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 Please add important information to it or correct outdated information by clicking the "Edit" button below.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
Apr 13, 2018, 8:13 am
#1951
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Cumbria
Programs: BAEC GGL/CCR, Hilton Diamond, Starbucks Gold
Posts: 4,510
Before I pull the trigger on a reasonably priced trip to HEL (although only around £2/TP) can anybody suggest any decent trips to the US?
Looking at departing mid-August, for about a week. Ideally somewhere like MIA so have range of decent resort type hotels. Happy to look at ex-EU options, but this would be more of a TP optimisation activity rather than a pure TP run.
I should add, OTP/PHX is not an option.
Looking at departing mid-August, for about a week. Ideally somewhere like MIA so have range of decent resort type hotels. Happy to look at ex-EU options, but this would be more of a TP optimisation activity rather than a pure TP run.
I should add, OTP/PHX is not an option.
Apr 13, 2018, 4:13 pm
#1952
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: London
Programs: MPC Diamond, BAEC Gold, VS Gold
Posts: 29
I am planning to do a second OTP-PHX TP run but in F...
Please can someone help!
Apr 13, 2018, 4:20 pm
#1954
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: London
Programs: BAEC Gold, IHG Spire Ambassador, Starbucks Gold,
Posts: 624
Apr 13, 2018, 4:26 pm
#1955
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: London
Programs: MPC Diamond, BAEC Gold, VS Gold
Posts: 29
Apr 14, 2018, 1:51 am
#1956
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: London
Programs: BAEC Gold, IHG Spire Ambassador, Starbucks Gold,
Posts: 624
Apr 14, 2018, 4:11 am
#1957
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Portsmouth, UK
Programs: BA GGL/CCR
Posts: 791
The INV-ORD fare routed via JFK or PHL will give 580TPs for £1700, TATL in F (A). I'm not practised enough with Matrix and the fare rules to figure out getting extra stops in there for the same price.
Apr 14, 2018, 4:45 am
#1958
Join Date: Dec 2017
Posts: 833
How common are the (good) F-class deals. I took the plunge in January and managed to nab an OTP-PHX F class run for August - looking forward to it.
But in my lurking days, I didn't recall seeing many F-class deals, mostly J-class. Was the OTP-PHX one an exception?
But in my lurking days, I didn't recall seeing many F-class deals, mostly J-class. Was the OTP-PHX one an exception?
Apr 14, 2018, 5:02 am
#1959
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Cumbria
Programs: BAEC GGL/CCR, Hilton Diamond, Starbucks Gold
Posts: 4,510
I recall stumbling upon the F fare from PHX the day after I’d booked in J and UUA into F on the TATL. I was simply being nosey and was shocked to see how it was pricing up so little more than in J. I immediately rebooked and cancelled the ticket I brought the previous day.
Overall, I wouldn’t wait around hoping for another deal in F.
Apr 14, 2018, 5:10 am
#1960
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Glasgow, UK
Programs: Seigneur des Tarifs Utils First Class Mucci with Honours :) - BA GGL / CCR
Posts: 1,551
These days I aim to answer as many queries as I ask as I get better and better with Matrix with the help of others however guess what... I have a question And I hope this helps others too.
On these joint ventures to the USA what is the benefits of booking it on one carriers codes over the other? Ignoring things like what metal you are on because each of the below can book on the others metal
Here are some examples
ALG => LAX
CAI => HNL
OTP => PHX
LAX => PTY
The only benefits I can see of taking a BA over an AA for example is the opportunity to uuA the BA Metal legs to F which for TPs USUALLY isn't beneficial at all and the double avios if booking using the BA Amex ?
Benefits of booking on AA is on bigger runs where more flights are on their metal they are in a much more flexible position to juggle with options as they have access to more inventory and generally more accommodating at the cost of not earning as much avios
Then there is IB which earns practically same avios as BA, Without the extra BA Amex Avios and not heard of how they handle IRROPS.
And I hope this helps others too.On these joint ventures to the USA what is the benefits of booking it on one carriers codes over the other? Ignoring things like what metal you are on because each of the below can book on the others metal
Here are some examples
ALG => LAX
CAI => HNL
OTP => PHX
LAX => PTY
The only benefits I can see of taking a BA over an AA for example is the opportunity to uuA the BA Metal legs to F which for TPs USUALLY isn't beneficial at all and the double avios if booking using the BA Amex ?
Benefits of booking on AA is on bigger runs where more flights are on their metal they are in a much more flexible position to juggle with options as they have access to more inventory and generally more accommodating at the cost of not earning as much avios
Then there is IB which earns practically same avios as BA, Without the extra BA Amex Avios and not heard of how they handle IRROPS.
Apr 14, 2018, 5:31 am
#1961
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Cumbria
Programs: BAEC GGL/CCR, Hilton Diamond, Starbucks Gold
Posts: 4,510
You also earn more avios on BA codes than the same flight with an AA code.
In theory you can also book an AA fare by calling BA and thereby earning the 3x avios by using your Amex.
In theory you can also book an AA fare by calling BA and thereby earning the 3x avios by using your Amex.
Apr 14, 2018, 5:40 am
#1962
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Glasgow, UK
Programs: Seigneur des Tarifs Utils First Class Mucci with Honours :) - BA GGL / CCR
Posts: 1,551
This is also true but I suppose the limiting factor with that is that BA wont allow two BA Coded AA flights intra USA so if you take JFK - LAX on a transcon on BA Codes you cant then do LAX to HNL with BA Codes so there are limitations, Just trying to balance what is the most "Optimal" that and no one seems to know anything about IB in the USA its a mystery haha
Apr 14, 2018, 8:35 am
#1963
Join Date: Sep 2016
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 87
i also can’t find this deal. Can see the £17 fare but not the €11 one. Tried to price up using matrix but couldn’t see it either. Any pointers?
Apr 15, 2018, 1:56 am
#1964
Join Date: May 2014
Location: BRU
Programs: BA GGL, TK E (*G), ITA exec
Posts: 4,100
LAX-PTY run
How does it look this LAX-PTY option? I am still limited with ITA advanced codes, so this is the best I could find with 14 sectors during the first week of July.
Apr 15, 2018, 9:04 am
#1965
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Glasgow, UK
Programs: Seigneur des Tarifs Utils First Class Mucci with Honours :) - BA GGL / CCR
Posts: 1,551
Good timings, If you add a phx in between the LAX and the PHL sector or even send it PHX - JFK rather than phx to phl you should get in at 4am JFK which should mean you can make the last evening flight and save an overnight in MIA unless that is intentional of course