cathay is quite good with checking through bagagge on seperate tickets also.
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LondonMike is offline  

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