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 Please add important information to it or correct outdated information by clicking the "Edit" button below.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
Sep 21, 2018, 9:57 am
#4037
Join Date: Jul 2018
Location: London, UK
Programs: BAEC Gold
Posts: 1,020
Sep 21, 2018, 11:09 am
#4038
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: 4,163
Sep 21, 2018, 11:46 am
#4039
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: London
Programs: BA Gold / OW Emerald
Posts: 753
The lounge attendant at PHL pulled such a face when she couldn't scan my (AA printed) boarding pass, and thus had to reprint my boarding passes. She saw I was doing YUL-PHL-LHR-HEL-AMS-LHR. This got the attention of her manager as she seemed perplexed and stared at the computer for a while. She asked me whether or not I intended to take such a convoluted routing, I nodded and mentioned I did it for the miles and the manager smiled and mentioned they do see a few people doing mileage runs to keep their status.
Sep 21, 2018, 12:30 pm
#4040
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: LON
Programs: Mucci, BAEC, Eurostar
Posts: 3,287
The lounge attendant at PHL pulled such a face when she couldn't scan my (AA printed) boarding pass, and thus had to reprint my boarding passes. She saw I was doing YUL-PHL-LHR-HEL-AMS-LHR. This got the attention of her manager as she seemed perplexed and stared at the computer for a while. She asked me whether or not I intended to take such a convoluted routing, I nodded and mentioned I did it for the miles and the manager smiled and mentioned they do see a few people doing mileage runs to keep their status.
Sep 22, 2018, 1:15 am
#4041
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 128
Hi All, I wonder if I could consult the hive mind for a moment...
I need to be in Osaka next July (around 22 - 24 but could extend either end) and wondered what would be the most TP/cost effective way of getting there? Normally starting at GLA or EDI but can do any Europe start point. I've had success before with QR going through DOH (circa £1300-£1500 for 560TPs) going east so ideally looking for something in that ball park.
I need to be in Osaka next July (around 22 - 24 but could extend either end) and wondered what would be the most TP/cost effective way of getting there? Normally starting at GLA or EDI but can do any Europe start point. I've had success before with QR going through DOH (circa £1300-£1500 for 560TPs) going east so ideally looking for something in that ball park.
Sep 22, 2018, 6:54 am
#4042
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: London
Programs: BA Gold, Kris Flyer, Skywards, Accor Gold, Radisson Gold
Posts: 98
Adding ALG leg visa required?
Just found that if I add ALG off the back of a West coast USA fare as my end destination it drops the price by about £1k (using ex DUB as a starting point), looking at a TP run next weekend.
My intebtion would be to fly via LON and then ‘forget’ to turn up to the ALG flight the next day
Question is would BA / AA deny you boarding in the US if you don’t have a visa for ALG?
My intebtion would be to fly via LON and then ‘forget’ to turn up to the ALG flight the next day
Question is would BA / AA deny you boarding in the US if you don’t have a visa for ALG?
Sep 22, 2018, 7:01 am
#4043
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2008
Programs: AA EXP/LTP, BA GGL/CCR/GfL, HH D/LTD, SPG/MR Plat/LTP
Posts: 10,075
Just found that if I add ALG off the back of a West coast USA fare as my end destination it drops the price by about £1k (using ex DUB as a starting point), looking at a TP run next weekend.
My intebtion would be to fly via LON and then ‘forget’ to turn up to the ALG flight the next day
Question is would BA / AA deny you boarding in the US if you don’t have a visa for ALG?
My intebtion would be to fly via LON and then ‘forget’ to turn up to the ALG flight the next day
Question is would BA / AA deny you boarding in the US if you don’t have a visa for ALG?
Jokes aside, there is a lot of information in the ALG-JFK thread in the main Premium Deals Forum.
(presently on phone, can't provide link)
Sep 22, 2018, 9:00 am
#4044
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Bristol
Programs: BA GGL, UA Plat, DL Plat, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 2,380
Just found that if I add ALG off the back of a West coast USA fare as my end destination it drops the price by about £1k (using ex DUB as a starting point), looking at a TP run next weekend.
My intebtion would be to fly via LON and then ‘forget’ to turn up to the ALG flight the next day
Question is would BA / AA deny you boarding in the US if you don’t have a visa for ALG?
My intebtion would be to fly via LON and then ‘forget’ to turn up to the ALG flight the next day
Question is would BA / AA deny you boarding in the US if you don’t have a visa for ALG?
Sep 22, 2018, 9:03 am
#4045
Join Date: May 2015
Programs: BA Silver
Posts: 158
Just found that if I add ALG off the back of a West coast USA fare as my end destination it drops the price by about £1k (using ex DUB as a starting point), looking at a TP run next weekend.
My intebtion would be to fly via LON and then ‘forget’ to turn up to the ALG flight the next day
Question is would BA / AA deny you boarding in the US if you don’t have a visa for ALG?
My intebtion would be to fly via LON and then ‘forget’ to turn up to the ALG flight the next day
Question is would BA / AA deny you boarding in the US if you don’t have a visa for ALG?
I did US-LHR-MAD, 10 days stop over, MAD-ALG and all AA documents indicated MAD as my final destination and I had no visa issues.
You don't want to stopover in the UK, as that will add significant APD charges. I guess you could book US-LHR, LGW-MAD, long stopover, MAD-ALG.
The thread in the premium deals forum is AA/BA/IB ALG-LAX rt Business $1500-1900
Sep 23, 2018, 2:14 am
#4048
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: 4,163
Yes. They will check your visa in the US and deny you boarding then and there. One fix is to add a stopover in europe (the west coast alg fares mostly allow stopovers for free), and then your destination when checking in in the US is not ALG.
I did US-LHR-MAD, 10 days stop over, MAD-ALG and all AA documents indicated MAD as my final destination and I had no visa issues.
You don't want to stopover in the UK, as that will add significant APD charges. I guess you could book US-LHR, LGW-MAD, long stopover, MAD-ALG.
The thread in the premium deals forum is AA/BA/IB ALG-LAX rt Business $1500-1900
I did US-LHR-MAD, 10 days stop over, MAD-ALG and all AA documents indicated MAD as my final destination and I had no visa issues.
You don't want to stopover in the UK, as that will add significant APD charges. I guess you could book US-LHR, LGW-MAD, long stopover, MAD-ALG.
The thread in the premium deals forum is AA/BA/IB ALG-LAX rt Business $1500-1900
Sep 23, 2018, 3:47 am
#4049
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Close to Heathrow
Programs: BA GGL, Gold for Life, CCR, VS Silver, HHonours Diamond
Posts: 549
Sep 23, 2018, 3:57 am
#4050
Join Date: Oct 2013
Programs: GGL/CCR
Posts: 1,899
I am sure many other have done this before. When the DUB-HNL flights were cheap, it allowed a routing through LCY to JFK. Returning one time I had LCY-DUB-LHR. I live close to LHR and told my inquisitive friends that this was easier than crossing London in the rush hour.
