NEWS & OFFERS: BA pilots strike & what are the best BA tier points runs at the moment?

BA pilots strike

The BA pilots strike has finally drawn to a close after many months of negotiations. Yesterday BALPA, the pilots union, released this statement:

“A ballot of British Airways pilots closed today following the dispute over pay and terms and conditions.
 
Members of the British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) employed by BA voted nearly 9 to 1 to accept the final agreement which was proposed by ACAS and recommended by BALPA and its BA reps.”

 

What are the cheapest + quickest BA tier points runs at the moment? (or great value short breaks!)

If you are getting close to the end of your tier point year and want to renew, or are tempted to keep going for the next status level you may want to do a tier point run. This is where you fly specifically to get the maximum tier points, although I always say you should try to at least see something of the place you are going. I normally just try to maximise existing plans. If you are not sure whether to go for it, have a read of this article about the benefits of each tier. 

There are likely to be sales from BA and Qatar in the next few weeks, but there are still a few bargains around that are unlikely to get much cheaper.

You need up to 100 tier points

There are some incredibly cheap Club Europe flights with BA which will give you 80 tier points return. Bear in mind some will require a Saturday night stay. 

• Dublin £159
• Venice £149 (read our guide here)
• Bordeaux £141
• Amsterdam £145
• Luxembourg £146 (read my tier point break guide here)
• Genoa £144
• Milan £178
• Geneva £185

There are also so incredibly cheap return economy deals if you only need 5 or 10 points. Often you can get a day trip at a weekend at short notice. For example, you can book a return same day trip this weekend 20/21 December in economy for:

• Milan £89
• Geneva £92
• Venice £114
• Barcelona £90
• Amsterdam £83
• Hamburg £90
• Brussels £81
• Paris £79

Some of these would make a great pre-Christmas break with a Christmas market and the street decorations.

You can book these direct with British Airways here. 

You need up to 200 tier points

The cheapest option here is usually a Club Europe return to a destination which gets 160 tier points return. The cheapest ones are:

• Bucharest (£280)
• Catania (£265) (this has been as low as around £210)
• Funchal (£326)
• Helsinki (£244)
• Istanbul (£307)
• Malta (£305)
• Marrakech (£270) (read our weekend guide here)
• Reykjavik (£284)
• Sofia (£234)
• Tirana (£242)

You can book these direct with British Airways here. 

You need up to 600 tier points

Your best bet is probably going to be Qatar on an ex EU. A standard Qatar return to Asia would get you 560 tier points return in business class. The cheapest ex EU deals are currently:

• Oslo to Bangkok – £1184
• Oslo to Singapore – £1198
• Sofia to Singapore –  £1109

You can book direct with Qatar Airways here or find the cheapest online travel agent price with Skyscanner.

Other one world deals include:

• Stockholm to Dubai on Finnair – 360 tier points return £863
• Oslo to Tel Aviv on Finnair – 360 tier points return £713
• Madrid or Barcelona to Shanghai on BA via Heathrow – 360 tier points return £1065 (rules here but now book by 14.1.20)
• Abu Dhabi to Jakarta with Sri Lankan – 560 tier points £661 (London to Abu Dhabi in WTP for £613 + 180 tier points)

Have you found a good tier point run? Let us know in the comments below or on social media.