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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 Please add important information to it or correct outdated information by clicking the "Edit" button below.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 Jan 2, 2019, 7:08 am
  #5206  
 
Join Date: Dec 2018
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 7
Originally Posted by IAANN
Happy New Year dear friends !
I'd appreciate your brains. Planning on going to SGN for business in January for 5 days. Looking at 600+ TP for less than £2000, possible?

Many Thanks!
Yann
Ah, just saw you said business and the "LHR-AUH-CMB-CGK..." is time consuming.
Just an idea, you might prefer positioning LHR-GOT, on BA, out in WT, back in Club for £180 and then Qatar from GOT-DOH-SGN for <£1800. So 605tp for <£2k.

Last edited by TheSuj; Jan 2, 2019 at 7:10 am Reason: typo
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Old Jan 2, 2019, 7:13 am
  #5207  
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 41
Originally Posted by TheSuj
Next week! Decided to stop in SIN and maybe KUL / REP for a little bit too before I return.
Ah nice, enjoy. I'm heading out in 2 weeks time. Wonder if ATC are still re-routing traffic around Anak Krakatau!
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Old Jan 2, 2019, 7:16 am
  #5208  
Hilton 10+ BadgeAccor 10+ Badge
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Rhineland-Palatinate
Programs: *A Gold (A3), HHonor Gold
Posts: 5,691
Originally Posted by Wozza2404
Morning all. Do we not have a 2019 thread at the moment?

Anyone got any ideas for PVG or CAN in June? ex-BUD on AY at under £1400 is ok but not earth-shattering.
ex-BUD is the cheapest I have seen for PVG, with AY being the cheapest if sticking to OW (*A being quite cheaper than OW).
I saw some ex-LUX at around 1500 EUR (BA metal).
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Old Jan 2, 2019, 8:14 am
  #5209  
 
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: LON
Programs: BA GFL, OW Gold, CX/MP Diamond, SPG Plat
Posts: 258
Originally Posted by TheSuj
Maybe what I am doing? LHR-AUH on BA WTP for £560 (or direct with BA for £612 and got a £100 price match voucher)
The AUH-CMB-CGK on UL £490 (using MyTrip). Then a budget Asian airline to SGN from there. You'll get 740tp for £1050 + flights to SGN. Also noticed that you may be able to upgrade the return AUH-LHR for £50 + 24k avios to club which seems well worth it for the overnight leg.
Thanks ! A bit too complicated but thanks for the tip!
Anyone else?
IAANN is offline  
Old Jan 2, 2019, 8:30 am
  #5210  
 
Join Date: Nov 2015
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 131
Is it just me, or has there been a real lack of any interesting runs to the West Coast recently. I'm looking for something going out on April 29th...best I can find is £1770 from Dublin, routing via LHR, JFK and LAX (to SFO). Should I pull the trigger, or do you think there are likely to be better prices around the corner? I've done this before for £1200 which is really what I'd be targetting.
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Old Jan 2, 2019, 8:31 am
  #5211  
 
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: London
Programs: BA GGL / GfL
Posts: 3,254
Originally Posted by IAANN
Happy New Year dear friends !
I'd appreciate your brains. Planning on going to SGN for business in January for 5 days. Looking at 600+ TP for less than £2000, possible?

Many Thanks!
Yann
I see GOT-SGN return with QR for £1,765 on quite a few dates in January and the lowest BA CE return I see is £218 for this month, so that would get you 640TP's all in if you managed to structure the flight timings correctly for about £2K.

Pilot37
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Old Jan 2, 2019, 8:37 am
  #5212  
 
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: LON
Programs: BA GFL, OW Gold, CX/MP Diamond, SPG Plat
Posts: 258
Originally Posted by Pilot37
I see GOT-SGN return with QR for £1,765 on quite a few dates in January and the lowest BA CE return I see is £218 for this month, so that would get you 640TP's all in if you managed to structure the flight timings correctly for about £2K.

Pilot37
Star! Thanks .
£3.10/TP !.. might wait for a sale or else!

Last edited by IAANN; Jan 2, 2019 at 8:49 am
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Old Jan 2, 2019, 9:31 am
  #5213  
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: London, UK
Programs: BA Gold, Hilton Honors Lifetime Diamond
Posts: 69
Originally Posted by peter h
There are a few of us doing the OTP-PHX run in the coming April - there's a thread about it. I found my route via Google Flights but couldn't book through AA's website, so did it on the phone with them (with no extra charge).
Originally Posted by Palty
have a look at the "baby bus thread" that looks like a good TP run I actually wanna do it too
Originally Posted by zen100
I did the OTP-PHX F-class run last year for 1000+TPs. The current deal is J-class. It's nowhere near as good as the F-class deal was, but the J-class fare has been stable for a while.

The F-class deal appeared around January last year - and only lasted a few weeks. My plan is to watch closely to see if the deal re-appears this January - and if it does, snap it up quickly. If it doesn't re-appear by the end of Jan, I'll book the J-class deal.

I'm not banking on the F-class deal re-appearing though - certainly not at the level as last year. However, if it does reappear for around the £2K mark, I'll go for it
Thank you Peter h, Palty and Zen100
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Old Jan 2, 2019, 9:43 am
  #5214  
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: MAN, PSP
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 208
Thinking about this:

1-16 July DUB-LAS-DUB Business Class £1579 for 800TP (£1.97/TP), Booked via BA

DUB-HEL (Finnair) 40TP
HEL-LHR (Finnair) 80TP
LHR-JFK (AA) 140TP
JFK-LAS (AA) 140TP

Reversed return

Have I done my sums right and/or is there a more optimised route?

Thanks


ITA


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Old Jan 2, 2019, 10:00 am
  #5215  
 
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: 7,327
Originally Posted by Hydebear
Thinking about this:

1-16 July DUB-LAS-DUB Business Class £1579 for 800TP (£1.97/TP), Booked via BA

DUB-HEL (Finnair) 40TP
HEL-LHR (Finnair) 80TP
LHR-JFK (AA) 140TP
JFK-LAS (AA) 140TP

Reversed return

Have I done my sums right and/or is there a more optimised route?

Thanks


ITA


This seems to be optimised for TPs, but the HEL shuttle is costing you £230ish,

DUB-LHR-JFK-LAX-LAS and return is available for £1350ish for 720TPs but puts you in a flat bed JFK-LAX rather than a domestic recliner on the JFK-LAS flight.
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Old Jan 2, 2019, 10:19 am
  #5216  
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: The North
Posts: 1,844
Nice routing and TP accrual @Hydebear. It's a shame the SH+ 80TP doesn't extend to Dublin as well!
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squawk is offline  
Old Jan 2, 2019, 10:28 am
  #5217  
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: MAN, PSP
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 208
Originally Posted by Wozza2404
...a flat bed JFK-LAX rather than a domestic recliner on the JFK-LAS flight.
This may be a winner, considering my old bones and a “too long/not quite long enough” stopover at JFK!
Hydebear is offline  
Old Jan 2, 2019, 10:43 am
  #5218  
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: LHR/BHD
Programs: BAEC (Blue, usually)
Posts: 40
Originally Posted by fransknorge
ex-BUD is the cheapest I have seen for PVG, with AY being the cheapest if sticking to OW (*A being quite cheaper than OW).
I saw some ex-LUX at around 1500 EUR (BA metal).
Have you tried ex-BRU? I was looking at doing a similar trip and I'm getting £1424 for BRU-LHR-PVG, all BA metal. It's about £20-30ish more than LUX but seem to be spending much less time connecting.
ifearn0thing is offline  
Old Jan 2, 2019, 1:47 pm
  #5219  
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Lisboa, Portugal
Programs: BAEC Gold
Posts: 114
Hi folks,
I was considering another OTP-PHX TP run to keep me and hubbie gold, but felt like doing something closer to home (in Europe.) We all know about the J fare 140 TP each way in business with Finnair (AY) for Helsinki to Malaga and Lisbon, but I noticed wide open availability for most of 2019 to string on Nordic city to get 360 TP.
For example, I just booked LIS-HEL-STO-HEL-LIS return in J for £629, 360 TP, £1.72/TP

It works for lots of the following 360 TP combos:

AGP / LIS - HEL - GOT / OSL / CPH / STO - HEL - AGP / LIS

I did try from London, Dublin, Edinburgh or Manchester, but the price went sky rocketing.

And the extra bonus on this one, the Lisbon option can be done either for a weekend or in a day (me and hubbie are doing a Saturday trip and a Sunday trip for 720TP & £1238.) For the day trip, would need to position to Lisbon on Friday night and return on Monday morning, so a hotel bill needs to be included.
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puqui99 is offline  
Old Jan 2, 2019, 2:55 pm
  #5220  
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Programs: BAEC Gold; Le Club Accorhotels Plat; Marriott Gold
Posts: 371
A bit off topic, but has anyone on a TP run had to go though a US immigration officer (with renewed ESTA) and tried to explain why you are entering the country? Have they been cool with TP run explanation?
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