Lesson Learned
May 19, 2018, 4:21 am
#16
Join Date: Sep 2013
Programs: BAEC Gold, EK Skywards (enhanced Blue !), Oman Air Sindbad Gold
Posts: 6,399
True. Not just beat it - but by a pretty large margin. And you can still route to MEL.
860 TP’s for LHR-MEL in J is very easily achievable - all on OW carriers, including BA.
This assumes of course that you are willing & happy enough to fly a few more sectors and hours than strictly necessary (although with no requirement to backtrack).
May 19, 2018, 5:59 am
#17
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: London, UK
Programs: BA GGL
Posts: 1,578
For future reference, there’s a (not 100% accurate, but much easier to use than the airline’s) BA tier points and avios calculator here: https://www.owenrudge.net/utils/bacalc/
May 19, 2018, 6:07 am
#18
Join Date: Feb 2018
Programs: BAEC Gold, Hilton Diamond, Bonvoy Silver
Posts: 175
London to Phoenix is a good example (and one which happens to be popular on this forum at the moment) of the variation in TP earnings through various routings.
Assuming all business-class travel, I believe the one-way TP earnings are:
- LON-PHX is 140
- LON-CLT-PHX is 180
- LON-PHL-PHX is 280
- LON-JFK-LAX-PHX is 320 (and JFK-LAX is a reasonable business-class product)
And, my experience is that the prices are not directly rated to the TP earnings, so you may spend just a little more [or, sometimes, the same or less] to get many more TPs. If status is important to you, it can be worth doing a little extra research to maximize TPs.
I'm sorry that you learned this through your experience to Australia. It sounds like you would have been happier with a different routing for more than one reason. Hopefully, you will find your time at FT rewarding and find that you are able to quickly achieve your travel aspirations through the tips you gather here.
May 19, 2018, 6:45 am
#21
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 2,235
May 19, 2018, 6:11 pm
#22
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 494
One thing to remember when flying between UK and OZ is that going all the way on one flight number earns fewer TP than using two different flight numbers. Also, changing flights in SIN earns a few more TP than changing in, say HKG. SIN is just over the boundary that gets you 160 TP rather than 140 TP in CW, whilst LHR-HKG is less than 10 miles short of the magic distance.
May 20, 2018, 4:30 am
#23
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2018
Programs: BA Exec Club
Posts: 12
Apologies for not getting back sooner, I did try yesterday but the system said that I had reached the limit of five posts per day.
Anyway the flight on the Dreamliner to Perth. Comparing this with BA flights to Florida which is about my only other business travel.
The plane is new so everything was shiny and clean, that was very nice. The BA cabins looked a bit tatty by comparison.
The video screen is large, unmarked, good resolution. The BA ones were a lot smaller, poor resolution, often marked, contrast/brightness failing.
The food was pretty much the same. I don't rate airline food even on business flights, I don't like the constant stuffing you with food at unnatural hours and that they start of with a decent cut of beef and by the time it has been cooked and reheated it is ruined. But generally fine, reasonable choice (caveat) no worse or better than BA. The issue I did have was availability - I was in the rearmost business cabin and by the time the crew got to these seats to take orders quite a few of the options were gone leaving no choice. This is the first time I have ever experienced something like this and was unimpressed. It felt like a sub-class system, those in seats to the front got a better service. I did complain and was advised that I should have pre-ordered before flying - was not aware of this option until then - I did this for the return trip and it worked though I noticed that I wasn't offered all the options that were available on the plane.
The seat was much more private than the ones I have used on BA. This was a pretty big personal area. With BA the seats are packed much tighter to the extent that your neighbour has to step over your legs if they need to go to the toilet - usually kicking you just after you have managed to fall asleep.
The seat/bed is much better, more substantial than what I have experienced with BA. It was still a little too short for me - I am a little over 6 foot.
Service was a little indifferent on the way out, better on the way back (so probably down to the crew rather than policy). I felt on the way out the staff kept themselves in the galley and if you wanted something (another drink for example) you have to call them and ask. There wasn't very much evidence of walking the aisles to check that everything was good and whether you needed anything.
The snacks in the galley were lightly stocked and soon ran out.
Drinks seemed to be a little below BA standards - for example, with spirits it was just the normal brand economy range - none of the more upmarket brands. For example, I like a Gin and Tonic and on BA this means Tanqueray Gin and Fever Tree Tonic On Qantas it means Beefeater gin and Schweppes tonic -serviceable, but not as fancy. Worse though is how the mixers are served. On BA you get a mini can so you can mix how you want and it is nice and fresh. With Qantas they mix for you using mixer out of a 2L bottle - so depending on how many flights old it is and how many times it has been opened can be quite flat - as it was in my case.
So I would say that because the Dreamliner is new and better laid out the Qanats flight was better overall than BA flights I have been on. But if the two were to operate on the same plane the BA service would have the edge.
Cheers,
Nigel
Anyway the flight on the Dreamliner to Perth. Comparing this with BA flights to Florida which is about my only other business travel.
The plane is new so everything was shiny and clean, that was very nice. The BA cabins looked a bit tatty by comparison.
The video screen is large, unmarked, good resolution. The BA ones were a lot smaller, poor resolution, often marked, contrast/brightness failing.
The food was pretty much the same. I don't rate airline food even on business flights, I don't like the constant stuffing you with food at unnatural hours and that they start of with a decent cut of beef and by the time it has been cooked and reheated it is ruined. But generally fine, reasonable choice (caveat) no worse or better than BA. The issue I did have was availability - I was in the rearmost business cabin and by the time the crew got to these seats to take orders quite a few of the options were gone leaving no choice. This is the first time I have ever experienced something like this and was unimpressed. It felt like a sub-class system, those in seats to the front got a better service. I did complain and was advised that I should have pre-ordered before flying - was not aware of this option until then - I did this for the return trip and it worked though I noticed that I wasn't offered all the options that were available on the plane.
The seat was much more private than the ones I have used on BA. This was a pretty big personal area. With BA the seats are packed much tighter to the extent that your neighbour has to step over your legs if they need to go to the toilet - usually kicking you just after you have managed to fall asleep.
The seat/bed is much better, more substantial than what I have experienced with BA. It was still a little too short for me - I am a little over 6 foot.
Service was a little indifferent on the way out, better on the way back (so probably down to the crew rather than policy). I felt on the way out the staff kept themselves in the galley and if you wanted something (another drink for example) you have to call them and ask. There wasn't very much evidence of walking the aisles to check that everything was good and whether you needed anything.
The snacks in the galley were lightly stocked and soon ran out.
Drinks seemed to be a little below BA standards - for example, with spirits it was just the normal brand economy range - none of the more upmarket brands. For example, I like a Gin and Tonic and on BA this means Tanqueray Gin and Fever Tree Tonic On Qantas it means Beefeater gin and Schweppes tonic -serviceable, but not as fancy. Worse though is how the mixers are served. On BA you get a mini can so you can mix how you want and it is nice and fresh. With Qantas they mix for you using mixer out of a 2L bottle - so depending on how many flights old it is and how many times it has been opened can be quite flat - as it was in my case.
So I would say that because the Dreamliner is new and better laid out the Qanats flight was better overall than BA flights I have been on. But if the two were to operate on the same plane the BA service would have the edge.
Cheers,
Nigel
May 20, 2018, 4:44 am
#24
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Feb 2010
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold; Flying Blue Life Platinum; LH Sen.; Hilton Diamond; Kemal Kebabs Prized Customer
Posts: 63,804
BA is moving towards cabin crew doing the mixing in the new Club World implementations, albeit using the mixer tins, but you can continue to ask to mix it yourself instead. The large bottles really don't survive long in the air, after an hour or two their fizziness is much weakened, and in the case of tonic water it frankly wrecks the product altogether. Thanks for that report from the 787 service LHR-PER direct, it's an intriguing one for me, somewhere on the list of future ideas. I appreciate it's not as worthwhile in terms of TPs, though if we look at TPs per hour flying/connecting then I'm not sure you are worse off. Maybe a few domestic hops in Club Europe from LGW can help resolve any deficit. And welcome to Flyertalk and the BA forum nheather.
May 20, 2018, 5:35 am
#25
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2018
Programs: BA Exec Club
Posts: 12
Pretty resigned to losing my Silver, can't see any way viable to prevent that.
Flying on business is the only way I accumulate decent TPs and that is not a regular part of my job. It all depends on what project I am on, where the customer is and whether customer visits are required. I can go for years on UK based projects or the infrequent short haul to Europe which are on economy under corporate policy anyway.
And then there will come a project (I did one for 4 years) that requires six trips out to the US each year, or the recent one which was a single trip to Australia. So I was on gold for a few years, then dropped down to silver, expecting to lose it but then this Australia trip came along which I thought would secure silver for another year - and it would have done had I not picked the wrong route.
So now I'm on 480 TPs, 120 short. I have an economy flight in June to Greece that will get me 20 and an economy flight to Croatia in August that will get me 25. So 75 short and can't see any way of getting those.
Not a moan, just a statement of fact, but it will hurt BA in the long run. For the last 6 years or so whenever, I have gone on holiday with my wife, we have always paid extra to use BA over cheaper flights. Not because I think BA economy is better (it isn't, pretty much the same) but because we could use the priority check-in, the lounge and the early boarding. I lose all that when I lose silver so there won't be any benefit to paying a premium to use BA for our leisure trips. I doubt BA will care, it's peanuts in the grand scheme, and it's not a threat, just a statement of what will happen.
Cheers,
Nigel
Flying on business is the only way I accumulate decent TPs and that is not a regular part of my job. It all depends on what project I am on, where the customer is and whether customer visits are required. I can go for years on UK based projects or the infrequent short haul to Europe which are on economy under corporate policy anyway.
And then there will come a project (I did one for 4 years) that requires six trips out to the US each year, or the recent one which was a single trip to Australia. So I was on gold for a few years, then dropped down to silver, expecting to lose it but then this Australia trip came along which I thought would secure silver for another year - and it would have done had I not picked the wrong route.
So now I'm on 480 TPs, 120 short. I have an economy flight in June to Greece that will get me 20 and an economy flight to Croatia in August that will get me 25. So 75 short and can't see any way of getting those.
Not a moan, just a statement of fact, but it will hurt BA in the long run. For the last 6 years or so whenever, I have gone on holiday with my wife, we have always paid extra to use BA over cheaper flights. Not because I think BA economy is better (it isn't, pretty much the same) but because we could use the priority check-in, the lounge and the early boarding. I lose all that when I lose silver so there won't be any benefit to paying a premium to use BA for our leisure trips. I doubt BA will care, it's peanuts in the grand scheme, and it's not a threat, just a statement of what will happen.
Cheers,
Nigel
May 20, 2018, 5:49 am
#26
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: London, UK and Southern France
Posts: 18,364
Pretty resigned to losing my Silver, can't see any way viable to prevent that.
Flying on business is the only way I accumulate decent TPs and that is not a regular part of my job. It all depends on what project I am on, where the customer is and whether customer visits are required. I can go for years on UK based projects or the infrequent short haul to Europe which are on economy under corporate policy anyway.
And then there will come a project (I did one for 4 years) that requires six trips out to the US each year, or the recent one which was a single trip to Australia. So I was on gold for a few years, then dropped down to silver, expecting to lose it but then this Australia trip came along which I thought would secure silver for another year - and it would have done had I not picked the wrong route.
So now I'm on 480 TPs, 120 short. I have an economy flight in June to Greece that will get me 20 and an economy flight to Croatia in August that will get me 25. So 75 short and can't see any way of getting those.
Not a moan, just a statement of fact, but it will hurt BA in the long run. For the last 6 years or so whenever, I have gone on holiday with my wife, we have always paid extra to use BA over cheaper flights. Not because I think BA economy is better (it isn't, pretty much the same) but because we could use the priority check-in, the lounge and the early boarding. I lose all that when I lose silver so there won't be any benefit to paying a premium to use BA for our leisure trips. I doubt BA will care, it's peanuts in the grand scheme, and it's not a threat, just a statement of what will happen.
Cheers,
Nigel
Flying on business is the only way I accumulate decent TPs and that is not a regular part of my job. It all depends on what project I am on, where the customer is and whether customer visits are required. I can go for years on UK based projects or the infrequent short haul to Europe which are on economy under corporate policy anyway.
And then there will come a project (I did one for 4 years) that requires six trips out to the US each year, or the recent one which was a single trip to Australia. So I was on gold for a few years, then dropped down to silver, expecting to lose it but then this Australia trip came along which I thought would secure silver for another year - and it would have done had I not picked the wrong route.
So now I'm on 480 TPs, 120 short. I have an economy flight in June to Greece that will get me 20 and an economy flight to Croatia in August that will get me 25. So 75 short and can't see any way of getting those.
Not a moan, just a statement of fact, but it will hurt BA in the long run. For the last 6 years or so whenever, I have gone on holiday with my wife, we have always paid extra to use BA over cheaper flights. Not because I think BA economy is better (it isn't, pretty much the same) but because we could use the priority check-in, the lounge and the early boarding. I lose all that when I lose silver so there won't be any benefit to paying a premium to use BA for our leisure trips. I doubt BA will care, it's peanuts in the grand scheme, and it's not a threat, just a statement of what will happen.
Cheers,
Nigel
May 20, 2018, 5:56 am
#27
Join Date: Nov 2011
Programs: BA Silver
Posts: 1,222
Pretty resigned to losing my Silver, can't see any way viable to prevent that.
Flying on business is the only way I accumulate decent TPs and that is not a regular part of my job. It all depends on what project I am on, where the customer is and whether customer visits are required. I can go for years on UK based projects or the infrequent short haul to Europe which are on economy under corporate policy anyway.
And then there will come a project (I did one for 4 years) that requires six trips out to the US each year, or the recent one which was a single trip to Australia. So I was on gold for a few years, then dropped down to silver, expecting to lose it but then this Australia trip came along which I thought would secure silver for another year - and it would have done had I not picked the wrong route.
So now I'm on 480 TPs, 120 short. I have an economy flight in June to Greece that will get me 20 and an economy flight to Croatia in August that will get me 25. So 75 short and can't see any way of getting those.
Not a moan, just a statement of fact, but it will hurt BA in the long run. For the last 6 years or so whenever, I have gone on holiday with my wife, we have always paid extra to use BA over cheaper flights. Not because I think BA economy is better (it isn't, pretty much the same) but because we could use the priority check-in, the lounge and the early boarding. I lose all that when I lose silver so there won't be any benefit to paying a premium to use BA for our leisure trips. I doubt BA will care, it's peanuts in the grand scheme, and it's not a threat, just a statement of what will happen.
Cheers,
Nigel
Flying on business is the only way I accumulate decent TPs and that is not a regular part of my job. It all depends on what project I am on, where the customer is and whether customer visits are required. I can go for years on UK based projects or the infrequent short haul to Europe which are on economy under corporate policy anyway.
And then there will come a project (I did one for 4 years) that requires six trips out to the US each year, or the recent one which was a single trip to Australia. So I was on gold for a few years, then dropped down to silver, expecting to lose it but then this Australia trip came along which I thought would secure silver for another year - and it would have done had I not picked the wrong route.
So now I'm on 480 TPs, 120 short. I have an economy flight in June to Greece that will get me 20 and an economy flight to Croatia in August that will get me 25. So 75 short and can't see any way of getting those.
Not a moan, just a statement of fact, but it will hurt BA in the long run. For the last 6 years or so whenever, I have gone on holiday with my wife, we have always paid extra to use BA over cheaper flights. Not because I think BA economy is better (it isn't, pretty much the same) but because we could use the priority check-in, the lounge and the early boarding. I lose all that when I lose silver so there won't be any benefit to paying a premium to use BA for our leisure trips. I doubt BA will care, it's peanuts in the grand scheme, and it's not a threat, just a statement of what will happen.
Cheers,
Nigel
May 20, 2018, 6:24 am
#29
Join Date: May 2017
Programs: BA Silver
Posts: 120
Definitely upgrade your economy flights to business or just book a weekend away and fly business.
There's no way I'd give up if I were 75 short, the marginal cost will be massively outweighed, especially if you're early in your membership year.
There's no way I'd give up if I were 75 short, the marginal cost will be massively outweighed, especially if you're early in your membership year.
May 20, 2018, 7:26 am
#30
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: London, UK and Southern France
Posts: 18,364