onobond

Encouraging to read your posts. Some 4-5 years ago I found the TP run thread cluttered with discussions on the best bus seats amongst tour operators in HNL, what hotels that allowed you to smoke on the balcony etc, but also the never-ending requests of how to get 10 TP in 2 months, needing 570 TP in two available saturdays next month or just a repeated question already answered 3 posts upthread. I suggested that the thread be split in the mode of what was done to Mileage Run Deals becoming three fora, as also Premium Fare Deals and Mileage Run Discussions were formed. In the MR and PF Deals, only existing fares were allowed, with one separate thread for every fare, and when pulled/expired it was moved to MR Discussions, where also peripheral logistics and diverse requests could be posted/discussed. Some posters expressed positive thoughts, a couple of the most frequent posters in the thread though no need to change, as nobody had complained before (!)

Last year, having difficulties in finding relevant info amongst the 10-14 ongoing discussions, in a busy period with 50-70 posts per day, meaning if no time to read FT every day, you might have to plough a couple of hundred posts, due to the dilution of the contents. The 2019 TPR thread has short of 1500 posts in 3½ months presently.

IMO, the two BAFT threads of TPR and Premium Fares could be merged, I personally use the fares in the former for vacations too, and occasionally find fares suitable for TP runs, or positioning to one, in the latter. Many fares can be presented with possible routings for those prioritising time, and with a variation for TP optimisation. That means that every fare gets a separate thread, to save time not having to scroll down hundreds of posts to find relevant info. But then all fares that no longer are valid will be moved with headline addendum [fare expired] to the discussion forum, where all requests, and peripheral discussions are directed.

I will post a link to this discussion in the TP run thread, and hope that we can have a constructive around this topic. Maybe best to organise a separate thread for this?

andymcdonnell

Aus_Mal

It saddens me how poor this thread has become. It has moved from people posting good fares to people (who in many cases, but not all) are begging for others to do their homework.

I support this thread being kept on track and off topic posts being moved somewhere else...

(and yes, I know I just contributed to the off topic posts)

thebigben

My personal preference when it comes to formatting is to have a wiki. And this is why I've just filled it up with fares I just found, enjoy

As for why: It's small, easy to go through, easy to update, and that really is what I care about. Less time spent reading and deciphering the fares, less time spent updating them.

george77300

Flying Yazata

It actually applies to FT more widely, especially the subforum for premium fare deals. "Post a Google Flights link", "post some dates" etc. Hell, do your homework! Or how about using ExpertFlyer... And asking "I have X TPs missing and my membership year ends Y, help me" is just plain lame, because there's e.g. advices for it in the bloody wiki post...

And when you look at the broader picture, people just mainly grab the juice and don't give back to the community with fare deals, commentary, advice etc. It's just plain pillaging in my opinion. I myself don't post any fares on FT, because I see the importance of community and I hate people not contributing themselves/treating this as a mutual venture, rather just treating this like a free helpdesk and place to take advantage of what others have found. I could consider posting fares or example itineraries in the BAEC subforum, because the environment is slightly better than in the aforementioned subforum, but I think we first need to cut away all the ITA Matrix handholding etc. There's other correct subforums for that. I myself have learned by doing, which I expect others to do as well. It's not meant to be a free buffet. It's a community with mutual co-operation.

onobond

Spot on. The problem of the huge flocks of posters who still need spoon-feeding is discouraging. But we need to keep a forum for all who search and find, and probably after making their own reservations, share the find with other forum participants. But, surely, the questions along the line of "please help me get 2700 TP before Nov 08, for max £1500 (to get CCR) ", should have another forum to ask for the help needed, not to obscure the view of good fares to be shared.

Flying Yazata

I personally think that TP run troubleshooting and assistance requests should be in their own thread, while actual TP run options are debated in a thread like the annual TP run thread.

I understand that all of us are beginners once, but that's not the beef here. My gripe is that the attitude is of the wrong kind. Quite a few seem to register and post just to ask their question, while looting the deals. And that also probably applies to FF blogs (and I suspect also certain FF YouTube creators) that pick up deals from here, but don't contribute to this community. It's indeed discouraging to see how the threads in the premium fare subforum most of the time seem to attract posters that are here just for the loot. I know, it's a valid reason to be here and there's nothing illicit about it, but I think it just doesn't contribute to the feeling of community and it makes the efforts of others go wasted.

It's so awesome how here in the BA/BAEC subforum there's all these excellent wikiposts and information threads that can be reached via the dashboard. I wish I would have enough knowledge to contribute (well, I've spotted some outdated stuff in e.g. the catering thread, but that's due to NTE being a seasonal destination ), but I've been grounded for several years now, so I'm just getting back into the habit of chasing TPs, Avios, in-flight catering experiences, sips of Castelnasty etc. I too do take advantage of what ideas I get on FT for my bookings or searching for other possible fares not covered here, but I at least try to post something to create discussion. For me it's not just a free buffet and e.g. I look forward to meeting other FT'ers as well in the future. Hopefully also going to have input for the wikiposts as well. At least I've already noticed the LHR-LGW and other LON airport guides would need updates.

squawk

zebranz

Can we have the Post# next to the fare in the wiki? This way it is easier to locate the original post (date and any details and know where to start reviewing).

alexwuk

Just want to highlight the thread I started in Premium Fares: LIS-(LHR/MAD)-GRU LA Business EUR 1200 r/t

LIS-LHR-GRU LAN Business Class roundtrip for £1,050 - with stopovers allowed in London for $100 extra (plus UK APD). Fare allows some creative routings for those looking to rack up tier points.

PUCCI GALORE

Tiger_lily

timol

And further background, familiar to the HNL TP runners: 'Wiki is Hawaiian for "fast; quick."'

thebigben

Hi Pucci,

Those are mine, I just fiddle with Google flights and pull out a lot of fares at once, and as such won't be looking the exact details for each before I post them. It's more of a quantity over quality. I'm also programming an automated tool to pull all those fares at once, and hope it will be functional soon.

However if you want to find out, do go on Google Flights and search for those flights with flexible dates (my search is 1 week in any of the next 6 months). They were live a couple days ago so hopefully you should have some luck with that.

I've looked those up and could find that ALC-CAI was wide open for May, has a few dates available Jun-Aug, and then opens up again thereafter. Also you must book 7 days before departure and a 3 days minimum stay applies.

For MAD-TLV, this one has been around for a bit, but dates are quite sparse. Still a great deal for a lie-flat. Here's an example date: https://www.google.com/flights?hl=en...;sc:b;sd:1;t:f

Also needs to be booked 60 days before departure. Fare rules mention only those dates are valid: