Jan 4, 2019, 9:09 am
Last edit by: jfkeze
Welcome to the thread. This is a continuation of the highly popular 2018 Tier Point thread (found here). 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 Please add important information to it or correct outdated information by clicking the "Edit" button below.
A new guideline thread for TP meetups has been created on 31 March 2020. If you would like other members to join your TP, or if you want to organize a TP run with other members. Please visit there. From the first few posts over there you could see the active ( confirmed ) TP meetings and the links to their relevant discussion threads, connect with other members and learn the details about the run. Click here to access that thread.
Current Promotions of Interest
Sale Fares
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 Please add important information to it or correct outdated information by clicking the "Edit" button below.
A new guideline thread for TP meetups has been created on 31 March 2020. If you would like other members to join your TP, or if you want to organize a TP run with other members. Please visit there. From the first few posts over there you could see the active ( confirmed ) TP meetings and the links to their relevant discussion threads, connect with other members and learn the details about the run. Click here to access that thread.
Current Promotions of Interest
Sale Fares
See here in post 9 for a 2019 archive of exEU sale fare, and see this post in the 2018 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:
- 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
15 Oct £0.96/TP £154 160 TPs LHR-SOF (2021 dates)
24 Feb £1.90/TP £152 80TP MAD-FRA Z/Z LA (available Feb-Mar 2019, immediate turnarounds possible)
10 Aug £2.06/TP £329 160TP LHR-MAD-RAK RAK-MAD-LHR I/I/I/I IB (available August, Sat night stay) BA.com, note hotels on offer until 26 March
3 Jul £2.99/TP £2,758.45 920TP DUB-LHR-JFK-LAX-HNL-LAX-JFK-LHR-DUB J/I/I/I/I/I/I/J Fare basis INX4C3S4 and INN4C1S4. Booked on AA via ITA Matrix Powertools script
18 Dec £1.90/TP £1370 720TP DUB-LHR-JFK-LAX-LAS-LAX-JFK-LHR-DUB All I class Flights 25 December to 31 March 2020, transatlantic Mon to Thur. Offer to 18 Dec. ITA details booked by TA Propeller
27 Apr £2.29/TP £640TP BEG-DOH-KUL-PEN-KUL-DOH-BEG I / I / I / I / I / I Fare IJR2R1RE Bookable on QR.com
From North, Central and South America
10Jan £1.52/TP £668 440tp JFK-BOS/CLT-LAX-LAS-LAX-BOS/CLT-JFK I / I / I / I / I / I HPN-HRL AA (find with ITA; probably have to book via a TA)
12Apr £0.90/TP £215 240tp DCA-ORD-CLT-RDU-CLT-ORD-DCA I/I/I/I/I/I/I AA Found with ITA, booked on the AA site with BookWithMatrix
23Apr £ 0.76/TP £ 182 240TP DCA-PHL-CLT-RDU-CLT-ORD-DCA I / I / I / I / I / I AA Found with ITA Matrix, Book on AA.com via BookWithMatrix or PowerTools
24Apr £ 1.04/TP £ 459 440TP YVR-LAX-CLT-ATL-CLT-LAX-YVR I / I / I / I / I / I AA Found with ITA Matrix, Book on AA.com via BookWithMatrix or PowerTools
23May £ 0.70/TP £ 169 240TP EWR-ORD-CLT-RDU-CLT-DFW-EWR I / I / I / I / I / I AA Found with ITA Matrix, Book on AA.com via BookWithMatrix or PowerTools
24Jun £ 0.52/TP £ 128 240TP LAX-DFW-PHX-SJC-PHX-DFW-LAX I / I / I / I / I / I AA Found with ITA Matrix, Book on AA.com via BookWithMatrix or PowerTools
From Middle East, Asia and Australasia
04/01 £0.95/TP £479 560tp AUH-CMB-CGK-CMB-AUH I / I / I / I cgtechuk UL
1FEB £1.49/TP £1,673 1,120tp PER-SYD-SIN-TYO-BKK Return (All book in I Class) timcjp BA (Ticket sold by BA, flights are on QF, BA & JL and lie flat seats available for all sectors)
23/04 £2.07/TP £2,112 1020TP CAI-LHR-JFK-LAX-HNL-DFW-ORD-LHR-CAI I/R here (All flights must be BA numbered)
From Africa
04/01 £1.80/TP £721 400tp CPT-JNB-GRU-JNB-DUR-CPT I / Z / Z / I / I ubiest LA
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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 (here), 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 BA flight out on a Saturday, airport hotel and return on 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
2018 Archive
2017 Archive
2016 Archive
2015 Archive (6 months Jul to Dec)
2015 Archive (6 months Jan to Jun)
2014 Archive
BA Tier Point Runs | 2019-20 edition
Jan 4, 2021, 5:09 am
#6181
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: BER
Programs: BA GGL, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 1,843
Jan 4, 2021, 6:50 am
#6182
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Istanbul, Turkey
Programs: TK Elite Plus,BAEC GGL,ITA Executive, AFKL Gold,QR Gold,HH Diamond,Bonvoy Gold,ALL Gold
Posts: 14,186
Jan 4, 2021, 10:34 am
#6183
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 3,190
There has been many statements floating around on the future of the A321T, especially as they are very F/J heavy at a time when there is no business travel. The source a lot of people rely on is JonNYC who posts in the AA forum a lot. He had stated all the A321T's would revert to normal A321 configuration from rumours he had heard, but the question was raised at an AA employee / Management Townhall in early December and AA management stated they are committed to keeping it around as it is a favourite of corporate customers. At present they are not scheduled until the summer 2021 timetable (even if your aircraft is listed as an A321T before that, no F is being sold by AA on the LAX route as they move the schedule around to sub in a B777 to cover) and a lot can change - but for the moment AA are claiming the A321T will remain once it is viable to operate such an F/J heavy plane on the key routes.
Pilot37
Pilot37
The widebodies make sense if there is little business demand and a lot of economy demand... but is there really THAT much economy demand? Surely it would be more economical to keep the A321T or sub a normal A32x?
rb211.
Jan 4, 2021, 10:43 am
#6184
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Istanbul, Turkey
Programs: TK Elite Plus,BAEC GGL,ITA Executive, AFKL Gold,QR Gold,HH Diamond,Bonvoy Gold,ALL Gold
Posts: 14,186
Thank you Pilot37. I hope the A321T stays around - I have had some very good flights on it in both business and first.
The widebodies make sense if there is little business demand and a lot of economy demand... but is there really THAT much economy demand? Surely it would be more economical to keep the A321T or sub a normal A32x?
rb211.
The widebodies make sense if there is little business demand and a lot of economy demand... but is there really THAT much economy demand? Surely it would be more economical to keep the A321T or sub a normal A32x?
rb211.
Alaska is the only carrier that offers recliner seats on the NYC-LAX/SFO direct market and I'm sure that American doesn't want to join Alaska.
During pre-COVID, an average JFK-LAX ticket booked 15-30 days in advance at a reasonable hour was about $259-299 in Y and $899-1299 in J. Now, it's possible to find $89-129 fares in Y and $499-699 in J, plus New York hotels are significantly cheaper than the past which currently attracts tourists with a lower budget which could not afford a NY holiday in regular days.
Jan 4, 2021, 10:52 am
#6185
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 3,190
If AA subs a normal A321 rather than a wide-body just for more Economy seats, they would lose premium cabin customers to other airlines ( Delta, JetBlue & United ) which offer lie-flat seats on this route.
Alaska is the only carrier that offers recliner seats on the NYC-LAX/SFO direct market and I'm sure that American doesn't want to join Alaska.
During pre-COVID, an average JFK-LAX ticket booked 15-30 days in advance at a reasonable hour was about $259-299 in Y and $899-1299 in J. Now, it's possible to find $89-129 fares in Y and $499-699 in J, plus New York hotels are significantly cheaper than the past which currently attracts tourists with a lower budget which could not afford a NY holiday in regular days.
Alaska is the only carrier that offers recliner seats on the NYC-LAX/SFO direct market and I'm sure that American doesn't want to join Alaska.
During pre-COVID, an average JFK-LAX ticket booked 15-30 days in advance at a reasonable hour was about $259-299 in Y and $899-1299 in J. Now, it's possible to find $89-129 fares in Y and $499-699 in J, plus New York hotels are significantly cheaper than the past which currently attracts tourists with a lower budget which could not afford a NY holiday in regular days.
rb211.
Jan 4, 2021, 11:44 am
#6186
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: BER
Programs: BA GGL, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 1,843
I don't disagree with anything here. But I think the exact mix of premium vs non-premium customers and exact numbers makes a difference for which would be the correct approach - this started off with very depressed business numbers so to support a widebody there would need to be massive economy numbers. If there are then that's great. I don't run an airline, so I trust that AA know what they are doing (well, more or less!)
rb211.
rb211.
on a random day in July AA has 10 JFK-LAX flights in the system. IIRC these offer following seats: 100F 200J and 350 MCE and 310 Y seats (non Y percentage 300/960 = .31)
on 01/15 they offer: 2 flights on a 772. those offer 0 F 74 J 48+132 MCE 292 Y seats (48/546 seats = .08)
i think, and this is a "guesstimation" they will offer up to 3 772 + 1 773 flights per day and offer something around 8F163J406MCE498Y seats. (equals non Y percentage of 171/1075 = .15). this offers even more seats than before which could be filled cause the cancel other routes like several JFK-SFO services.
i dont see that this is a good development for TP runners. only several services a day usually mean long(er) layovers. if you miss the midday service by 5 minutes due to MCT, you have to wait for .. something like 5 to 6 hrs.
Jan 5, 2021, 2:47 am
#6187
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: AMS
Programs: BAEC Silver, Flying Blue Gold, TK M&S Nobody
Posts: 2,481
lets do the maths:
on a random day in July AA has 10 JFK-LAX flights in the system. IIRC these offer following seats: 100F 200J and 350 MCE and 310 Y seats (non Y percentage 300/960 = .31)
on 01/15 they offer: 2 flights on a 772. those offer 0 F 74 J 48+132 MCE 292 Y seats (48/546 seats = .08)
i think, and this is a "guesstimation" they will offer up to 3 772 + 1 773 flights per day and offer something around 8F163J406MCE498Y seats. (equals non Y percentage of 171/1075 = .15). this offers even more seats than before which could be filled cause the cancel other routes like several JFK-SFO services.
i dont see that this is a good development for TP runners. only several services a day usually mean long(er) layovers. if you miss the midday service by 5 minutes due to MCT, you have to wait for .. something like 5 to 6 hrs.
on a random day in July AA has 10 JFK-LAX flights in the system. IIRC these offer following seats: 100F 200J and 350 MCE and 310 Y seats (non Y percentage 300/960 = .31)
on 01/15 they offer: 2 flights on a 772. those offer 0 F 74 J 48+132 MCE 292 Y seats (48/546 seats = .08)
i think, and this is a "guesstimation" they will offer up to 3 772 + 1 773 flights per day and offer something around 8F163J406MCE498Y seats. (equals non Y percentage of 171/1075 = .15). this offers even more seats than before which could be filled cause the cancel other routes like several JFK-SFO services.
i dont see that this is a good development for TP runners. only several services a day usually mean long(er) layovers. if you miss the midday service by 5 minutes due to MCT, you have to wait for .. something like 5 to 6 hrs.
Jan 5, 2021, 4:08 am
#6188
Join Date: Feb 2016
Posts: 947
Yeah, definitely not great for those on TP runs - especially those of us doing so with the reluctant company of a companion. The other primary advantage of the A321T was the ability to offer frequency - if they believe the balance will shift [at least temporarily] to economy travel then I suspect there is an accompanying assumption that the economy fliers are less driven by convenience of timings - so three/four widebodies is fine. A return of business travel would seem to imply a renewed call for frequent departures though - hard to bring that back if you scrap the A321Ts without absolutely flooding the Y market [and using a lot of frames - though the utilisation pattern might work].
I did read somewhere that AA may partner with JetBlue for the Transcon as well. I will have time on the return should it be lengthened too. As for the outbound if I have to overnight in lax so be it.
Alternatively if the offer is to fly LHR-SEA direct I take I would be able to claim ORC for the missed legs?
Jan 5, 2021, 4:12 am
#6189
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: AMS
Programs: BAEC Silver, Flying Blue Gold, TK M&S Nobody
Posts: 2,481
Not unless you're rerouted on the day - if you accept that rerouting ahead of time due to broken connections my understanding is you won't get ORC.
Jan 5, 2021, 4:13 am
#6190
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: London
Programs: BA GGL / GfL
Posts: 3,265
This is true in terms of having a companion but for me being a sole traveller I'm happy to go with the flow in terms of what might happen.
I did read somewhere that AA may partner with JetBlue for the Transcon as well. I will have time on the return should it be lengthened too. As for the outbound if I have to overnight in lax so be it.
Alternatively if the offer is to fly LHR-SEA direct I take I would be able to claim ORC for the missed legs?
I did read somewhere that AA may partner with JetBlue for the Transcon as well. I will have time on the return should it be lengthened too. As for the outbound if I have to overnight in lax so be it.
Alternatively if the offer is to fly LHR-SEA direct I take I would be able to claim ORC for the missed legs?
Think of ORC as only really coming into play when you are stuck somewhere and the easiest way to get you to your destination is via the most direct routing (which a TP-runner usually hates), then ORC can be claimed, but accepting a schedule change in advance of a trip negates that right.
Pilot37
Jan 5, 2021, 6:19 pm
#6191
Join Date: Apr 2020
Location: LHR
Programs: Centurion BA GGL IHG Diamond
Posts: 134
Does anyone have some good TP runs for North America ? I have found a couple of good ones .96 per tier point
Jan 5, 2021, 6:39 pm
#6192
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Istanbul, Turkey
Programs: TK Elite Plus,BAEC GGL,ITA Executive, AFKL Gold,QR Gold,HH Diamond,Bonvoy Gold,ALL Gold
Posts: 14,186
Jan 5, 2021, 6:48 pm
#6193
Join Date: Apr 2020
Location: LHR
Programs: Centurion BA GGL IHG Diamond
Posts: 134
Within NA, looking at CUN-MIA-LAX seems like a decent run
Jan 5, 2021, 6:58 pm
#6194
Join Date: Apr 2020
Location: LHR
Programs: Centurion BA GGL IHG Diamond
Posts: 134
Seems like MEX could be a better destination to start from ticketing is around £374
Jan 5, 2021, 6:59 pm
#6195
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Istanbul, Turkey
Programs: TK Elite Plus,BAEC GGL,ITA Executive, AFKL Gold,QR Gold,HH Diamond,Bonvoy Gold,ALL Gold
Posts: 14,186