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 Please add important information to it or correct outdated information by clicking the "Edit" button below.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 Jan 24, 2018, 2:04 am
  #721  
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Programs: GGL/CCR
Posts: 1,899
Just starting a LHR-HEL-OSL b2b on AY....anyone done it recently? Currently in the CX F lounge waiting for the 359
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Old Jan 24, 2018, 2:04 am
  #722  
 
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Sapporo, Japan
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Posts: 520
Originally Posted by rossmacd
Only trying to help There is no criticism, only trying to help you learn the ropes
It's all good, I'm just making light of not understanding it to be honest. It's a huge amount of information to absorb so quickly.
rossmacd and squawk like this.
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Old Jan 24, 2018, 2:06 am
  #723  
 
Join Date: Sep 2016
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 87
Had a play with the OTP-PHX and routed the outbound through Newark on the 787 and breaks the journey up by sending you transcon next day foromJFK. Anyone considered this?
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Old Jan 24, 2018, 2:14 am
  #724  
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: The North
Posts: 1,837
Originally Posted by flyuk
It's all good, I'm just making light of not understanding it to be honest. It's a huge amount of information to absorb so quickly.
Welcome to the forum flyuk - Im assuming youre new here (apologies, on my phone and its hard to check!).

This is a fair comment: although many of us on here are well versed in the acronyms and procedures of airlines and BA specifically, everyone has to start somewhere. While for some that involves years of regular flying, for others it means spending time on here - and given the depth of information available here, often buried across many long threads, it can certainly be overwhelming at first for newcomers. I certainly felt that way.

What I would say is that although it is sometimes hard to ascertain tone online, madfish, rossmacd (and indeed most of the regular contributors on BAEC FT) are friendly and helpful - just dont mention a certain missed flight in TLL More seriously, check out the various stickied threads at the top of the forum, especially the Dashboard, which links to many different threads with useful information.
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Old Jan 24, 2018, 2:15 am
  #725  
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: The North
Posts: 1,837
Duplicate - deleted
squawk is offline  
Old Jan 24, 2018, 2:20 am
  #726  
 
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Sapporo, Japan
Programs: Junior Jet Club, Nando's Card 1 Red Chilli, Tesco Clubcard, BAEC Gold, TK M&S Elite
Posts: 520
Originally Posted by madfish


Yes 920. You need to look at what AA claim to be F. Business on the Transcon is better than what they class as domestic F. Basically AA dont offer F on domestic flights (except the Transcon)
I'm considering it because of the mostly long connection times and AMS is easy and cheap to get to from Southampton (my home base). I'd only lose three work days instead of four, and the connections are plentiful with the UK compared to OTP. I don't really need an extra 120TP, but I'd probably enjoy Honolulu more than Phoenix...

So

800TP/1320/1.65
vs
920TP/1800/1.95
flyuk is offline  
Old Jan 24, 2018, 2:24 am
  #727  
 
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Sapporo, Japan
Programs: Junior Jet Club, Nando's Card 1 Red Chilli, Tesco Clubcard, BAEC Gold, TK M&S Elite
Posts: 520
Originally Posted by squawk


Welcome to the forum flyuk - Im assuming youre new here (apologies, on my phone and its hard to check!).

This is a fair comment: although many of us on here are well versed in the acronyms and procedures of airlines and BA specifically, everyone has to start somewhere. While for some that involves years of regular flying, for others it means spending time on here - and given the depth of information available here, often buried across many long threads, it can certainly be overwhelming at first for newcomers. I certainly felt that way.

What I would say is that although it is sometimes hard to ascertain tone online, madfish, rossmacd (and indeed most of the regular contributors on BAEC FT) are friendly and helpful - just dont mention a certain missed flight in TLL More seriously, check out the various stickied threads at the top of the forum, especially the Dashboard, which links to many different threads with useful information.
It's all good. It's hard to convey banter (I hate that word) on forums. Everyone has been really helpful so far. I'm hoping I can contribute too, once I find get a good grip of the ropes.
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Old Jan 24, 2018, 2:34 am
  #728  
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Beijing
Programs: SK EBG, BAEC Gold
Posts: 930
Originally Posted by flyuk
It's all good. It's hard to convey banter (I hate that word) on forums. Everyone has been really helpful so far. I'm hoping I can contribute too, once I find get a good grip of the ropes.
Worthwhile also adding a reminder here that there is a lot of useful information in the first seven posts of this thread (I confess that from time to time I scratch my head wondering why I can't find the lists of >2000 mile routes, and then remember they are hiding in plain sight at the top of the Tier Point Runs thread!).
squawk, Yuff and flyuk like this.
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Old Jan 24, 2018, 3:09 am
  #729  
 
Join Date: Jun 2017
Programs: BAEC Gold
Posts: 383
Is the OTP-PHX run something that is available often? I understand this one needs to be booked by early Feb but is this particular route common? Or I suppose, has it been like that in the past? Or is it the case that people can find ways of doing runs all year long?
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Old Jan 24, 2018, 3:26 am
  #730  
 
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: London
Programs: BAEC Silver, HH Diamond, Avis President's Club
Posts: 1,219
Originally Posted by MrPrice16
Had a play with the OTP-PHX and routed the outbound through Newark on the 787 and breaks the journey up by sending you transcon next day foromJFK. Anyone considered this?
I always break up my US "TP-run" trips and take a day in each city, essentially making it a mini-travelling holiday to visit a few places. Also stops you from getting flying-fatigue! You can manually force it using ITA matrix if you're struggling to compare the splits that you're looking for. Just make sure the layovers are under 24hrs.
Foltan is offline  
Old Jan 24, 2018, 3:27 am
  #731  
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 7,464
Originally Posted by webstereo
Is the OTP-PHX run something that is available often? I understand this one needs to be booked by early Feb but is this particular route common? Or I suppose, has it been like that in the past? Or is it the case that people can find ways of doing runs all year long?
The OTP-PHX J (business) fare has been fairly consistent, however, has reduced by approximately 100 GBP in the last few weeks, which makes it more attractive.

The OTP-PHX A (first) fare is either recently been made available or recently discovered, and I am not so convinced that it would be a 'long-term' offering, therefore I would be booking sooner rather than later should you wish to use it.

There is usually something available for those doing TP runs (I will give clarity here - usually something that is ~2.50/TP - whether this is your personal value is for you to decide) so keep your eyes peeled in this thread and the similarly excellent Premium Fares Thread/Forum for inspiration.

That being said, as we frequently learn, that past occurrence of a fare does not guarantee future availability! There are never guarantees in this hobby
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Old Jan 24, 2018, 3:35 am
  #732  
 
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: 7,311
Originally Posted by bisonrav
Anyone fancying some extreme TPs, PEN->KTM is available for around 565 on Malaysian - 360 TP and a chance to take a ride to LUA (sadly non TP earning and relatively expensive, though you do want extremely well paid pilots for that I should think).

The usual boring options are also available. e.g. Mumbai. I was led to look by the claim there are lower business class sale fares (sub 2000 ringgit) from KL to Mumbai but couldn't find anything obvious.
BKK-KUL-BOM is around for 550ish as well.

360TPs.
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Old Jan 24, 2018, 3:43 am
  #733  
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 192
Originally Posted by OverTheHorizon
Yeah, probably a good thing to have checked before buying a tight b2b
I'll certainly know for the future now, having said that AGP for non schengen was reported as difficult, turned out to be pretty simple as long as you are willing to jump the passport queue.
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Old Jan 24, 2018, 3:44 am
  #734  
 
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: London
Programs: Hilton Diamond, Avis President's Club, BA GGL CCR, Amex Plat
Posts: 77
Originally Posted by Gastrocnemius
So am I.

Have a look on BA97- our flights may coincide
Took me a while to figure out what ba97 was however my best friend google showed me the way.....
just added my flights however unfortunately looks like mi the only one doing the run over that weekend.
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Old Jan 24, 2018, 4:08 am
  #735  
 
Join Date: Jun 2017
Programs: BAEC Gold
Posts: 383
Originally Posted by rossmacd
The OTP-PHX J (business) fare has been fairly consistent, however, has reduced by approximately 100 GBP in the last few weeks, which makes it more attractive.

The OTP-PHX A (first) fare is either recently been made available or recently discovered, and I am not so convinced that it would be a 'long-term' offering, therefore I would be booking sooner rather than later should you wish to use it.

There is usually something available for those doing TP runs (I will give clarity here - usually something that is ~2.50/TP - whether this is your personal value is for you to decide) so keep your eyes peeled in this thread and the similarly excellent Premium Fares Thread/Forum for inspiration.

That being said, as we frequently learn, that past occurrence of a fare does not guarantee future availability! There are never guarantees in this hobby
That's interesting to note. And I particularly like the idea of thinking of this as a hobby especially as I'm really intrigued by the idea of a big TP Run like this. I don't actually need it to get to gold as I will get there anyway with other plans. (thanks to the very useful explanation on this thread about using the ITA Matrix - I really appreciate the effort many of you put into sharing information)
Given my year end early August I'd be right in thinking that a journey like this might be useful next year to retain Gold right?
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