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 Please add important information to it or correct outdated information by clicking the "Edit" button below.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
Mar 5, 2018, 8:07 am
#1336
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 7,464
It is possible to get more than 840 TPs from the fare using 16 sectors on a 'one way', but it is fair to say that is a very specific niche category for extremely time rich/flexible employment arrangement can achieve. A couple of people on here I know have done them, but I would suggest they are not for the 'masses'.
Mar 5, 2018, 8:13 am
#1337
Join Date: Dec 2004
Programs: BA GGL, A3*G, Mucci de l'expertise des Apps
Posts: 3,367
Mar 5, 2018, 8:27 am
#1338
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: ±38,000 feet
Programs: LH HON, BA GGL, AF Plat, EK Plat
Posts: 6,428
Mar 5, 2018, 9:14 am
#1339
Join Date: Dec 2004
Programs: BA GGL, A3*G, Mucci de l'expertise des Apps
Posts: 3,367
A round trip can be had for 649GBP + taxes, so 230 GBP extra for two one-ways. Excellent value if you are using all the segments, not so much if you are around the 16 mark anyway.
Mar 5, 2018, 9:42 am
#1340
Join Date: Aug 2014
Programs: BA Executive Club and OnBusiness
Posts: 721
Intriguing. To pull the suggestions together - is it possible to book two one-ways (LAX-PTY and PTY-LAX) with 16 segments each (so 32 flights overall) for around 2 x £440?
Would that be 30 x 40 and 2 x 140 = 1,480 TPs?
How is it booked (i.e. how do we find 16 sectors from the millions of combinations possible)?
Would that be 30 x 40 and 2 x 140 = 1,480 TPs?
How is it booked (i.e. how do we find 16 sectors from the millions of combinations possible)?
Mar 5, 2018, 9:56 am
#1341
Join Date: Dec 2004
Programs: BA GGL, A3*G, Mucci de l'expertise des Apps
Posts: 3,367
Intriguing. To pull the suggestions together - is it possible to book two one-ways (LAX-PTY and PTY-LAX) with 16 segments each (so 32 flights overall) for around 2 x £440?
Would that be 30 x 40 and 2 x 140 = 1,480 TPs?
How is it booked (i.e. how do we find 16 sectors from the millions of combinations possible)?
Would that be 30 x 40 and 2 x 140 = 1,480 TPs?
How is it booked (i.e. how do we find 16 sectors from the millions of combinations possible)?
As for getting 16 segments in each direction for that price, well the fare is mileage limited, which means that to get that price you have to keep the total flown distance under 3610 miles, which you are never going to do with that many segments. You can increase the total allowed flown distance by paying 5% increases in the base fare, up to a maximum of 25% I think? nufnuf77 will undouvtedly confirm shortly as this is a special TP territory that they operate in. That would be 4512 miles each way maximum. Some fares also allow deductions for flying through certain airports, which helps, but I haven't had a chance to check these ones.
Finally, as many of these AA fares are "UP" fares, to get the lowest overall price you need to choose fares that have the underlying economy inventory available too, which gets harder as you add segments, therefore you end up getting a slightly higher fare as you make them more complicated.
Mar 5, 2018, 11:51 am
#1342
Join Date: Mar 2018
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 2
Hi all,
I've been lurking from afar for a year or two, but finally have the opportunity to do a tier point run. I have leave from 23/03/2018 until 01/04/2018 (inclusive) and like the look of the OTP/PHX run but I can only get a price over £2,000. Can anyone assist to get that under £1500? All help is appreciated, thanks!
I've been lurking from afar for a year or two, but finally have the opportunity to do a tier point run. I have leave from 23/03/2018 until 01/04/2018 (inclusive) and like the look of the OTP/PHX run but I can only get a price over £2,000. Can anyone assist to get that under £1500? All help is appreciated, thanks!
Mar 5, 2018, 12:03 pm
#1343
Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: UK
Posts: 10,159
Welcome aboard csyc66 and I admittedly have no real experience of TP runs but I would be confident in saying that because you are so close to those dates it is higher or it is only eligible on certain dates. There is info on this here and I'm sure others will be along to help a new member with more info and guidance 
Thanks for taking the plunge and I hope you enjoy it!
Thanks for taking the plunge and I hope you enjoy it!
Mar 5, 2018, 12:14 pm
#1344
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: BCN
Programs: BA GGL, IB, LH, IHG Gold
Posts: 582
Welcome aboard csyc66 and I admittedly have no real experience of TP runs but I would be confident in saying that because you are so close to those dates it is higher or it is only eligible on certain dates. There is info on this here and I'm sure others will be along to help a new member with more info and guidance
Thanks for taking the plunge and I hope you enjoy it!
Thanks for taking the plunge and I hope you enjoy it!
RESERVATIONS FOR ALL SECTORS ARE REQUIRED AT LEAST 28 DAYS
BEFORE DEPARTURE.
BEFORE DEPARTURE.
Mar 5, 2018, 12:16 pm
#1345
Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: UK
Posts: 10,159
Mar 5, 2018, 3:28 pm
#1347
Moderator: Qatar Airways
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: LHR/NCE/MIA
Programs: BAEC GfL & GGL, SQ Gold, Amex Centurion, Mucci des Chevaliers des Bons Mots et Qui Savent Moucher
Posts: 8,950
Frustratingly, it looks like the LAX-PTY routing only works in August...well either that, or at least one of the flights doesnt run in May/June/July.
I was trying to get it to work for a Sunday-Wednesday trip, but to no avail
M
I was trying to get it to work for a Sunday-Wednesday trip, but to no avail
M
Mar 5, 2018, 5:00 pm
#1348
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: ±38,000 feet
Programs: LH HON, BA GGL, AF Plat, EK Plat
Posts: 6,428
£440 is the base fare, so you have to add taxes fees and charges, of which there are some as it is an international itinerary.
As for getting 16 segments in each direction for that price, well the fare is mileage limited, which means that to get that price you have to keep the total flown distance under 3610 miles, which you are never going to do with that many segments. You can increase the total allowed flown distance by paying 5% increases in the base fare, up to a maximum of 25% I think? nufnuf77 will undouvtedly confirm shortly as this is a special TP territory that they operate in. That would be 4512 miles each way maximum. Some fares also allow deductions for flying through certain airports, which helps, but I haven't had a chance to check these ones.
Finally, as many of these AA fares are "UP" fares, to get the lowest overall price you need to choose fares that have the underlying economy inventory available too, which gets harder as you add segments, therefore you end up getting a slightly higher fare as you make them more complicated.
As for getting 16 segments in each direction for that price, well the fare is mileage limited, which means that to get that price you have to keep the total flown distance under 3610 miles, which you are never going to do with that many segments. You can increase the total allowed flown distance by paying 5% increases in the base fare, up to a maximum of 25% I think? nufnuf77 will undouvtedly confirm shortly as this is a special TP territory that they operate in. That would be 4512 miles each way maximum. Some fares also allow deductions for flying through certain airports, which helps, but I haven't had a chance to check these ones.
Finally, as many of these AA fares are "UP" fares, to get the lowest overall price you need to choose fares that have the underlying economy inventory available too, which gets harder as you add segments, therefore you end up getting a slightly higher fare as you make them more complicated.
Interestingly @Airprox, we are both sort of right on the previous post, being always focused on LIB, I remembered all proper 'I' fares allowed only 2 tranfers, and you had to choose 'UP' fare to get the 16 segments. That's why i quoted those two fares for PTY above. It turns out they removed the 2 transfer restriction from proper 'I' fares on PTY, so you are right the option there is not as lucrative. But most central american still has 2 transfers on 'I' unlimited on 'UP'.
Mar 5, 2018, 10:44 pm
#1349
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 7,464
Mar 5, 2018, 11:36 pm
#1350
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Vale of Glamorgan
Programs: BAEC Gold
Posts: 2,992
This isn't really in keeping with the spirit of this thread, which exists only because of the incredible effort, generosity and patience shown by contributors to help others (and each other) get the best deals. If you know of a deal that offers £1/TP then please share it so everyone can benefit.