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 Please add important information to it or correct outdated information by clicking the "Edit" button below.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.
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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
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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
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
Nov 11, 2018, 7:02 am
#4546
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Cumbria
Programs: BAEC GGL/CCR, Hilton Diamond, Starbucks Gold
Posts: 4,510
Nov 11, 2018, 9:47 am
#4547
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: London
Programs: BAEC | qantas | IHG | Hilton Honors | Priority Pass | Nandos
Posts: 868
Can you get down to this fare in Matrix? I've spent some time trying, but it always comes out around twice this price!
Nov 11, 2018, 9:50 am
#4548
Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 135
I would call up both carriers who issued the tickets and understand how much flexibility there is
You initially planned a B2B but it looks like with the schedule change, the aircraft is overnighting in INV.
You could ask BA to change your positioning flight to BA1466, you would overnight in INV and then catch BA1467 that AA have moved you to.
If there's some slack in your TP run, perhaps see if AA will let you drop INV-LHR due to an involuntary schedule change of 5 hours 40 minutes.
Assuming they are amenable to that, you could then cancel the positioning flight by citing a significant change, or paying the cancellation charge if it's a RFS.
I had a similar issue with an ex-EU starting in Denmark. The TP run was ticketed by AA but BA cancelled the first segment. AA wouldn't let me drop the first segment because the currency is different (DKK vs GBP) but I could start in BLL if I wanted. Applying this to your situation, you could ask to drop the first segment or ask to change to a different UK airport.
You initially planned a B2B but it looks like with the schedule change, the aircraft is overnighting in INV.
You could ask BA to change your positioning flight to BA1466, you would overnight in INV and then catch BA1467 that AA have moved you to.
If there's some slack in your TP run, perhaps see if AA will let you drop INV-LHR due to an involuntary schedule change of 5 hours 40 minutes.
Assuming they are amenable to that, you could then cancel the positioning flight by citing a significant change, or paying the cancellation charge if it's a RFS.
I had a similar issue with an ex-EU starting in Denmark. The TP run was ticketed by AA but BA cancelled the first segment. AA wouldn't let me drop the first segment because the currency is different (DKK vs GBP) but I could start in BLL if I wanted. Applying this to your situation, you could ask to drop the first segment or ask to change to a different UK airport.
In my case, INV could be swapped by MAN, NCL, EDI, GLA (ABZ was not an option given my positioning flight from AMS). The agent made a note in my booking that a change was allowed but that I first needed to contact BA regarding my positioning flight (in case a new shift would start, the next operator would see the note and no additional approval would be needed).
Had similar, the only alternate airports they offered to me were ABZ. I was flying to INV for a short break up there to do the NC500, so it's stuffed things up a bit... but hey, get lemons ... make lemonade! I was also told LoganAir wasn't an option (mine was an Avios booking) - they could cancel mine and then do a new Avios booking including LoganAir but it would cost more, etc. Not very friendly!
GF or Matrix both work fine. Correct, booked into business class.
GF or Matrix both work fine. Correct, booked into business class.
Changing my original booking AMS-LHR-INV into AMS-LHR-NCL was no problem at all.
We then talked about the second change (ticket issued by AA, first leg operated by BA). Following my first change from INV to NCL, the second booking was altered too: NCL to LHR instead of INV to LHR.
So I will be doing a B2B in NCL and no additional night in a hotel will be needed.
I'm very happy with the outcome: both the AA and BA agent were very helpful and friendly. It was a pleasure to be on the line with them, although each call took me around 50 minutes.
Stan
Nov 11, 2018, 10:48 am
#4549
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: London
Programs: BA Executive Club Gold
Posts: 57
I found it using Google flights, so something like this https://www.google.com/flights#flt=O...98*.GBP.116498
but I booked it by just putting OTP - PHX as the round trip into aa.com and selecting the routing I wanted (I was after 720 TPs).
Hope that helps
but I booked it by just putting OTP - PHX as the round trip into aa.com and selecting the routing I wanted (I was after 720 TPs).
Hope that helps
Nov 11, 2018, 11:02 am
#4550
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: London
Programs: BAEC | qantas | IHG | Hilton Honors | Priority Pass | Nandos
Posts: 868
I found it using Google flights, so something like this https://www.google.com/flights#flt=O...98*.GBP.116498
but I booked it by just putting OTP - PHX as the round trip into aa.com and selecting the routing I wanted (I was after 720 TPs).
Hope that helps
but I booked it by just putting OTP - PHX as the round trip into aa.com and selecting the routing I wanted (I was after 720 TPs).
Hope that helps
Nov 11, 2018, 11:16 am
#4551
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Plymouth, UK
Programs: BAEC Gold
Posts: 1,159
Thanks to everyone that helps out in this thread. It can be a bit daunting putting together a TP run and it is great to get the wisdom and experience of you all. Without it I may have given up altogether!
As per the suggestion of @madfish (thx again!) I have started a thread for OTP-PHX TP runs in April 2019. It would be great to actually meet up if our paths cross.
As per the suggestion of @madfish (thx again!) I have started a thread for OTP-PHX TP runs in April 2019. It would be great to actually meet up if our paths cross.
Nov 11, 2018, 11:18 am
#4552
Join Date: Feb 2018
Posts: 6
OK, I feel like I have been researching this for weeks... in fact it is only a week... but my wife has commented that she would like to see me more than a few minutes a day so I have finally pulled the trigger on a OTP-LHR-JFK-LAX-PHX run in April 19. 1159GBP
It should have yielded 800TP (80+140+140+40=400TP x 2 = 800TP) but I screwed up on the booking and somehow managed to book a AA flight that is operated by Sky West so I don't think I'll get the 40TP I should have got from LAX-PHX. Or will I? It isn't in MMB on BA yet so I'll check when all the itinerary is on the BA.com (it is all on AA.com but only some of it is on BA.com at the moment for some reason!).
However, even with that screw up, it is 760TP for 1159GBP --> 1.52GBP/TP - still pretty good.
It should have yielded 800TP (80+140+140+40=400TP x 2 = 800TP) but I screwed up on the booking and somehow managed to book a AA flight that is operated by Sky West so I don't think I'll get the 40TP I should have got from LAX-PHX. Or will I? It isn't in MMB on BA yet so I'll check when all the itinerary is on the BA.com (it is all on AA.com but only some of it is on BA.com at the moment for some reason!).
However, even with that screw up, it is 760TP for 1159GBP --> 1.52GBP/TP - still pretty good.
BTW this is my first post - love reading the forum and thanks for all the help and advice on here it's amazing! Planning my first TP run for next year ideally march/april time, your post has been very helpful!
Nov 11, 2018, 12:52 pm
#4554
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 3,190
rb211.
Nov 11, 2018, 1:22 pm
#4555
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: London
Programs: BAEC | qantas | IHG | Hilton Honors | Priority Pass | Nandos
Posts: 868
I was avoiding the Easter weekend when I tried - so at least I wasn't doing anything more stupid than usual! Thanks to captaincox, I'll try Google Flights as well in future.
Nov 11, 2018, 3:47 pm
#4556
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Sheffield, UK
Programs: BAEC Silver, Virgin Red, HH Silver, SPG Gold, Priority Pass,
Posts: 127
I’m going from Bronze to Gold this TP year by lots of short trips - costs more than bigger trips, I expect but I get lots of travel across the year too.
Main reason for Gold is for the honeymoon and other short breaks we will be taking next year
Main reason for Gold is for the honeymoon and other short breaks we will be taking next year
Nov 11, 2018, 5:35 pm
#4557
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: UK
Posts: 1,736
Have you tried ABZ/LHR/HEL/ARN? Should earn 320TPs. You could always try starting at INV as well as this will save you £78 as no APD. You can return to ABZ.
Edit. From ABZ you are looking at £1100, but from LHR you can get it for £650. Would then just need to position from ABZ to LHR.
Nov 11, 2018, 10:53 pm
#4558
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: LHR/BHD
Programs: BAEC (Blue, usually)
Posts: 40
Was considering doing a DXB-CMB-CGK run and was perusing over the details of the fare — worth noting that the purchase by date is this Wednesday (unless I'm interpreting 'tickets issued' incorrectly).
Code:
TICKETS MUST BE ISSUED ON/BEFORE 14NOV 18.
Nov 12, 2018, 12:09 am
#4559
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Cumbria
Programs: BAEC GGL/CCR, Hilton Diamond, Starbucks Gold
Posts: 4,510
Nov 12, 2018, 12:59 am
#4560
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Plymouth, UK
Programs: BAEC Gold
Posts: 1,159
TICKETS MUST BE ISSUED ON UL OR HR AND MAY ONLY BE SOLD IN UNITED ARAB EMIRATES