If it cost £3800 to get to GGL would you?
Oct 13, 2019, 2:35 am
#91
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: London
Programs: BA CCR/GGL, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 3,483
I am a plane geek and really enjoy travel.
Furthermore what really triggered this thought is, recently in the last month someone I work with who has been doing a similar job to me their whole life retired early and saved up lots of money to travel and retire was killed in a road accident and in the same week someone else I work with had a serious stroke due to stress and in my personal life I lost a very close friend a number of years back these three events changed the way I value and think of things, and to me what have I achieved in life by sitting doing the same job day in day out nothing so why not do what I enjoy travel and flying
Furthermore what really triggered this thought is, recently in the last month someone I work with who has been doing a similar job to me their whole life retired early and saved up lots of money to travel and retire was killed in a road accident and in the same week someone else I work with had a serious stroke due to stress and in my personal life I lost a very close friend a number of years back these three events changed the way I value and think of things, and to me what have I achieved in life by sitting doing the same job day in day out nothing so why not do what I enjoy travel and flying
I also am over 2/3 of the way to LTG, and if I keep getting 3,000 TPs per year for the next few years then I can comfortably get it before I retire.... assuming they don't scrap it before then......
Oct 13, 2019, 3:03 am
#92
Join Date: Apr 2016
Programs: Bonvoy Titanium, Hilton Diamond, BA Silver, IHG Spire, AMEX Plat
Posts: 599
Nothing wrong with a good TP run to visit somewhere new but honestly I’m not in the immediate turnaround crew. I want to see the destination and rather pay a bit more to tick another city/country off my list.
Oct 13, 2019, 4:42 am
#93
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Plymouth, UK
Programs: BAEC Gold
Posts: 1,159
Fascinating thread 
I have just this year done 2 TP runs that resulted in me getting Gold. I did the trips purely as a holiday where the holiday was not the destination but the travel and flying. Yes, I can see why many of you may think me MAD! My wife certainly thinks me completely potty... but then again, she hates flying and only does it as a way to get somewhere, usually hot and with good food and wine! I, on the other hand, consider the trip there and back with as much value as the arriving. So my TP runs were not to get Gold but to do the flying and to travel around the world in J, eating and sleeping on aeroplanes and in lounges. It was a great holiday for me and I considered it time and money well spent - getting Gold was purely a by-product.
No one can really comment of what other people spend their money on. What is valuable to you may be a total waste to me. I did 2 TP runs. They cost me about £2000 each including positioning, hotels, parking at the airport, etc. So about £4000. I got Gold. Do I consider that good value? For the flying I did most definitely yes. To get Gold benefits definitely not. My status level of choice is Silver. It gives me everything I want when travelling with my wife. So the benefits of Gold to me are 2+ years of at least Silver benefits but I get to do some pretty neat flying to get it.
The issue for me with turning a TP run into a holiday at the destinations is that it lengthens the time away significantly and increases the cost. Take my first run this year... LGW - AGP - HEL DEL - KUL - NRT/HND - JFK - LHR... I did that in 8 days. I had to stop in DEL and HND just to make the flights work but that was it. I would love a holiday in Finland, India, Indonesia and Japan as I have never been to any of those countries but it would significantly increase the length of the trip and also cost a lot more... especially as my wife would also then want to go! So I decided to have the TP run as my holiday and to visit those countries as distinct holidays, with my wife, should we choose to do them. Not what most would do perhaps but it works for us.
The conclusion I have come to then is that spend your money on what you want to spend it on and make sure you get value from it that matters to you. Don't let others try to tell you that you are wasting your money or your time. Do it, do it your way, make sure you enjoy what you do and stick with that. I want to look back on what I have done and be pleased I did it and that then means I got good value from it.
I have just this year done 2 TP runs that resulted in me getting Gold. I did the trips purely as a holiday where the holiday was not the destination but the travel and flying. Yes, I can see why many of you may think me MAD! My wife certainly thinks me completely potty... but then again, she hates flying and only does it as a way to get somewhere, usually hot and with good food and wine! I, on the other hand, consider the trip there and back with as much value as the arriving. So my TP runs were not to get Gold but to do the flying and to travel around the world in J, eating and sleeping on aeroplanes and in lounges. It was a great holiday for me and I considered it time and money well spent - getting Gold was purely a by-product.
No one can really comment of what other people spend their money on. What is valuable to you may be a total waste to me. I did 2 TP runs. They cost me about £2000 each including positioning, hotels, parking at the airport, etc. So about £4000. I got Gold. Do I consider that good value? For the flying I did most definitely yes. To get Gold benefits definitely not. My status level of choice is Silver. It gives me everything I want when travelling with my wife. So the benefits of Gold to me are 2+ years of at least Silver benefits but I get to do some pretty neat flying to get it.
The issue for me with turning a TP run into a holiday at the destinations is that it lengthens the time away significantly and increases the cost. Take my first run this year... LGW - AGP - HEL DEL - KUL - NRT/HND - JFK - LHR... I did that in 8 days. I had to stop in DEL and HND just to make the flights work but that was it. I would love a holiday in Finland, India, Indonesia and Japan as I have never been to any of those countries but it would significantly increase the length of the trip and also cost a lot more... especially as my wife would also then want to go! So I decided to have the TP run as my holiday and to visit those countries as distinct holidays, with my wife, should we choose to do them. Not what most would do perhaps but it works for us.
The conclusion I have come to then is that spend your money on what you want to spend it on and make sure you get value from it that matters to you. Don't let others try to tell you that you are wasting your money or your time. Do it, do it your way, make sure you enjoy what you do and stick with that. I want to look back on what I have done and be pleased I did it and that then means I got good value from it.
Last edited by snaxmuppet; Oct 16, 2019 at 5:38 am
Nov 5, 2019, 9:32 am
#94
Join Date: Aug 2019
Posts: 12
From my experience, if you're TP running to CGK, the option of an immediate turnaround would be very attractive!
Nov 5, 2019, 9:47 am
#95
Join Date: Aug 2019
Posts: 12
A fascinating and enjoyable thread. I'm reading it in the Al Dhabi at AUH lounge whilst waiting for my BA 777 back to LHR, completing my first ever TP run (AUH-CMB-CGK). After this trip and a weekend in Sofia in 10 days I'll achieve Gold. I have to admit, my wife doesn't get it!
Last January, I researched the cheapest way to fly CW to ICN/SIN back in January for our family holiday in July, and discovered the joys of Ex-EU savings while the BA January sale was on. We loved J on the A380 and took advantage of the August sale to book J weekends away in New York and Porto. We have a trip to TPA (via ORD in F) booked for February half term. The future plan is to combine TP-esque routings with family holidays.
Last January, I researched the cheapest way to fly CW to ICN/SIN back in January for our family holiday in July, and discovered the joys of Ex-EU savings while the BA January sale was on. We loved J on the A380 and took advantage of the August sale to book J weekends away in New York and Porto. We have a trip to TPA (via ORD in F) booked for February half term. The future plan is to combine TP-esque routings with family holidays.
Nov 5, 2019, 9:56 am
#96
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: LHR
Programs: BAEC Silver
Posts: 484
A fascinating and enjoyable thread. I'm reading it in the Al Dhabi at AUH lounge whilst waiting for my BA 777 back to LHR, completing my first ever TP run (AUH-CMB-CGK). After this trip and a weekend in Sofia in 10 days I'll achieve Gold. I have to admit, my wife doesn't get it!
Last January, I researched the cheapest way to fly CW to ICN/SIN back in January for our family holiday in July, and discovered the joys of Ex-EU savings while the BA January sale was on. We loved J on the A380 and took advantage of the August sale to book J weekends away in New York and Porto. We have a trip to TPA (via ORD in F) booked for February half term. The future plan is to combine TP-esque routings with family holidays.
Last January, I researched the cheapest way to fly CW to ICN/SIN back in January for our family holiday in July, and discovered the joys of Ex-EU savings while the BA January sale was on. We loved J on the A380 and took advantage of the August sale to book J weekends away in New York and Porto. We have a trip to TPA (via ORD in F) booked for February half term. The future plan is to combine TP-esque routings with family holidays.
Nov 5, 2019, 10:11 am
#97
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Glasgow, UK
Programs: Seigneur des Tarifs Utils First Class Mucci with Honours :) - BA GGL / CCR
Posts: 1,551
It all got a bit out of control
A thread resurrection but an interesting thread to revisit. I see from the OP's profile he/she did go for it in the end!
I'm currently in a slight quandary myself this year in that with the flying I've already done added to the flights I've got booked, I will finish the year on around 4200 tier points. These days I comfortably get to 3500 per annum so manage to renew GGL and get both lots of GUF vouchers but this year I will probably get relatively close to the 5000 tier points needed for a CCR card.
If I'm a few hundred tier points off, I'm thinking it might be worth, for example, taking a long weekend in Singapore flying with QR to get a CCR card for the following year. I do a lot of short haul flights from T5 for work so would get a fair bit of benefit from it. Decisions!
I'm currently in a slight quandary myself this year in that with the flying I've already done added to the flights I've got booked, I will finish the year on around 4200 tier points. These days I comfortably get to 3500 per annum so manage to renew GGL and get both lots of GUF vouchers but this year I will probably get relatively close to the 5000 tier points needed for a CCR card.
If I'm a few hundred tier points off, I'm thinking it might be worth, for example, taking a long weekend in Singapore flying with QR to get a CCR card for the following year. I do a lot of short haul flights from T5 for work so would get a fair bit of benefit from it. Decisions!
I decided in the end to wait until I reset to 0 in Jan 2019 to start from there to get GGL / CCR for the longest use of it.
It ended up really easy to hit the 5000Tps in around 100 days which was made up of a combination of really cheap deals / Flash Sales and some nice holidays, Safari's and some work travel as well.
I ended up meeting some really good friends along the way mostly via FT which has made the experience far more enjoyable than I could have imagined with others who enjoy the same hobbies.
I only did one true back to back and that was on one of the Penang / CNX fares all the rest were actual trips with friends, weekend breaks, holidays to places I had never been before. Helped by a very flexible employer I've managed to maximize time off and have some truly incredible trips.
I ended up hitting CCR in the April which was under 100 days after I reset to 0 which was a bit on the crazy side and as I sit here with 9100 Tps and 2 months before I hit zero again I still have another full year of CCR in 2020 ahead of me. With future trips booked already I naturally have GGL booked again using the 8 Guf1s and 2 Guf2s and 3 jokers which with the changes BA made have made these very useful to enhance the travel experience.
Some quick stats
21 New destinations visited
280k miles flown
5 new Airlines flown
Would I do it again? Probably
Last edited by cgtechuk; Nov 5, 2019 at 10:25 am
Nov 5, 2019, 10:48 am
#98
Join Date: Aug 2019
Posts: 12
I'd say go for it - it has been really enjoyable. I'll probably post about my experiences and what I've learnt. I was impressed with SriLankan and really enjoyed the flying.
Nov 5, 2019, 11:22 am
#99
Join Date: Feb 2019
Location: UK. West Sussex
Programs: BAEC. Gold
Posts: 786
All self funded european flights and mini breaks, I have loved my 12 months as silver and keep looking at doing a tier point run next year to retain silver when it runs out in august.
With the AUH. CMB CGK tier point run
Living close to Lgw, I would get a nice seperate return flight to AUH from Lgw or LHR
Then whilst there fly off on the TP run.
My intention would be to spend a day or two at CGK before returning to AUH and on to LHR. With the return part of my Original flight.
Do I need to obtained visa's for any of these destinations?
As this seems to be a popular run, has anyone written of their experiences on any blood sites etc?
Is CGK a good destination for a few days?
Nov 5, 2019, 12:23 pm
#100
Join Date: Aug 2019
Posts: 12
CGK is pretty horrid! Ideally, book dates where you only have to overnight before the return to CMB/AUH. For the dates I had available, I had to spend 2 nights in Jakarta. I met another TP runner on the same schedule and she spent 2 nights at Raffles (which increased the £/TP cost significantly) but if you want to enjoy 5-star luxury it could be an option).
My suggestion would be to spend the extra days in AUH. It's less bling than DXB, not too expensive (wine at the pool at the Holiday Inn is only £7/glass!).
Nov 5, 2019, 12:34 pm
#101
Join Date: May 2014
Location: BRU
Programs: BA GGL, TK E (*G), ITA exec
Posts: 4,072
A lot of info about the AUH-CGK run, from flights to hotels, can be found here Oneworld: UL: DXB-CGK in J, $800 R/T
Nov 5, 2019, 2:12 pm
#102
Join Date: Mar 2015
Programs: BA GGL
Posts: 2,447
Also keep in mind if you're spending that much extra to get there you might not have spare cash to then utilise the GUFs (which expire) and jokers are no guarantee of availability (I've tried on three different returns this year and only the fourth was available).
My reason for hitting CCR was knowing I wanted to do the big UK-Oz return in F. I had the Avios, the 241, the GUF and the cash, just needed the jokers to get that booked in (admittedly a mix of F and J at first because no A class on the 777 for many months - my expertflyer sign-up triggered when that changed, thankfully, so I got all F eventually).
So if you have a specific reason for doing it and can balance the value against that then go for it. As lounges go the CCR isn't all that though - only one or two staff are attentive tbh - but it is nice to have sit-down meal before short haul economy flights.
My reason for hitting CCR was knowing I wanted to do the big UK-Oz return in F. I had the Avios, the 241, the GUF and the cash, just needed the jokers to get that booked in (admittedly a mix of F and J at first because no A class on the 777 for many months - my expertflyer sign-up triggered when that changed, thankfully, so I got all F eventually).
So if you have a specific reason for doing it and can balance the value against that then go for it. As lounges go the CCR isn't all that though - only one or two staff are attentive tbh - but it is nice to have sit-down meal before short haul economy flights.
Nov 5, 2019, 2:30 pm
#103
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Argentina
Posts: 40,200
Well done. ^
Had FT been around when I was a lot younger I could imagine myself doing something similar. Now I find it hard to motivate myself just to fly to the UK and back. So the message is folks....if the desire is there go and do it while you can!!
Had FT been around when I was a lot younger I could imagine myself doing something similar. Now I find it hard to motivate myself just to fly to the UK and back. So the message is folks....if the desire is there go and do it while you can!!
Nov 5, 2019, 5:33 pm
#104
Join Date: Feb 2015
Programs: BA Gold, Avis President
Posts: 436
If you want tier points as cheaply as possible then its best to fly backwards and forwards from Dubai to Jakarta via Columbo on Sri Lankan. 700 quid return in J and 560 tier points.
So Gold from scratch (including a positioning flight to Dubai) for +/- 2 grand and with an Ibis hotel next to the airport at either end. Not as mad as it may seem as there's Sri Lanka and Bali to visit.
Now do all of this just at the beginning of your collection year and you're Gold for 2 years plus Silver for another. So it'll only cost you 700 or 800 quid per year.
Bob is indeed your Uncle...Chris
So Gold from scratch (including a positioning flight to Dubai) for +/- 2 grand and with an Ibis hotel next to the airport at either end. Not as mad as it may seem as there's Sri Lanka and Bali to visit.
Now do all of this just at the beginning of your collection year and you're Gold for 2 years plus Silver for another. So it'll only cost you 700 or 800 quid per year.
Bob is indeed your Uncle...Chris
Nov 5, 2019, 5:40 pm
#105
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Glasgow, UK
Programs: Seigneur des Tarifs Utils First Class Mucci with Honours :) - BA GGL / CCR
Posts: 1,551
If you want tier points as cheaply as possible then its best to fly backwards and forwards from Dubai to Jakarta via Columbo on Sri Lankan. 700 quid return in J and 560 tier points.
So Gold from scratch (including a positioning flight to Dubai) for +/- 2 grand and with an Ibis hotel next to the airport at either end. Not as mad as it may seem as there's Sri Lanka and Bali to visit.
Now do all of this just at the beginning of your collection year and you're Gold for 2 years plus Silver for another. So it'll only cost you 700 or 800 quid per year.
Bob is indeed your Uncle...Chris
So Gold from scratch (including a positioning flight to Dubai) for +/- 2 grand and with an Ibis hotel next to the airport at either end. Not as mad as it may seem as there's Sri Lanka and Bali to visit.
Now do all of this just at the beginning of your collection year and you're Gold for 2 years plus Silver for another. So it'll only cost you 700 or 800 quid per year.
Bob is indeed your Uncle...Chris
I only went the once this year I wanted to enjoy the travel and back and forward x amount of times doesnt sound that exciting to me.
The other 8000 I earned with holidays, sales, fares and deals