Reetmafreen

I’m doing my first ever TP run next March as I transition from AAdvantage over to BAEC given the new AA loyalty points scheme. My trip breaks the “TP Value/spend” ratio as I’m doing LAX-JFK-LHR-DXB and return all in F for $5,800, but in my case as it earns 1260TP, I’ll go from Blue to Gold in just 6 days and I get to pick seats without status on all 6 flights.

I’m then doing a LAX-MIA-BOG-DFW-CLT-SAN trip in May (new collection year) for 500TP on a fully refundable ticket that costs $850, so more in line with what a TP spend ratio should look like.

Flyertalker001342

Nothing wrong with anything you do in this sphere. It is, however, easy to get caught up in the "excitement" of the idea of flying around to gain TPs, mileage, status, whatever. I have neighbors who are highest level DL flyers, and they take trips frequently just for the purpose of maintaining their Sky Team status. I have generally avoided doing this but am making an exception this year, however almost none of the travel I'm doing to get status is travel I wouldn't have done otherwise, except perhaps for the routing used.

The people for whom BA status is worth the most are going to be Europe-based, very frequent flyers, who generally do not get lounge access with the fares they use, and who want to visit lounges.

ubiest

As you are located in Florida, you can avoid TATL to get the 4 BA flights in the Caribbean on the 5th freedom island hops.

FlyerTalkUserName

Aha, this is what I was looking for. Could be tricky to get four of these since they appear to be one-way, but definitely opens up more options. EDIT: after quickly looking it appears NAS-GCM is operated in both directions. Not sure if that applies to all the rest.

geo1005

Be sure to check the days those 5th freedom flights operate as they are not daily. I've also not found them easy to book AND you have to get to/from the Caribbean destination to actually take the flight.

From FL, a simple r/t to/from any where in Europe on BA/AA/IB (4 flights/qualifying) should be easier and less-risky in case of a delay or cancellation. Don't forget IB-operated flights with an IB flight number count too.

Nikko5

ANU-TAB-ANU is both ways too. TAB B2B feasibility is inexplicably missing from the main B2B thread though!

Flyertalker001342

I understand this, but it has bizarre incidental effects.

To take but one example; at the moment, I have MVP Gold status with AS, and Silver status with BA. These both equate to Sapphire OW level status. I will soon have BA Gold status, but that is irrelevant to this illustration.

If I fly AS in coach, using my BA EC # on the ticket, then I have lounge access in AS lounges. If I fly AS in coach using my AS Mileage Plan number, I do NOT get AS lounge access; this would apply even if I got upgraded to First (J) with AS due to my MVP Gold status.

Now, granted, AS is doing at least the part applying to their own Mileage Plan members because they want their frequent flyers to buy an annual lounge "membership;" they will even give you a modest reduction in lounge membership price if you are an elite member, but we are still talking hundreds of dollars.

BUT, this is a huge incentive for their frequent flyers (who use BA or IB at least occasionally) to get their points and mileage with another program (in this case BA) rather than to be members of their own AS Mileage Plan program. In my case, although I fly AS more frequently than I fly BA, being USA-based, I do way more miles with BA than with AS. So it probably makes more sense going forward for me to consolidate all of my flying using the BA EC number rather than my AS MP number. But I can see where there could be quite a few AS MP members who switch over to the BA EC primarily for lounge access in the USA with AS, which they would not get without paying for it, were they using the AS MP instead of the BA EC for their mileage/points accumulation.

FlyerTalkUserName

Thank you for the reminder on this. Trying to tease out a mixed-cabin itinerary from MCO to TLV with the outbound in J and the return in W. The late afternoon departure on BA TLV-LHR was really blowing up the efficiency of it and BA doesn't codeshare on the morning TLV-MAD on IB.

Tack

Like Reetmafreen, I'm in transition from AAdvantage as well. I apologize for this rook question, but I need clarification as I have a number of TP runs set up from Feb 12, 22 - Apr 1, 22 to secure Gold. My TP year ends on January 8, 2022, so that means as of January 9, 2022 my new year has started and the TP runs booked in Feb and Mar will count for the following year? Or is it until January 8, 2023? Thanks again for the assist. I'll get better at this, I swear. Cheers

Flyertalker001342

Yes to the 1st question, and the year will continue until one year after it starts, as in Jan. of 2023. With your planned travel it sounds like you will also benefit from the reduced level of TP required before June 2022. Once you get your status in 2022, it will continue for the rest of 2022 and until the anniversary of that year, in this case early 2024.

HPN-HRL

I don't quite agree with your statement above, specifically the "Europe-based" qualification. I very much value my BAEC status (gold since the demise of bmi) here in the USA due to 1) Flagship Lounge access (ignoring for now the covid closures), 2) Main Cabin Extra seating on cheap/award tickets, and 3) free day-of standby. Things may change, but for now I am quite happy spending an extra (roughly) $2500-$3000 in airfare every other year to get treated like an AA EXP (minus upgrades) and have FL access.

Flyertalker001342

Obviously there will be exceptions; I value my status as well, which is why I'm going to the trouble to do a mileage/TP/whatever aggrandized trip in Dec.

But I don't view myself as the typical BA flyer for whom elite status would be worth the effort and expense to achieve.

KARFA

The discussion of whether status is worth it in this thread seems a bit “meta”. I kind of assume if you are here you have already decided

jaro

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Why in one trip?

Flyertalker001342

He wants to get to the LP GS fast enough that he forgets the bubbly plonk that precedes it?