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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 Please add important information to it or correct outdated information by clicking the "Edit" button below.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
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BA Tier Point Runs | 2018 master thread

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Old Dec 17, 2018, 2:48 am
  #5056  
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Originally Posted by BAMuc
Hello everyone,

a similar one: I need 240TP *and* go from LAX to DCA at some point btw 8 March and 11 March - any chance I can achieve this in one go (and hopefully fairly cost-effective)?
AA are cracking down on the number of permitted connections on a single ticket. So "cost effective" LAX-XXX-DCA might get you a 140 TPs transcon plus one 40 TP connection for £400 or so. To get 240 TPs you might need to split it into two reservations. LAX to somewhere in middle America (Nashville maybe?) via CLT or PHL for example for 180 TPs. Then from that destination to DCA with a connection (probably CLT or PHL again) for 80 more TPs.

Google Flights is the best way to piece these TP runs together.
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Old Dec 17, 2018, 4:25 am
  #5057  
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
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Hi all, wanted to throw this out to the FT guru's ( pretty sure i'm not the only one trying to do this!).

Currently trying to find a TP 'Beach' run over the New year period to maintain the families silver and get the wife close to gold. Best option I can find is ex German airports to Antigua for circa £1,600 in J with AA. Routing is all via US cities which I don't mind as it will help push the TP points, however leg from ANU to US on return is only pricing economy without a £1K per person price hike. Dates are 26th thru 29th outbound and have to be back in Blighty by morning of 9th Jan. I have also found SOF to DUR on QR for similar money (but pretty awful flight times). SA would be great as the USD is on the floor but Rand is holding up. Can anyone suggest any other options or any open jaws which will help reduce the ANU option? Budget was circa £1.5k each (2 adults, 2 children)
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Old Dec 17, 2018, 5:38 am
  #5058  
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 243
Originally Posted by Funky Spike
I've never had a problem getting bags checked to LHR with an overnight connection.

Spike
Thanks
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Old Dec 17, 2018, 5:38 am
  #5059  
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
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Hello all! I need another 755 tier points by 3rd February. There doesn't seem to be any good QR deals right now so thinking of my first ever Tier Point run. What's looking good right now? I'm available most of January and would ideally like to do it over 4 days including a weekend.

I'm based in JER is that helps...... Thanks
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Old Dec 17, 2018, 7:41 am
  #5060  
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 7,464
Originally Posted by mmogdan
Hello all! I need another 755 tier points by 3rd February. There doesn't seem to be any good QR deals right now so thinking of my first ever Tier Point run. What's looking good right now? I'm available most of January and would ideally like to do it over 4 days including a weekend.

I'm based in JER is that helps...... Thanks
What have you found yourself so far, using the very comprehensive information in this thread already?
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Old Dec 17, 2018, 8:19 am
  #5061  
 
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Posts: 2,275
Originally Posted by BAMuc
Hello everyone,

a similar one: I need 240TP *and* go from LAX to DCA at some point btw 8 March and 11 March - any chance I can achieve this in one go (and hopefully fairly cost-effective)?
Are you trying to travel one-way only, or are you looking for return (round trip) flights? If you want a return, the itinerary posted by Xonus up-thread is a typical result. If you want a one-way trip, there is no way to earn 240 TP on a single fare. You might be able to string together 3 fares (with 2 segments per fare, so something like LAX-AAA-BBB + BBB-CCC-DDD + DDD-EEE-DCA); in theory you might also be able to string together two fares where one includes a 2000+ mile segment but this may not be possible. Pricing up a single fare one-way LAX-DCA is sure to be very expensive.

I hope this helps!
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Old Dec 17, 2018, 10:48 am
  #5062  
 
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Originally Posted by HPN-HRL
Pricing up a single fare one-way LAX-DCA is sure to be very expensive.
The one-way LAX-PHX-PHL-DCA can be had down to $547 (one fare on the 11th), but its only 220TP.

(The only way to get 240+ TP on a one-way would be transcon F to LAX-JFK-DCA but it would cost around $1600+ for 250TP. )
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Old Dec 17, 2018, 11:05 am
  #5063  
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: CBG
Programs: BAEC Silver; M&M FT
Posts: 233
Originally Posted by Xonus
The one-way LAX-PHX-PHL-DCA can be had down to $547 (one fare on the 11th), but its only 220TP.
Ha, that one looks very interesting indeed!
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Old Dec 18, 2018, 2:47 am
  #5064  
 
Join Date: Dec 2018
Location: DXB
Programs: BA Gold; EK Gold; Marriott Titanium
Posts: 72
Could I ask some advice from the group please. I've found myself a little short of TPs this year (380 short) and I have a free weekend in BLR that I was planning on using to boast my TPs.

None of the suggestions (in the original post) seem to work out and the best I can find is a £820, 360TP run BLR-CMB-CGK RT which (quite frankly) sucks for value. Does anyone have any suggestions of where to look at instead?
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Old Dec 18, 2018, 3:03 am
  #5065  
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Originally Posted by gbeb
Could I ask some advice from the group please. I've found myself a little short of TPs this year (380 short) and I have a free weekend in BLR that I was planning on using to boast my TPs.

None of the suggestions (in the original post) seem to work out and the best I can find is a £820, 360TP run BLR-CMB-CGK RT which (quite frankly) sucks for value. Does anyone have any suggestions of where to look at instead?
If you use Google Flights, input your dates, set the airlines to "Oneworld" you should see the various options on the map function.

BLR is hardly a hotspot for TP runners, but your best bets are indeed Sri Lankan or Malaysian...
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Old Dec 18, 2018, 3:08 am
  #5066  
 
Join Date: Dec 2018
Location: DXB
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Originally Posted by craigthemif
If you use Google Flights, input your dates, set the airlines to "Oneworld" you should see the various options on the map function.

BLR is hardly a hotspot for TP runners, but your best bets are indeed Sri Lankan or Malaysian...
I did that and sadly just couldn't find much, including from outside of India.
gbeb is offline  
Old Dec 18, 2018, 4:25 am
  #5067  
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Join Date: Aug 2011
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Posts: 13,051
Originally Posted by gbeb
I did that and sadly just couldn't find much, including from outside of India.
A £820, 360TP run isn't actually all that bad if it runs from your exact location.

Yes there are cheaper runs, but often one needs to take a selective view of which positioning, accommodation, etc. costs to include in your own calculations.
craigthemif is offline  
Old Dec 18, 2018, 6:05 am
  #5068  
 
Join Date: Mar 2018
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Originally Posted by gbeb
Could I ask some advice from the group please. I've found myself a little short of TPs this year (380 short) and I have a free weekend in BLR that I was planning on using to boast my TPs.

None of the suggestions (in the original post) seem to work out and the best I can find is a £820, 360TP run BLR-CMB-CGK RT which (quite frankly) sucks for value. Does anyone have any suggestions of where to look at instead?
If you can get to DXB cheaply, there's always the infamous DXB-CMB-CGK return on Sri Lankan. 560 TP can be had for £680 or so.
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peter h is offline  
Old Dec 18, 2018, 6:31 am
  #5069  
formerly mattking2000
 
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Posts: 1,187
Originally Posted by gbeb
Could I ask some advice from the group please. I've found myself a little short of TPs this year (380 short) and I have a free weekend in BLR that I was planning on using to boast my TPs.

None of the suggestions (in the original post) seem to work out and the best I can find is a £820, 360TP run BLR-CMB-CGK RT which (quite frankly) sucks for value. Does anyone have any suggestions of where to look at instead?
Originally Posted by craigthemif
If you use Google Flights, input your dates, set the airlines to "Oneworld" you should see the various options on the map function.

BLR is hardly a hotspot for TP runners, but your best bets are indeed Sri Lankan or Malaysian...
Try going the other way -- BLR-CMB-DOH can be had for £547 for 360 TPs:

https://www.google.com/flights?gl=ae...45*2.GBP.54645

BAH is also possible: https://goo.gl/flights/QjbrX
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Last edited by BA Humbug; Dec 18, 2018 at 6:37 am
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Old Dec 18, 2018, 1:13 pm
  #5070  
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
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Have to say I've been impressed with Propeller Travel today, the first time I've used them.

They've sorted out a trip for me to MIA using the ARN-MIA fare. I worked out the route on ITA Matrix this morning, sent it to them via their web page and it's all been sorted today, including upgrading into F with a GUF1. (Thanks @madfish for the heads up on that )

I've previously used ITA Powertools but haven't been able to get the ticket to price into £ on AA.com since the link seems to have been lost to the UK site, and I've incurred some large foreign transaction fees on my BA Amex card because the ticket is quoted in $ or Euros. Quoted in £ by Propeller so overall cost about the same taking into account their admin fee. I even had an email from Daniel, their Director, after hours answering a question.

Excited to be turning left to seat 1A on my JFK flights, (well actually 1K over and 1A back - 'POSH transatlantic when in F' my Aunt used to say, to avoid the sunny side). Happy days
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Last edited by gcuk; Dec 18, 2018 at 1:50 pm
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