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 Please add important information to it or correct outdated information by clicking the "Edit" button below.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
#2686
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Beijing
Programs: SK EBG, BAEC Gold
Posts: 932
It seems not easy to keep the price down to 800 GBP and fit in lots of sectors... The best I can come up with for your dates are below. The first gives you 15 sectors (800 TPs) for around 940 GBP (so about 1.18 GBP/TP). The second keeps the price down to 880 GBP, but at the expense of dropping two sectors on the return, so only 720 TPs (1.22 GBP/TP).
Your dates and constraint in the time you have available certainly limit the options for this one! The best I can find (a 10 sector total trip) comes out at around 1200 GBP for 600 TPs. The run wouldn't be for the fainthearted though, as the only way I can see to fit 5 sectors each way is to bypass the "24 hour" rule by booking the trip as two one-ways.
I seem to be having trouble uploading reasonable size screenshots so here is a text based summary:
Ticket 1: dep. Feb 14th/arr Feb 15th LAX:: AA851 PHL AA1687 CLT AA561 MCO AA1362 MIA AA959 (PTY) - (797 USD == 602 GBP)
Ticket 2 dep. Feb 16th/arr Feb 17th (07.10am) PTY:: AA960 MIA AA1362 MCO AA561 CLT AA1783 SFO AA (LAX) - (814 USD = 615 GBP)
I seem to be having trouble uploading reasonable size screenshots so here is a text based summary:
Ticket 1: dep. Feb 14th/arr Feb 15th LAX:: AA851 PHL AA1687 CLT AA561 MCO AA1362 MIA AA959 (PTY) - (797 USD == 602 GBP)
Ticket 2 dep. Feb 16th/arr Feb 17th (07.10am) PTY:: AA960 MIA AA1362 MCO AA561 CLT AA1783 SFO AA (LAX) - (814 USD = 615 GBP)
#2687
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Aspen, CO
Posts: 792
how do you insert so many sectors on ITA matrix without having the program time out?
#2688
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Cumbria
Programs: BAEC GGL/CCR, Hilton Diamond, Starbucks Gold
Posts: 4,510
#2689
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Aspen, CO
Posts: 792
awesome, thank you! splitting up the segments definitely made it easier and allowed for the search to go through... this is fun
#2690
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Aspen, CO
Posts: 792
managed to get a total of 22 segments on a similar fare to PTY... what's the max each way? I have no intention of flying something like this, but it's fun and I have a few hours to kill lol.
#2691
Ambassador, British Airways; FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Leeds, UK
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, GfL, HH Diamond
Posts: 42,964
Your dates and constraint in the time you have available certainly limit the options for this one! The best I can find (a 10 sector total trip) comes out at around 1200 GBP for 600 TPs. The run wouldn't be for the fainthearted though, as the only way I can see to fit 5 sectors each way is to bypass the "24 hour" rule by booking the trip as two one-ways.
I seem to be having trouble uploading reasonable size screenshots so here is a text based summary:
Ticket 1: dep. Feb 14th/arr Feb 15th LAX:: AA851 PHL AA1687 CLT AA561 MCO AA1362 MIA AA959 (PTY) - (797 USD == 602 GBP)
Ticket 2 dep. Feb 16th/arr Feb 17th (07.10am) PTY:: AA960 MIA AA1362 MCO AA561 CLT AA1783 SFO AA (LAX) - (814 USD = 615 GBP)
I seem to be having trouble uploading reasonable size screenshots so here is a text based summary:
Ticket 1: dep. Feb 14th/arr Feb 15th LAX:: AA851 PHL AA1687 CLT AA561 MCO AA1362 MIA AA959 (PTY) - (797 USD == 602 GBP)
Ticket 2 dep. Feb 16th/arr Feb 17th (07.10am) PTY:: AA960 MIA AA1362 MCO AA561 CLT AA1783 SFO AA (LAX) - (814 USD = 615 GBP)
I have chosen bad dates to go to LAX to do a run! Should have checked it first. I may go back to plan A and just have a few days in LA as a holiday
#2692
Join Date: Jul 2016
Location: Oxford (&Western Isles )
Programs: BA GGL, CCR; RyanAir MillionMiler :( ;
Posts: 756
i found that the best way to search was to put all the sectors int the advance routing fields, specifying airline=AA. this then makes it easier to delete an airport code and replace with another. eg I found that LAS was causing me trouble and replaced with SAN which fixed the outbound farecode (I think the fare needs I availability and, for some reason, N econ availability - but I might be very wrong on that!)
I had to use different routing on the way back to get the fare code back to the cheaper one. I also had to move STOPS to be No Limit.
Search was something like this (not sure I needed the AA at the front of the routing list)
I eventually booked this run, which was about £899 when I booked it (via Powertools, AA.com) :
I had to use different routing on the way back to get the fare code back to the cheaper one. I also had to move STOPS to be No Limit.
Search was something like this (not sure I needed the AA at the front of the routing list)
I eventually booked this run, which was about £899 when I booked it (via Powertools, AA.com) :
#2695
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: London
Programs: BAEC Silver, HH Diamond, Avis President's Club
Posts: 1,219
#2696
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Gloucestershire
Programs: BA Gold (ex-GGL, maybe future Silver), Hilton Diamond
Posts: 6,199
Good availability on this one the week after Thanksgiving. Also works for LAS (but CLT-LAS is just below 2k miles so fewer TPs) and SFO. Probably also LAX, SJC, etc but I've not checked yet.
#2697
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Reading
Programs: BAEC GOLD HH GOLD
Posts: 21
So annoying newbie/amateur question. I am currently gold, purely by the quantity of work travel last year however its a bit dry this year. So I am on 1030 tier points, need 470. by August 8th flying out of London. I looked at the OTP - PHX way via ITA Matrix and checking out on Owenrudge its 520 TP in total for 1300 GBP - Seems a bargain but a bit overkill not to mention I need to get to and from OTP to start and finish my run Are there any other bright ideas to get to 470 from London not totalling 1600 ish GBP?
#2700
Join Date: May 2014
Location: BRU
Programs: BA GGL, TK E (*G), ITA exec
Posts: 4,093
But be quick, last time prices like this one they didn't last long.