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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 Please add important information to it or correct outdated information by clicking the "Edit" button below.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
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BA Tier Point Runs | 2018 master thread

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Old Sep 10, 2018, 9:50 am
  #3736  
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: West Sussex, UK
Programs: BAEC Gold (11/Dec/18)
Posts: 262
Relative newbie question time...

Nosing around at possible TATL for in the new year taking advantage of the sale fares. I know I've slightly overshot Silver and I'm tempted to treat myself to gold - that way I'll at least have the status for a while.

I also want to ideally sample the babybus before it goes!

Options for a decent TP run...? I doubt I'll get the TP to get Gold all in one booking but something point heavy would be good at circa 2k budget.
mtikky is offline  
Old Sep 10, 2018, 11:46 am
  #3737  
 
Join Date: Aug 2015
Programs: M&M Senator, BAEC GGL, Delta Platinum
Posts: 257
Originally Posted by barney2201
ALG - LAX at £1,350ish on the 28th Sept returning 1st Oct seems the best, but not 100% sure about a B2B in ALG...
You will need to go landside in ALG. This btw requires a visa for you... B2B is really risky withe the usual lines there.
chrini1 is offline  
Old Sep 10, 2018, 2:32 pm
  #3738  
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Sydney
Programs: NH AMC, EY Guest Silver,MPC GO
Posts: 210
Originally Posted by David_Doyle
Sorry I'm confused - how are you adding another sector between SFO-LAX and where to? I was particularly referring to JFK-LAX where I would specify JFK-LAX and then ask for the flights via SFO to make JFK-SFO-LAX.

Could you detail what you're trying to put together? If it prices up in ITA matrix it should be possible to book.
I was trying to so LUX-LHR-JFK-SFO-LAX then coming back with the exact same reverse routing, ITA shows perfectly with any issue and AA Belgium is able to price it but can't pay.

When I first call AA the agent insists why don't you go on a direct flight for LHR-LAX and even after I gave her all flights that showing up on ITA, after a while I've been told it's not a valid itinerary
sydneyguy1234 is offline  
Old Sep 10, 2018, 2:49 pm
  #3739  
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 5,041
Seems like there's a new CE sale ISPM0V2H
eg HEL-LHR r/t €256 for 160TPs

or the other way around LHR-HEL ISPM0V2R £238 r/t

PERMITTED 01OCT 18 THROUGH 16DEC 18 OR 13JAN 19 THROUGH
24MAR 19 ON THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL SECTOR.
TICKETS MUST BE ISSUED ON/AFTER 03SEP 18 AND ON/BEFORE 27SEP 18.
WeiBen, Lefly and Ned1968 like this.

Last edited by Hannibal Lecter; Sep 10, 2018 at 3:10 pm
Hannibal Lecter is offline  
Old Sep 10, 2018, 3:21 pm
  #3740  
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: London, UK
Programs: BA GGL, HHonors Diamond
Posts: 910
Originally Posted by sydneyguy1234
I was trying to so LUX-LHR-JFK-SFO-LAX then coming back with the exact same reverse routing, ITA shows perfectly with any issue and AA Belgium is able to price it but can't pay.

When I first call AA the agent insists why don't you go on a direct flight for LHR-LAX and even after I gave her all flights that showing up on ITA, after a while I've been told it's not a valid itinerary
HUACA? I would also ask what fare code they're coming up with. It should be INN9E6S4. The fare rules definitely allow 2 transfers in each direction.

From other reports on here though it does seem like ITA/AA itineraries aren't pricing up correctly.

2 TRANSFERS PERMITTED IN EACH DIRECTION FREE
1 PERMITTED FREE BETWEEN AA AND VY IN BCN/ROM IN EACH
DIRECTION
NONE PERMITTED FREE BETWEEN AA AND VY IN EACH
DIRECTION
2 PERMITTED FREE IN EUROPE IN EACH DIRECTION.
AND - 2 TRANSFERS PERMITTED IN EACH DIRECTION FREE
1 FREE BETWEEN BA/IB AND B6 IN BOS/JFK IN EACH
DIRECTION
1 FREE BETWEEN AA/AY/BA/IB/US AND AS IN LAX/PDX/
SEA IN EACH DIRECTION
1 FREE BETWEEN AA/AY/BA/IB/US AND AM IN MEXICO
IN EACH DIRECTION
1 FREE BETWEEN AA/AY/BA/IB/US AND AC IN CANADA
IN EACH DIRECTION
1 FREE BETWEEN AA/AY/BA/IB/US AND HA IN HAWAII
IN EACH DIRECTION
2 FREE ON AA/AY/BA/IB/US ONLY IN EACH DIRECTION
David_Doyle is offline  
Old Sep 10, 2018, 3:24 pm
  #3741  
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: BRS
Programs: BA Gold, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 4,986
Originally Posted by sydneyguy1234
When I first call AA the agent insists why don't you go on a direct flight for LHR-LAX and even after I gave her all flights that showing up on ITA, after a while I've been told it's not a valid itinerary
Those LUX fares are a major pain in the arse. Just spent over an hour on the phone to an AA agent who couldn't match the more convoluted routings. Not sure if it's agent error or what.

Mine was LUX-LHR-MIA-LAX/MSY-ORD-JFK-LCY/LHR-LUX.

Does ITA Matrix sometimes throw up rogue fares? Does anyone know if there's a contact at AA who you can email a fare request over to?
Schwann is offline  
Old Sep 10, 2018, 3:58 pm
  #3742  
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Join Date: Feb 2014
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Posts: 6,426
Originally Posted by Schwann
Those LUX fares are a major pain in the arse. Just spent over an hour on the phone to an AA agent who couldn't match the more convoluted routings. Not sure if it's agent error or what.

Mine was LUX-LHR-MIA-LAX/MSY-ORD-JFK-LCY/LHR-LUX.

Does ITA Matrix sometimes throw up rogue fares? Does anyone know if there's a contact at AA who you can email a fare request over to?
very likely married segment availability - some flights have I class only when connecting to other flights and when agent searches you dont know what segment order and marriage they did
nufnuf77 is offline  
Old Sep 10, 2018, 3:58 pm
  #3743  
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Sydney
Programs: NH AMC, EY Guest Silver,MPC GO
Posts: 210
Originally Posted by David_Doyle
HUACA? I would also ask what fare code they're coming up with. It should be INN9E6S4. The fare rules definitely allow 2 transfers in each direction.

From other reports on here though it does seem like ITA/AA itineraries aren't pricing up correctly.

2 TRANSFERS PERMITTED IN EACH DIRECTION FREE
1 PERMITTED FREE BETWEEN AA AND VY IN BCN/ROM IN EACH
DIRECTION
NONE PERMITTED FREE BETWEEN AA AND VY IN EACH
DIRECTION
2 PERMITTED FREE IN EUROPE IN EACH DIRECTION.
AND - 2 TRANSFERS PERMITTED IN EACH DIRECTION FREE
1 FREE BETWEEN BA/IB AND B6 IN BOS/JFK IN EACH
DIRECTION
1 FREE BETWEEN AA/AY/BA/IB/US AND AS IN LAX/PDX/
SEA IN EACH DIRECTION
1 FREE BETWEEN AA/AY/BA/IB/US AND AM IN MEXICO
IN EACH DIRECTION
1 FREE BETWEEN AA/AY/BA/IB/US AND AC IN CANADA
IN EACH DIRECTION
1 FREE BETWEEN AA/AY/BA/IB/US AND HA IN HAWAII
IN EACH DIRECTION
2 FREE ON AA/AY/BA/IB/US ONLY IN EACH DIRECTION

tried with two agents, none of them able to recreate the same itinerary from ITA, maybe out of luck
sydneyguy1234 is offline  
Old Sep 10, 2018, 4:00 pm
  #3744  
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Sydney
Programs: NH AMC, EY Guest Silver,MPC GO
Posts: 210
Originally Posted by Schwann
Those LUX fares are a major pain in the arse. Just spent over an hour on the phone to an AA agent who couldn't match the more convoluted routings. Not sure if it's agent error or what.

Mine was LUX-LHR-MIA-LAX/MSY-ORD-JFK-LCY/LHR-LUX.

Does ITA Matrix sometimes throw up rogue fares? Does anyone know if there's a contact at AA who you can email a fare request over to?
like my previous fare if I tweak it a bit and make it like LUX-LHR-JFK-LAX/LAS-LAX-JFK-LHR-LUX its possible to price out on AA sire and all the way to payment page so it probably some availability issue for you or some system problem again.
sydneyguy1234 is offline  
Old Sep 10, 2018, 4:13 pm
  #3745  
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: BRS
Programs: BA Gold, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 4,986
Originally Posted by sydneyguy1234
like my previous fare if I tweak it a bit and make it like LUX-LHR-JFK-LAX/LAS-LAX-JFK-LHR-LUX its possible to price out on AA sire and all the way to payment page so it probably some availability issue for you or some system problem again.
Using ITA Powertools I can get it up on the AA Belgium website but then it won't go through to the payment page too.

Last edited by Schwann; Sep 10, 2018 at 4:21 pm
Schwann is offline  
Old Sep 10, 2018, 4:21 pm
  #3746  
 
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Munich, Algarve, Sussex or S.F Bay Area
Programs: Mucci, BA Gold, A3*Gold, AA Plat, HH Gold, IHG Plat Amb, Marriott Plat
Posts: 4,158
Originally Posted by Schwann
Using ITA Powertools I can get it up on the AA Belgium website but then it won't go through to the payment page too.
And if you put it on hold and call up to pay?
Tafflyer is offline  
Old Sep 10, 2018, 4:31 pm
  #3747  
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: London
Programs: BA GGL (for now) and Lifetime Gold, Marriott fan thanks to Bonvoy Moments
Posts: 5,115
Originally Posted by Hannibal Lecter
Seems like there's a new CE sale ISPM0V2H
eg HEL-LHR r/t €256 for 160TPs

or the other way around LHR-HEL ISPM0V2R £238 r/t

PERMITTED 01OCT 18 THROUGH 16DEC 18 OR 13JAN 19 THROUGH
24MAR 19 ON THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL SECTOR.
TICKETS MUST BE ISSUED ON/AFTER 03SEP 18 AND ON/BEFORE 27SEP 18.
Nice. I think I can add this onto one of my ex-LHR deals to HEL and save the hotel night... (and use up my £50 BA voucher from price guarantee on the outbound!)

that should net me 320 TPs for under £400 if I use some of the Avios I’m earning to reduce the price
lorcancoyle is offline  
Old Sep 10, 2018, 4:41 pm
  #3748  
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: BRS
Programs: BA Gold, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 4,986
Originally Posted by Tafflyer


And if you put it on hold and call up to pay?
Should be more clear... when I click through to payment page it falls over. So cannot even get onto the hold.
Schwann is offline  
Old Sep 11, 2018, 1:58 am
  #3749  
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: BRU
Programs: BA GGL, TK E (*G), ITA exec
Posts: 4,072
Originally Posted by Hannibal Lecter
Seems like there's a new CE sale ISPM0V2H
eg HEL-LHR r/t €256 for 160TPs

or the other way around LHR-HEL ISPM0V2R £238 r/t

PERMITTED 01OCT 18 THROUGH 16DEC 18 OR 13JAN 19 THROUGH
24MAR 19 ON THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL SECTOR.
TICKETS MUST BE ISSUED ON/AFTER 03SEP 18 AND ON/BEFORE 27SEP 18.
That's a nice one. I was trying to see how it works from BRU, and it's still not bad for 240 TPs.
However, when I just search a roundtrip BRU-HEL on BA.com, for the 3rd weekend of November, the system only returns BA+AY flights combinations with a price over 750 eur.
No way to have BA+BA (for 395 eur) unless using the Multicity option, with the downside to be forced to choose connection over 120 min even if the T5-T3 MCT is 90.

Any idea why this happens?
Lefly is offline  
Old Sep 11, 2018, 3:33 am
  #3750  
sxc
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Accor Contributor Badge
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Programs: CX Green, QF Platinum, BAEC Silver, Hyatt Glob
Posts: 10,780
Originally Posted by sxc
INCEU60 - AMS to BKK fare question

Currently pricing up an itinerary for this and wondering if I'm getting the right price, as it seems maybe a bit more expensive than before. Itinerary is:

AMS-HKG (via LHR)
HKG-BKK-HKG
HKG-AMS (via LHR)

Fare I'm being given is EUR 1764 which would mean EUR 1564 + EUR 200 for the HKG stopovers. Departure is Jan 2019.

Does this sound about right?
Follow on question to this:

When I search this itinerary via google flights or Matrix, I can choose all flights, and there appears to be availability on the CX HKG-BKK-HKG legs.

However, if I search expertflyer separately for the CX legs, it is showing zero availability in I class.

If matrix/google flights allows me to select the sectors, does this mean I should be okay when I call BA to book the itinerary? Or is it likely I will be told I can't book this due to availability?
sxc is offline  


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