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 Please add important information to it or correct outdated information by clicking the "Edit" button below.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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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
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
Nov 27, 2018, 3:20 am
#4786
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2014
Location: UK
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 12,258
Don't hang around this is a price match of another alliance and might not last. I'd do back to back GVA the night before. You can also grab a F seat on both your dates on the JFK leg if you fancy Upgrading with Avios
Nov 27, 2018, 3:27 am
#4787
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: London
Programs: BA Silver, Marriott Platinum, Hilton Gold
Posts: 302
Im looking to book now and also the B2B are cheap the night before.... Book with ITA is showing the same price but with Flight Networks... never used them would you be happy to book with them?
Nov 27, 2018, 3:59 am
#4788
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2014
Location: UK
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 12,258
Don't see why not - I'd be more inclined to call BA and use their flight numbers
Nov 27, 2018, 4:13 am
#4789
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: London, England
Posts: 366
Worth noting that you can shave some money off by departing from AMS, TXL, MUC (probably others too), though return seems to need to be to GVA or ZRH for the best prices
So that opens up some more nice B2B airports.
So that opens up some more nice B2B airports.
Nov 27, 2018, 4:21 am
#4790
Join Date: Dec 2016
Programs: BAEC GGL/CR; Hilton Diamond; Mucci des Puccis
Posts: 5,609
Have had bad experiences with FN ringing up and adding a couple of hundred to the price. Personally I'd book with AA if available via the pulldown where FN is selected. You need to pay in $ and set New York 10001 as the state/zip on the payment screen.
Nov 27, 2018, 4:25 am
#4791
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: London
Programs: BA Silver, Marriott Platinum, Hilton Gold
Posts: 302
Let me try the AA with NY as state and 10001 as state
Nov 27, 2018, 4:31 am
#4792
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2014
Location: UK
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 12,258
Great value
Nov 27, 2018, 4:31 am
#4793
Join Date: Dec 2016
Programs: BAEC GGL/CR; Hilton Diamond; Mucci des Puccis
Posts: 5,609
Nov 27, 2018, 4:34 am
#4794
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: London
Programs: BA Silver, Marriott Platinum, Hilton Gold
Posts: 302
Also, is 2hr 5min a good enough connection time in JFK? From a BA T7 to AA?
Nov 27, 2018, 4:51 am
#4795
Join Date: Aug 2015
Programs: M&M Senator, BAEC GGL, Delta Platinum
Posts: 258
Nov 27, 2018, 5:03 am
#4796
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: London
Programs: BA Silver, Marriott Platinum, Hilton Gold
Posts: 302
Cancelled with PriceLine and went with AA direct, especially when the MCT of JFK is 2hrs and my connection time is 2hr 05m.
Nov 27, 2018, 6:05 am
#4797
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: London / Brighton
Programs: BAEC Gold / M-Life Gold / HH Diamond
Posts: 1,634
Personally, I'd see that as quite doable - I've done a T7-T8 transfer a number of times to do the LHR-JFK-LAX route. *But* I do have Global Entry (which comes with TSA-Pre), I'm a GCH (so can use the Flagship First Check In), and I travel HBO. I also normally pick my seat so I can be one of the first off the plane. With GE I can be from the plane door to the AirTrain in 10 minutes, one stop on the AirTrain, Flagship First checkin, escorted to the front of the TSAPre queue, and then off to the lounge. On a bad day that's taken 30 minutes from deplaning my BA,
Nov 27, 2018, 6:19 am
#4798
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: London
Programs: BA Silver, Marriott Platinum, Hilton Gold
Posts: 302
Personally, I'd see that as quite doable - I've done a T7-T8 transfer a number of times to do the LHR-JFK-LAX route. *But* I do have Global Entry (which comes with TSA-Pre), I'm a GCH (so can use the Flagship First Check In), and I travel HBO. I also normally pick my seat so I can be one of the first off the plane. With GE I can be from the plane door to the AirTrain in 10 minutes, one stop on the AirTrain, Flagship First checkin, escorted to the front of the TSAPre queue, and then off to the lounge. On a bad day that's taken 30 minutes from deplaning my BA,
Nov 27, 2018, 6:48 am
#4799
Join Date: Aug 2014
Programs: BA Executive Club and OnBusiness
Posts: 720
Good spot - shame about the 6 day minimum turnaround. That makes the £1550 or so 960TP sequence I posted on the prem fares thread into £1365 (not optimised or checked on timings as I'm not doing this one). But if you want to spend time on the west coast it's a tremendous deal. Who needs Black Friday?
Any chance you could post a screenshot of the query you ran to find that? I can't get this to price up in Matrix or Google Flights for those dates
Nov 27, 2018, 6:52 am
#4800
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: LON
Programs: Mucci, BAEC, Eurostar
Posts: 3,293
Personally, I'd see that as quite doable - I've done a T7-T8 transfer a number of times to do the LHR-JFK-LAX route. *But* I do have Global Entry (which comes with TSA-Pre), I'm a GCH (so can use the Flagship First Check In), and I travel HBO. I also normally pick my seat so I can be one of the first off the plane. With GE I can be from the plane door to the AirTrain in 10 minutes, one stop on the AirTrain, Flagship First checkin, escorted to the front of the TSAPre queue, and then off to the lounge. On a bad day that's taken 30 minutes from deplaning my BA,
I'm guessing that if you're in the other quere you're kind of screwed though, because there have been reports of queues well over 1hr, even with the electronic booths for returning ESTAs.