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 Please add important information to it or correct outdated information by clicking the "Edit" button below.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 Please add important information to it or correct outdated information by clicking the "Edit" button below.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
Feb 3, 2019, 1:33 pm
#662
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: London
Programs: BAEC | qantas | IHG | Hilton Honors | Priority Pass | Nandos
Posts: 865
I did the OTP-PHX run last year thanks to this fantastic thread, and I'm hoping to do it again this year to stay at Gold (the avios bonus is addictive!). I've looked on ITA but the pricing seems to come up at over 3k.
I need to do UK-LAX early April (say 3rd/4th), and return middle of June (11th/12th), but have a lot of flexibility on the actual dates. I looked at the routing OTP-LHR-HEL-JFK-LAX-PHX and back but wasn't able to find the fare circa £1k. Any thoughts/tips? Thanks so much! I'm aiming to get just over 1k tier points.
I need to do UK-LAX early April (say 3rd/4th), and return middle of June (11th/12th), but have a lot of flexibility on the actual dates. I looked at the routing OTP-LHR-HEL-JFK-LAX-PHX and back but wasn't able to find the fare circa £1k. Any thoughts/tips? Thanks so much! I'm aiming to get just over 1k tier points.
Feb 3, 2019, 2:05 pm
#663
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: London
Programs: BA Executive Club, Aeroplan
Posts: 196
Thanks for looking. I'll keep searching, but I might have to give up on retaining gold this year!
Feb 3, 2019, 2:47 pm
#664
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: London
Programs: BAEC | qantas | IHG | Hilton Honors | Priority Pass | Nandos
Posts: 865
However, as has been mentioned before, if you are looking at a TP run to help you get/retain status it can be more efficient to do it at the start of your membership year, not towards the end. Obviously this depends on fitting in with other travel plans.
Feb 4, 2019, 3:11 am
#665
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Scotland
Programs: Starbucks Gold
Posts: 581
My tp run flight to lgw leaves edi at 6.10am..ive never caught this flight before...any idea wot time i should be at airport..i have no bags either?
Feb 4, 2019, 3:13 am
#666
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 4,707
I've arrived at 5.30 without issue, it's pretty quiet. Fast track security is quick anyway so no bother. So long as you have your BP already on your phone you'll be set.
Feb 4, 2019, 3:20 am
#667
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Scotland
Programs: Starbucks Gold
Posts: 581
Thinking about taking the car and parking in multistory with fastrack airbridge..has anyone done this..is it worth it?
Feb 4, 2019, 4:43 am
#668
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 732
Haven't parked, but if you get a taxi/bus/dropped off, there is a door with stairs that leads up to the end of the fast track bridge. It is fast but you save maybe 2 mins at most versus walking through the terminal.
Feb 4, 2019, 4:51 am
#669
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: The North
Posts: 1,844
Ah - I think this is what I was asking. Are you aware what those conditions are, @thebigben? I will, of course, have travel insurance (though I need to see if it covers this).
I'd appreciate any insight on this - what conditions need to be fulfilled for AA to protect this 'connection'? Is it just a case of throwing myself at the mercy of whichcever AA agent I encounter, if it all goes wrong, or are there things I can do to maximise the likelihood that if I miss the 17:40 I'm re-booked?
As many other threads/tidbits of information on this forum have shown before, forewarned is forearmed!
Sorry for the amateur questions - as I type this, I realise I've never actually flown AA before. Always been BA in/out of the states, and ground transport in between!
Feb 4, 2019, 6:35 am
#670
Join Date: Sep 2018
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 136
Sorry to bump this up again (and mods, if this should be elsewhere, please do move it - I bring it up here as I suspect it's the kind of thing which comes up often in a TP-run). As @Wozza2404 notes, my inbound (DCA-MIA) will indeed be AA metal, and the ARN-MIA ticket as whole is AA-ticketed.
I'd appreciate any insight on this - what conditions need to be fulfilled for AA to protect this 'connection'? Is it just a case of throwing myself at the mercy of whichcever AA agent I encounter, if it all goes wrong, or are there things I can do to maximise the likelihood that if I miss the 17:40 I'm re-booked?
As many other threads/tidbits of information on this forum have shown before, forewarned is forearmed!
Sorry for the amateur questions - as I type this, I realise I've never actually flown AA before. Always been BA in/out of the states, and ground transport in between!
I'd appreciate any insight on this - what conditions need to be fulfilled for AA to protect this 'connection'? Is it just a case of throwing myself at the mercy of whichcever AA agent I encounter, if it all goes wrong, or are there things I can do to maximise the likelihood that if I miss the 17:40 I'm re-booked?
As many other threads/tidbits of information on this forum have shown before, forewarned is forearmed!
Sorry for the amateur questions - as I type this, I realise I've never actually flown AA before. Always been BA in/out of the states, and ground transport in between!
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/american-airlines-aadvantage/1283424-aa-protection-oso-irops-irrops-misconnect-separate-aa-oneworld-tickets.html
It links to an AA published advisory to travel agents here
https://www.aasaleslink.com/en-US/documents/Archives/AgencyRef/Booking_Index.pdf#page12
Contained within is this excerpt which is what you're looking for
AA to/from AA or a oneworld® Carrier
If a customer is holding separate tickets on AA or another oneworld carrier, customers holding separate
tickets where travel is on oneworld airlines should be treated as through ticketed customers. In the event
of a disruption on the originating ticket, the carrier responsible for the disruption will be required to reroute
the customer to their final destination. The ticket stock of the second ticket must be of a oneworld carrier,
eligible under the Endorsement Waiver Agreement. You may contact AA Reservations 1-800-433-7300
(U.S. and Canada) or outside the U.S. and Canada, reference Worldwide Reservations Numbers for
additional information if the separate ticket is for travel on a oneworld carrier.
If a customer is holding separate tickets on AA or another oneworld carrier, customers holding separate
tickets where travel is on oneworld airlines should be treated as through ticketed customers. In the event
of a disruption on the originating ticket, the carrier responsible for the disruption will be required to reroute
the customer to their final destination. The ticket stock of the second ticket must be of a oneworld carrier,
eligible under the Endorsement Waiver Agreement. You may contact AA Reservations 1-800-433-7300
(U.S. and Canada) or outside the U.S. and Canada, reference Worldwide Reservations Numbers for
additional information if the separate ticket is for travel on a oneworld carrier.
After clearing customs in MIA, you need to make a left and proceed through security again for connecting flights. If you do get delayed, there is a large rebooking desk on the right of security. Alternatively you can proceed through security where there are rebooking centres airside. If you have lounge access, staff there can help with rebooking and there's likely to be no/ a short queue.
You could book the later flight and if you don't get delayed, ask to be moved for the earlier flight at the gate or in the lounge. If the 17:40 is full, you could spend a few hours in the Gate D30 Flagship lounge which is very nice (assuming you have sapphire/emerald).
AA are notoriously
Feb 4, 2019, 7:20 am
#671
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: The North
Posts: 1,844
Wow - thank you so much, @BA707. That is an incredibly detailed and hugely helpful post. I am very grateful!
I assume I'd clear customs at my first entry point in the US (JFK, the previous day). But I will double check the layout of the terminal, and your comments on the various places I would be able to find assistance are very helpful too. Thanks again.
Edit: I am indeed a OneWorld Sapphire (BA Silver) so should have lounge access.
Edit: I am indeed a OneWorld Sapphire (BA Silver) so should have lounge access.
Last edited by squawk; Feb 4, 2019 at 7:24 am Reason: Add detail
Feb 4, 2019, 5:30 pm
#672
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: London
Posts: 11
A friend and I have taken advantage of the New Year's Vietnam-US fare and have a few days to kill in the US. Starting from NYC, any ideas on a good TP run? We're open to suggestions and pain!
Feb 4, 2019, 6:07 pm
#673
Join Date: Sep 2018
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 136
I assume I'd clear customs at my first entry point in the US (JFK, the previous day). But I will double check the layout of the terminal, and your comments on the various places I would be able to find assistance are very helpful too. Thanks again.
Edit: I am indeed a OneWorld Sapphire (BA Silver) so should have lounge access.
I incorrectly assumed you were making an international-domestic connection. Given you're doing a domestic-domestic where customs and security is not required, 2 hours 51 minutes is plenty for the 17:40 flight. I'd head straight to D30, regardless of whether you need re-accommodating.
AA operate out of D and E gates, with Admirals Club at D15, E concourse and both Admirals/Flagship at D30.
Terminal Gates - Miami International Airport
If your JFK-MIA shows a significant delay, they'll probably help you at JFK. Flagship opposite security in Concourse B
Feb 5, 2019, 2:57 am
#674
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: HEL
Programs: AY+ Gold, SK EBS
Posts: 191
Just booked this: LA MAD-FRA-MAD, Z, £152, 80TP Feb-Mar 2019
Comes in at £1.90/TP - immediate turnaround at FRA possible. One way bookings MAD-FRA also possible for £75 in J and only £23 in Y
You get the LATAM 787-9, which seems very well reviewed online.
Comes in at £1.90/TP - immediate turnaround at FRA possible. One way bookings MAD-FRA also possible for £75 in J and only £23 in Y
You get the LATAM 787-9, which seems very well reviewed online.
Last edited by Chokkoubin; Feb 5, 2019 at 3:00 am Reason: Added TP earnings
Feb 5, 2019, 3:42 am
#675
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: living near Malaga
Programs: BA Gold , Mucci recipient. Coffee Drinker, Blue Sky Thinker
Posts: 2,108
Also the flight into MAD gets in quite late requiring an overnight.
However the pisco sour is worth it..