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 Please add important information to it or correct outdated information by clicking the "Edit" button below.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 15, 2018, 9:02 pm
#1486
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: HKG
Programs: BAEC Gold, CX MPC Gold, Avis preferred plus, MyWaitrose card
Posts: 287
Mar 16, 2018, 3:05 am
#1487
Join Date: Feb 2012
Programs: ex BD(LG),HH(D),SPG(P)/(LG), BA(G)
Posts: 215
Hi - hoping I have done something wrong: tried booking OTP-PHX through ITA Booking - get through to AA website fine but all in USD, and as soon as I change it to UK website it loses all the ITA Matrix details. How have others booked this fare? Am happy to call AA if I need to, but just wondered if I am missing something obvious. Have read the above threads (apologies if I missed something), and on ITA Matrix am entering GBP and LON for currency and ticketing city.
Having said the above, the UL fares look good so may head east now!
Thanks for any assistance, and safe travels
Having said the above, the UL fares look good so may head east now!
Thanks for any assistance, and safe travels
Mar 16, 2018, 3:29 am
#1488
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Cumbria
Programs: BAEC GGL/CCR, Hilton Diamond, Starbucks Gold
Posts: 4,510
Put on hold with AA in$ and then call and they will price it in £ for you.
Mar 16, 2018, 3:34 am
#1489
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 7,464
You can fudge your UK address on the AA.com US payment screen. Of course, this does not avoid the FX fees levied on your credit card, but for the small fee I would just swallow this rather than the faff of calling AA to get priced in GBP via the phone.
Mar 16, 2018, 4:14 am
#1490
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: London
Programs: Newbie BA Gold
Posts: 570
Help with INCEU60 please..
Hi, can anyone help me with a flight to the far east please?
I'd like to be in KHH and ideally HKG as well, sometime in July. Is it possible to rope both in to the ince fair at a good price?
AMS-LHR-HKG-KHH return which I've done before comes to £1824.
but AMS-LHR-HKG-BKK-LHR-AMS is only £1311! With 3 of us travelling, that is a big saving.
Is there a way to somehow jam KHH into the latter? Or swap tokyo for hong kong?
Any help appreciated!
I'd like to be in KHH and ideally HKG as well, sometime in July. Is it possible to rope both in to the ince fair at a good price?
AMS-LHR-HKG-KHH return which I've done before comes to £1824.
but AMS-LHR-HKG-BKK-LHR-AMS is only £1311! With 3 of us travelling, that is a big saving.
Is there a way to somehow jam KHH into the latter? Or swap tokyo for hong kong?
Any help appreciated!
Mar 16, 2018, 4:49 am
#1491
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 7,464
Hi, can anyone help me with a flight to the far east please?
I'd like to be in KHH and ideally HKG as well, sometime in July. Is it possible to rope both in to the ince fair at a good price?
AMS-LHR-HKG-KHH return which I've done before comes to £1824.
but AMS-LHR-HKG-BKK-LHR-AMS is only £1311! With 3 of us travelling, that is a big saving.
Is there a way to somehow jam KHH into the latter? Or swap tokyo for hong kong?
Any help appreciated!
I'd like to be in KHH and ideally HKG as well, sometime in July. Is it possible to rope both in to the ince fair at a good price?
AMS-LHR-HKG-KHH return which I've done before comes to £1824.
but AMS-LHR-HKG-BKK-LHR-AMS is only £1311! With 3 of us travelling, that is a big saving.
Is there a way to somehow jam KHH into the latter? Or swap tokyo for hong kong?
Any help appreciated!
Mar 16, 2018, 4:58 am
#1492
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: HKG
Programs: BAEC Gold, CX MPC Gold, Avis preferred plus, MyWaitrose card
Posts: 287
Just use avios - plenty of availability from HKG to KHH and negligible taxes!
Mar 16, 2018, 5:26 am
#1493
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: London
Programs: Newbie BA Gold
Posts: 570
Separate but related question, if I book the fare, is it possible to upgrade the LHR-HKG leg to first assuming availability? Do I just call BA up after I booked and ask them to do it?
And is BKK interesting for an 8yr old?
Last edited by benjai; Mar 16, 2018 at 11:18 am
Mar 16, 2018, 11:42 am
#1494
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 128
Hi, can anyone help me with a flight to the far east please?
I'd like to be in KHH and ideally HKG as well, sometime in July. Is it possible to rope both in to the ince fair at a good price?
AMS-LHR-HKG-KHH return which I've done before comes to £1824.
but AMS-LHR-HKG-BKK-LHR-AMS is only £1311! With 3 of us travelling, that is a big saving.
Is there a way to somehow jam KHH into the latter? Or swap tokyo for hong kong?
Any help appreciated!
I'd like to be in KHH and ideally HKG as well, sometime in July. Is it possible to rope both in to the ince fair at a good price?
AMS-LHR-HKG-KHH return which I've done before comes to £1824.
but AMS-LHR-HKG-BKK-LHR-AMS is only £1311! With 3 of us travelling, that is a big saving.
Is there a way to somehow jam KHH into the latter? Or swap tokyo for hong kong?
Any help appreciated!
Mar 16, 2018, 11:57 am
#1495
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Gloucestershire
Programs: BA Gold (ex-GGL, maybe future Silver), Hilton Diamond
Posts: 6,199
If you can use ITA Matrix, you can set it up as a multi-sector itinerary.
Depending on your preference, you can either do AMS-LHR-HKG [STOPOVER] HKG-BKK-LHR-AMS, or AMS-LHR-BKK [CONNECTION/STOPOVER] - HKG - [CONNECTION/STOPOVER] - LHR-AMS.
You would need to pay €100 + taxes for the additional stopover but it's still a bargain.
If you're not using ITA then you'd have to phone up and book. It is (I think) possible to get the early flight out of HKG to BKK, then connect at BKK to get the day flight back to London and on to AMS (though the LHR-AMS flights don't always run late enough to make the connection)..
Depending on your preference, you can either do AMS-LHR-HKG [STOPOVER] HKG-BKK-LHR-AMS, or AMS-LHR-BKK [CONNECTION/STOPOVER] - HKG - [CONNECTION/STOPOVER] - LHR-AMS.
You would need to pay €100 + taxes for the additional stopover but it's still a bargain.
If you're not using ITA then you'd have to phone up and book. It is (I think) possible to get the early flight out of HKG to BKK, then connect at BKK to get the day flight back to London and on to AMS (though the LHR-AMS flights don't always run late enough to make the connection)..
Mar 16, 2018, 12:58 pm
#1496
Join Date: May 2009
Location: HAM
Programs: A3*G, BA Gold
Posts: 115
Placing the following in the extension codes would mean you have at least 10 hours between connections.
minconnect 600
The 600 represents minutes which can be altered. However, this would apply for all flights. The alternative would be to break your journey into segments which then allows you to use this between the flights you want for the stopover.
Mar 16, 2018, 4:28 pm
#1497
Join Date: Feb 2012
Programs: ex BD(LG),HH(D),SPG(P)/(LG), BA(G)
Posts: 215
Thanks for the reponses to my OTP-PHX query. In the end we have put together an interesting 1280 tier point Asian tour @£1.70/TP (good value for travelling East I believe). So our November trip goes OSL-DOH-PEN-KUL-CGK-CMB-DXB returning back to ARN on QR (359 & 788), MH and UL, plus positioning to OSL and back from ARN.
Appreciate all the great ideas and wealth of assistance on here.
Appreciate all the great ideas and wealth of assistance on here.
Mar 17, 2018, 12:42 am
#1498
Join Date: May 2014
Location: BRU
Programs: BA GGL, TK E (*G), ITA exec
Posts: 4,094
I'm working on the OTP-PHX deal trying to maximize TPs earning.
So far this is the higher I could get, though I was unable to add any other connection between PHL and PHX without the price going quite up.
I was wondering if can be better optimized? Thanks!
So far this is the higher I could get, though I was unable to add any other connection between PHL and PHX without the price going quite up.
I was wondering if can be better optimized? Thanks!
Mar 17, 2018, 12:53 am
#1499
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Cumbria
Programs: BAEC GGL/CCR, Hilton Diamond, Starbucks Gold
Posts: 4,510
I am no expert on this but there are rules around permitted mileage. This is the reason why those who are going through HEL are not doing the Transcon and instead doing the direct JFK/PHX.
Edit. Just seen that you are doing JFK/HEL. I would look to switch this to going JFK/LHR/HEL. This would pick up another 80TPs, but you would need to drop the routing through LAX. Net gain would be 40TPs and cost around £1500. Of course you may want to pay more for to use the Transcon. Is it worth the extra for the additional loss of 40TPs?
Proposed TPs is 1000 (80+80+80+140+140+40+140+140+80+80)
Revised TPs is 1040 (80+80+80+140+140+140+140+80+80+80) and should be cheaper.
Last edited by madfish; Mar 17, 2018 at 1:07 am
Mar 17, 2018, 1:30 am
#1500
Join Date: May 2014
Location: BRU
Programs: BA GGL, TK E (*G), ITA exec
Posts: 4,094
Although adding in PHX/LAX and then to JFK adds an extra 40TPs I think you are paying much more for this than need be. I would look to remove this and see what prove you are then getting.
I am no expert on this but there are rules around permitted mileage. This is the reason why those who are going through HEL are not doing the Transcon and instead doing the direct JFK/PHX.
Edit. Just seen that you are doing JFK/HEL. I would look to switch this to going JFK/LHR/HEL. This would pick up another 80TPs, but you would need to drop the routing through LAX. Net gain would be 40TPs and cost around £1500. Of course you may want to pay more for to use the Transcon. Is it worth the extra for the additional loss of 40TPs?
Proposed TPs is 1000 (80+80+80+140+140+40+140+140+80+80)
Revised TPs is 1040 (80+80+80+140+140+140+140+80+80+80) and should be cheaper.
I am no expert on this but there are rules around permitted mileage. This is the reason why those who are going through HEL are not doing the Transcon and instead doing the direct JFK/PHX.
Edit. Just seen that you are doing JFK/HEL. I would look to switch this to going JFK/LHR/HEL. This would pick up another 80TPs, but you would need to drop the routing through LAX. Net gain would be 40TPs and cost around £1500. Of course you may want to pay more for to use the Transcon. Is it worth the extra for the additional loss of 40TPs?
Proposed TPs is 1000 (80+80+80+140+140+40+140+140+80+80)
Revised TPs is 1040 (80+80+80+140+140+140+140+80+80+80) and should be cheaper.
I'll try your suggestion and see if A) I can make it work and B) the price drop is worth of skipping the LAX tour
Thank you!