BA Gold Status For Under £3,000 | Is This Possible in 2024?
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- Опубліковано 8 лип 2024
- Is it still possible to go BA Gold in 2024 for under £3000?
Flight costs are increasing and getting status is costing more all the time, but can we still get British Airways Gold Status in 2024 for under £3000 or £2 per tier point.
I'm looking for flights for July and August in 2024 because that is my BA Status Year End Month.
CHAPTERS:
0:00 Introduction
0:50 Recap of Status
5:27 BA Holidays
6:44 BA Low Fare Finder
8:05 I Need Alternative Ideas
9:08 UK Back to Back
10:53 Helsinki to Malaga
12:35 Abu Dhabi to Jakarta
15:30 West Cost USA
16:38 Spreadsheet of GLORY!
20:08 Can We Go Gold for £3000?
Thank you for joining me on my grey gap year.
Phil
BA Executive Club Sign Up Page: www.britishairways.com/travel...
BA Low Fare Finder:
www.britishairways.com/travel...
BA Holiday Double Tier Points Terms and Conditions:
www.britishairways.com/en-gb/...
Flyer Talk 2024 Tier Point Run Master Thread:
www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...
SHORT HAUL PLUS LOCATIONS
Algiers, Amman, Antalya, Athens, Bucharest, Cairo, Catania, Chania, Corfu, Dalaman, Fuerteventura, Funchal, Gran Canaria, Heraklion, Istanbul, Kalamata, Kefalonia, Kos, Lanzarote, Larnaca, Malta, Marrakech, Mykonos, Paphos, Ponta Delgada, Preveza Lefkada, Reykjavik, Rhode, Santorini, Sharm El Sheikh, Skiathos, Sofia, Tenerife, Thessaloniki, Tirana, Zakynthos
#britishairways #executiveclub #bastatus #bagold
Just wanted to point out two errors on option 1 on the final sheet of the spreadsheet. The dates don't match, so apologies for this, the time pressure was enormous to get this video out on Sunday, England's cricketers must take some of the blame for this, I mean who can edit a video with that on their second screen.
The second error is also regarding option 1 and is perhaps less forgivable as you won't achieve Gold status with those flights alone, you would need two more qualifying flights.
Thank you all for understanding, your support means so much to me.
Phil
great video. Re the need for 2 more qualifying flights. Please can you explain?
@@Rob_33 To qualify for silver or gold BA status you need to have the tier points and also 4 "eligible flights". This is to prevent you from getting all your tier points with foreign carriers, like Iberia, Malaysian, etc.
Definition Here:
www.britishairways.com/travel/ecjoinbaflights/public/en_gb
Thank you for making
Thank you for your comment, you're very welcome.
Great video! Thank you for a very informative session 😊🙏
Thank you for your kind comment and support, it's much appreciated.
Great work!
Thanks 😊
B marvellous stuff Phil, thank you so much ❤
Thank you for your kind comment and support, it's much appreciated.
Great video as ever, I am doing the Jakarta run (booked it last night) and then I have a couple of extra holidays booked that use the 2x tier points BA is offering.
Your videos helped with this and I look forward to see more the world.
Thank you for your comment and your support, I'm glad the video helped. I hope you have some wonderful trips,
All the best,
Phil
Hi @logibear. Could you link me to t
the double tier points offer you had mentioned? Thank you!
Very timely posting Phil. Gotta be something to go for in 2024 - while the double tier points offer for BA Holidays is still on
Thank you for your comment, I'll definitely be going for Gold this year, I plan to be in Australia in August, so the Abu Dhabi to Jakarta with Jakarta Taipei is highly likely.
It’s impossible to get Gold status for £3000 in 2024
Business class flights have gone up since the pandemic by a lot. That’s because more people are flying business than before. I have been on long haul flights where business class were sold out
@bossman4401, Thanks for your comment. If you watch the video again and use the chapters to skip to the "Spreadsheet of Glory", you should find that it's aptly named #smug-face 😊
Phil. Great video, thanks for listening. I love the spread sheets, they are a massive help. I'm not interested in Gold, but will be pushing for Silver again. I may look at Gold for 2025.
Done my overnight flight from LHR to Bucharest with a stay in the Hilton round the corner, (nice hotel) now got a BA holiday trip from MAN-SOF via LHR booked for March.
Cheers Steve. C.
Thanks for your comment and support Steve, much appreciated, a silver status video is in the pipeline. I hope you have an amazing trip to Sofia.
Thanks Phil - as I am now a leisure traveler using reward flights and companion vouchers I thought my days of having anything more than Blue were over! Covid had meant I'd kept Silver then Bronze for 4 years after retiring - but this video inspired me to book 5-days in May LHR-LPA to extend my Bronze through to April 2026! Thanks again!
Thanks for your comment, I'm really glad it helped and inspired you, it makes my day to hear that. Have a great trip to Gran Canarias, if you're hiring a car there is a lovely town Puerto de Mogán which is a little harbour with some nice restaurants. It's a long drive but a nice place for lunch.
Have a fantastic trip,
Phil
Well done, Phil, on mentioning the seven week grace period as the sweet spot. Mine's November/December and similarly painful.
It's not 2019 any more, so these sweet, affordable nested runs from OTP or SOF to RIX via HEL have gone.
Apropos Hotel Victoria in Tirana: I have stayed there. and was pleased with it. You have to walk into town - the buses are mobbed. I love walking, but it gets damned hot there, and it's uphill to the hotel 🙂 I walked 35 miles in five days.
One tip - don't walk up Rruga Dibres, take one of the parallel streets and go up Rruga Bardhyl. Far less crowded.
Thanks for your comments and your tips, much appreciated. Great to know that Hotel Victoria is a viable option.
Very helpful thanks. Inverness is my local departure airport and benefits from the lower departure tax...
Thank you for your comment, Inverness does have a number of benefits including lower departure tax. I was in Ayrshire for Burns Night this week, an incredibly beautiful country.
I always think spend the money on a couple of BA holidays where wife and I really want to go-get the double TP’s-then top it up with UK back to back and a short haul plus-otherwise you’re paying to qualify for gold and then booking extra flights on top to go where you really want to go-that adds to the price of getting Gold
Thank you for your comment, I agree while the double tier point offer is on then two or three 5 night city breaks to get status is very attractive.
Getting Gold status under 3k, good luck with that mate you'll need it!
Thanks for your comment, if you skip ahead to "The Spreadsheet of Glory" you'll see the options, I don't want to spoil it for those that haven't seen it... #smug-face
Great video Phil, I got upgraded to silver this weekend after an overnight stay in Belfast and from my calculation, I can enjoy the status until August 2025. 🙂
Gold is out of reach for me unfortunately but I really wanted silver to make use of the check in, lounges and free seat selection regardless of class I travel.
It's just a shame I can't make use of it with aer lingus at my local airport, Birmingham.
Thanks for the comment and congratulations on getting silver. This really is a super sweet spot for a lot of people and will probably be where I end up in a few years time. Birmingham is my closes airport too, currently it's undergoing a refurb and is a bit of a nightmare.
I am doing CGK - MAN return in QR via Doha in Business, will earn 560 tier points and cost me £2200. Q suite too! I am based in Sydney and using some Qantas points to get to up to CGK. Great video
Thanks for your kind comment, much appreciated. That is an excellent price for Qatar Airways Business Class,
I hope you have a great trip Manchester,
Phil
Phil. Just watching this video again. On the Spread sheet point 3 Bucharest, I stayed at the K+K hotel. very nice, cheap hotel, friendly staff, clean, good food and close to the city centre. Don't know if you've been there, stayed there.
Steve. C.
Thanks for the tip, I haven't I stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn. I though the food in Bucharest was phenomenal, I could have a weekend there and just drink and eat! And so cheap too.
It's doable even here using American and Alaska flights in cheap domestic flights in First, then supplementing with visits to the UK or Spain to complete the BA/IB sectors. And of course, to give Phil 3,000 pokes! 😂
- Red
Thanks Red, you could certainly get your Royal Jordanian segments flying London to Glasgow in economy.
Really excellent video. It's definitely possible to get Gold for
Thanks for your comments and support, I agree that £3083 is close enough. congratulations on getting Gold, well done. I'm glad that you find the videos useful.
All the best,
Phil
Interesting video Phil! I'm personally not interested in going for Gold/Emerald, but I would be happy to make a TP Run for Silver, which this video is also very helpful for!
Thanks for your kind comments, I have been thinking about a Silver status only video, because these big ticket flights (Abu Dhabi to Jakarta for example) will be too many points.
@@mygreygapyear I'd love to see a Silver video
@heyjakeay Thanks for your comment, I'll add a silver tier point run video to the list, BA announced a big change to the scheme today so I'm not sure when I'll make this video, but it is on the list.
plz do! @@mygreygapyear
I can also confirm deals to and from Jakarta to Taipei...using CX myself next month at around £600 return, but don't forget Malaysian also offer KUL to TPE at 140 TP...just make sure it's A330 rather than the 737.
Similar to your multiple UK flying idea, KUL-PEN and LGK can also easily be found for £100 each way for a very quick 40TP, so a day flying between them both could be a very lucrative day out.
Your spreadsheet should also reflect the £25 visa on arrival cost for each entry into Indonesia.
Thank you for the comment and excellent suggestions, it is very much appreciated. I think I'm going to look at adding some of those local flights to my itinerary. And I agree with you, when I'm costing up runs visa costs should go on the spreadsheet.
Thanks again,
Phil
I've never had a FF program with oneworld and after listening to your video, I'm now considering BA. Especially because I'll be in UK for a while and BA offers lifetime program. Not sure if this is the best valued oneworld lifetime program though!
Thanks for your comment and your support. I think from a lifetime benefits points of view, another viewer has commented that the Japan Airways scheme is very generous with a sort of "silver" lifetime? I'd need to research it, but I imagine that if lifetime benefits is the goal you'd need to pick early and carefully.
Thanks
Phil
Great video Phil, I especially like your explanation with the maps and the lines. I'm going to be Gold in a few weeks for just over £3k.
BA holiday to Madeira back in December.
Just come back from a tier point run to Hawaii - departing from Dublin via JFK & LAX.
And another BA holiday to Madeira next week.
I hadn't thought of departing from another UK airport for my Madeira holidays - will definitely consider that when I need to renew my Gold status in 2 or 3 years.
Thank you for your kind comments, a Hawaii tier point run, I am envious, I hope it was as amazing as it sounds. Congratulations on your imminent gold status and have a great trip to Madeira.
I got my Gold Tier level last year and purely through BA holidays/car hires double points incentive. Really difficult to achieve Gold without this promotion. I use the LHR and LGW First lounges which are very comfortable and perfect pre and post trips. The difficulty I face is actually spending the Avios points and finding suitable Rewards flights.
Thank you for your comment, congratulations on hitting Gold, the double tier point offer has boosted the number of status holders, I know because I'm one of them. Struggling to spend Avios, what a great problem to have, I have made a video about this, ua-cam.com/video/C6S9SDr6Dh0/v-deo.html
SeatSpy is the game changer on this, there is an affiliate link in the description of the video I've linked to.
Thanks,
Phil
Really great video….does remind me of some of my thought processes when I flew more often…..and yes I was always a big fan of BA lounges at Manchester and Heathrow Terminal 1 (yes that long ago !). But 2 thoughts I) rather than smashing tier points as quickly as possible if the benefit is more pleasurable future travel, doesn’t that future travel form part of the equation unless going for rock bottom prices (ii) a gold card with one airline alliance Or sliver card with two alliances ….Discuss ! Having gained BA tier points I more often than not travelled a different airline for cost, inflight experience, timetable convenience….
Thank you for your interesting and thought provoking comments,
1: Earn points through the year or smash it at the start? The thinking here is the sooner I hit Gold, the sooner I can benefit from it, then no need to renew until the end of the following year, so no renewing whilst Gold always wait until there is a soft land to Silver. I think it does come down to what works for each person and their plans. If I have some economy travel planned then ideally I'd want to be Gold for that.
When I'm booking trips I do look at the "value" of each tier point over the "cost" of each tier point. Heathrow to Glasgow back to backs will be a chore over a pleasure, so very little value. However a trip to Sicily would be an absolute delight.
2. Gold with one or silver with two alliances. I haven't looked at any alternative alliances yet, I guess a status match would be the easiest way to get that, but I have heard that the Aegean scheme is reasonable if you don't mind taking some flights with Aegean. Again I think this comes down to your plans for the coming year, will you benefit from status in two alliances or are you going to "mostly" fly in the one alliance?
So I think both questions are answered with planning, or "fail to plan and you're planning to fail" or my personal favourite is the 6 Ps. Proper Planning and Preparation Prevents Poor Performance.
Thanks
Phil
Completely doable with one weeks notice before watching the video.
I had a one week gap in contracts suddenly so with one weeks notice booked my run starting tomorrow.
The standard Abu Dhabi to Jakarta via Colombo on Sri Lankan was £800
BEG - DOH - AUH was £950 on QA. That’s 140 + 60 as the Doha to Abu Dhabi leg is in First Class
That’s 960 tier for £1750
Qatar Airways joining has made everything easier, especially given some of their short haul first class flights are more than 60 tier points
Thanks for your comment, nice tip starting in Belgrade.
Have a great trip,
Phil
@@mygreygapyear Thanks! yeah, I gave up trying all the 80 tier point locations like Bucharest and my eyes melted seeing how many destinations QA does in Europe but was lucky after about 5 mins… plus when am I ever going to go to Serbia in my life
How interesting
Thanks
Some years ago, I did the (now legendary) Dublin to Honolulu run. Back when US First counted as first. That was something like £1100 for 1200 points. Not sure I'd do it again, I don't really travel for work at all any more. But as a "usually silver" the almost two years of gold was quite nice I think.
Thanks for your comment, much appreciated. It sound epic and I almost want to do that run just for the experience regardless of the cost per tier point.
Thanks
Phil
@@mygreygapyear my routing was DUB-LHR-IAD-LAX-HNL // HNL-LAX-JFK-LCY || LHR-DUB
With of course some separate positioning flights. I managed to include the babybus all business class leg in, just for the experience. Never did that one before and it was definitely interesting. Tier points were 40+140+210+210 +210 + 140 (transcon I class) + 40 making a total of 1130. The rest of the points were earned via the positioning flights. 1200 was possible if I took the same route back as I would avoid the transcon I segment and get another A segment instead, giving the 1200 total in the main trip itself.
You cannot do the 210 points trick any more. Domestic first class (A bucket) do not count as first class any more. BA closed that loophole. They award 140 only now.
Doing that whole route though was very tiring.
The price is also just never that low any more. I think £2000 or so for 800-900 TPs is the norm if you work at a routing.
All moot for me, as I just don't travel for work any more, so it's not worth the cost for the 3-4 trips I make a year now for non-work. Albeit that whenever I'm in heathrow I'm missing the first wing private security.
As someone who is a Silver due to work travel it’s hard for me to understand understand why the average Joe who flies twice or four times a year would spend thousands of pounds to get into a BA lounge on those occasions. The lounges are pleasant enough but nowhere near worth spending multiple thousands of pounds to walk into.
Thank you for your comment, it's appreciated. I get your point on the cost vs benefit, if I was flying between London and Glasgow 40 times in business to get status then I'd probably agree with you but you can just have three great holidays and then be Gold for two years and silver for one. My personal favourite perk is skipping the check in line, first wing at Heathrow T5 is pretty swanky. I did a review of a First Lounge last week, the food in there is amazing (ua-cam.com/video/ZpfovAoxuig/v-deo.html).
I do talk more in depth of the benefits of status in my Executive Club video,
Thanks for sharing your views,
Phil
As a leisure traveller the ability with Silver Status or above to reserve seats for free on booking is much valued and can save the best part of £500 for two return seats in CW.
An excellent point, I have heard lots of people say that is their favourite perk in Silver.
I'd pay money *not* to go to the AMS lounge.
Only to find the lounge is so full that he can’t even get a seat to have a poxy pork pie. Lounges are done.
i have 2 trips booked for this year, all exactly the same ba Business INV-LHR-TLV and return, plus 7 days car hire generating double tier points, so that will earn me 720 TP per trip costing £900 or so, plus a 1 week trip to malta again in business generating 320 TP
Thank you for your comment, the Tel Aviv trip is an excellent tip, let's hope for peace in the region.
@@mygreygapyearyes lets not care about the genocide of palestinians when a cheap gold status is at stake 🤮
Great video! Thanks for doing this. Did you have any visa issues with any of these trips (I assume you have a standard UK passport)?
Thanks for your question, I have a standard British Passport, I haven't had any issues with any of my travel and I'm not aware of any issues with the trips I've looked at, they're all pretty vanilla countries. But do please let me know if you see a potential banana skin.
Thanks
Phil
Hi. It would be really interesting to see how you actually book some of these flights.
For example regions to west coast via New York. Do you actually do the booking as one trip but 6 different sectors or do you just enter regions to LAX for example and then look for options showing 2 connections
Looking to try and start using your nesting tactic from April. A video spelling that out with booking examples would also be good
Keep up the good work!
Thank you for your comment, West Coast USA runs are booked as a round trip to somewhere like LA from Dublin or perhaps Sophia and then broken up into legs so you're not flying direct for 140 TP each way but for 360 TP each way or perhaps more. The very best UA-cam videos on this are from Matt Jones at Matt's Planet, this vide will get you started ua-cam.com/video/QnQbxKKUXSY/v-deo.htmlsi=9XhuTFp_Sy1mPuJr
The other flights in the videos are usually bookable via Google Flights, so watching me book those would be very dull.
Thanks
Phil
Many thanks information researched. Please advise is there higher tier above Gold and requirement to qualify such tier including additional benefits, if any? Most grateful for your reply.
There's a super gold tier, which is strictly speaking part of Gold, that's called Gold Guest List, you get this with 5000 tier points. Then there is invitation only tier called premier, which you're invited to if you control a travel budget of 2 million. You can read about the benefits on the BA website but I think Rob at Head for Points does a better job,
www.headforpoints.com/2024/02/01/how-do-i-get-british-airways-gold-guest-list-status-3/
Phil. I think I would fly when you are still Gold just for the Clubs
Thanks for your comment,
Hi Phil, great video! Is it me or do the dates for option 1 (Abu Dhabi to Jakarta etc) not add up?
Thanks for your question, when I first read it I panicked and thought, "I used auto sum to add everything up, I hope I haven't made a mistake #embarrassing", but it's the dates you're asking about. You're right those dates don't specifically work, I'd need to adjust them. In my defence I was under immense time pressure to get the video completed in a short time, and I also made another mistake, Option 1 wouldn't get Gold status with BA because you'd need to take two more qualifying flights.
I am a regular work traveller who's reached gold, but don't see the value in doing a TP run for my wife and 2 kids to get gold status as that would be very expensive 🤦🏻♂️.
We intend on going for a few holidays, so them getting to Silver status would be ideal. I consider Silver status a sweet spot as that gets them priority check in, lounge access, priority boarding and fast track security.
I would be very interested in a silver only TP run video as that is what I am most likely to do to get my family silver status.
Thank you for your comment, I think a silver status video, focusing on smaller runs to hit 600 points, is an excellent idea. I think getting your wife to silver would be perfect because then you could each guest one child into the lounge. I agree with you that silver is a status sweet spot and I imagine that I will be aiming for silver next time I renew.
@@mygreygapyear thank you. It hadn't occurred to me to just get my wife to Silver and then we can bring each of the children in as guests. 🤦🏻♂️... This will certainly make things more affordable than doing a 600TP run for all 3 of them (mind you we will probably all still travel together, just with my wife getting the higher class of travel so she can get to Silver).
Hey Phil another great Video
Can I ask say you do LHR-JFK-LAX as a single booking do you get the 280 TP or do you have to book as separate flights which would mean some decent gap or layover to avoid missed connections
Thanks
Gareth
Thanks for your question, although I haven't booked and executed one of these, my understanding is that you book it as a single booking / flight and that's why you maintain the price quoted. This would mean that if you missed a connection due to a delay then you would get rebooked but you might not get the same itinerary, so if you booked DUB-LHR-JFK-LAX and you missed your connection in LHR they might book you a direct flight to LAX. This may result in you loosing tier points but I think you can then apply for them once your journey os complete.
It is a great question and I'll add it to my list when I book one of these 😊
Thanks
Phil
Phil here's a thought.
you talk about soft landing to Silver for a short period of time. If you call BA and talk to them, NICELY, when they look at your account they will be able to see that you have booked the required flights etc to take you back to GOLD. IF, IF, you ask nicely you never know they may let you keep that GOLD status. Just a thought nothing to lose but the waiting time on the phone. Worth a try. You never know.😁
Steve. C.
That's a great idea, thanks Steve, and the wait time on the Gold line isn't usually that long.
Phil. One other question whilst watching this video and checking out the Spread Sheet of Glory. How have you changed your choices now that BA (bless em)have changed the Tier Point earning year dates.
Steve. C.
Thanks for your question. Since the "transition period" is essentially a live membership year, I've decided to lean into the new dates and I'm working on 1st April to 31st March, aiming to earn Gold before the 31st August.
Big change today from BA. TP collection year changing to 1st April to 31st March.
Thank you for sharing this, all I can say, until I've read this is, OH MY GOD! I didn't think BA could be this bone headed...
@@mygreygapyear The demand for flights in March 2025 to get tier points will certainly increase.
I've had a sleep and I'm now unsure about how I feel about the change. I'm making some notes for an upcoming explainer video. I imagine that there will be demand in the last 4 weeks and the first 4 weeks of the new date. It could get messy.
Hi, Thanks for all your videos. My mission is get 225 tier points by Sept 2024 to get Silver. Ideally I could do it over a weekend. Maybe a return, Long Haul Business would do it, (140pts each way).
Suggestions welcome 🙂
If you just need tier points and have your qualifying flights, and you fancy something different, then maybe a look at LHR to Oslo via Helsinki with Finnair, this would get you 200 of those points over a weekend. They also fly from Manchester.
Or if you can stay away for a long weekend, pick a nice 5 day holiday to a long haul plus destination. I think Bucharest would be a good shout, there is a sale on until the 14th May but I generally find BA sales a damp squib.
There were some excellent London to Newcastle business fares, 40TP each way with round trips costing around £160 (hitting the £2 per tier point target)
Good luck, let me know how it goes,
Phil
@@mygreygapyear Hi Phil, thanks so much for the reply and inspiration. One question, is there a way to book with Finnair, but use your BA Exce club membership? I registered with Finnair, but have a new fresh membership I don't really want. Thanks. :-)
@@robertmay7331 When you book your seats you should be able to enter your BA Exec Number as you book. I know that Qantas can be difficult, I'm not sure about Finnair, but that's what you're looking out for before you pay.
Thanks for the video, you are a very handsome bear 🥰😛
Thank you, that's very kind of you to say
You are welcome x
Apart from being able to book seats on BA for free, what does BA status offer ?
If you need lounge access and not flying business or first then buy Priority Pass or just buy access or get an Amex Platinum card.
I play the mileage, cards, etc. game but find better airlines than BA to fly with.
Thanks for your excellent question Andy. Firstly, I don't think that paid lounges are as good as the airlines own lounges, they are much busier, much noisier and don't usually have the same food and drink offering. But beyond lounge access, there is gold seat blocking (middle seat kept empty for me when I travel in economy across all Oneworld airlines), priority bags (this works more often than everyone will have you believe), priority boarding (ok, that one's not so important), business or first class check in (that is a biggie for me), additional baggage allowance (big for me when I travel to visit my daughter in Australia, useful when you're a couple of Kgs over too), more award seats for Gold members...
I talk about this at length in my BA Status video, ua-cam.com/video/j-828PrFd7g/v-deo.htmlsi=gDNESowc2nou4nZN
I am genuinely interested in which airlines you collect points and fly with? I find Avios to be such a versatile currency these days since Qatar joined.
Thanks again for your question, and please let me know if I've managed to turn you around.
Phil
Hi, maybe you could do a video explaining what BA Gold status actually gets us / is. Thank you!
Thank you for your comment and support, I have made a video about the Executive Club and this talks about the benefits, or the "why" rather than the "what"
ua-cam.com/video/j-828PrFd7g/v-deo.html
Please let me know if this doesn't give you the answer you're looking for, I am planning on refreshing this video later this year.
Thanks
Phil
@@mygreygapyear thanks Phil, appreciate the link! Keep up the good work, Callum
Interested as to how many hours it takes you to research all this.
I wanted a holiday in San Francisco and after a good while searching got a good price ex Dublin with nested flights to and from Dublin. Felt I needed confidence of getting there so wanted a day either side in Dub. So booked all flights happy in my savings and then looked for hotels. Eyewateringly expensive so really not sure I have saved much although get 80 TP extra. Figuring positioning, hotels, transport etc really can increase costs to well about £2 per TP.
Interested in your comments.
Thank you for your kind comment, some locations have had big increases in hotel cost and Dublin is one of those places (Australia hotels are still cheap comparatively) and I would add this into my calculations when I'm working out cost per tier point because I would see a night at an airport hotel as pure cost with no value, where as a few nights in Taipei or Helsinki I would cost at zero because these are places I want to visit.
In terms of research, I'm always looking at holidays, flights and tier point runs because I'm a nerd and enjoy that kind of thing, but specifically for this video I probably spent about 4 to 6 hours because BA Holidays website is so flipping slow and occasionally fails completely.
Thanks,
Phil
Thank you so much for explaining the BAEC Gold status benefits and tier points run for maintaining Gold status. Always enjoyed these videos, even though I live in PVG (Shanghai, China), I decided to qualify for BA Gold after watching your videos. I have a question about the AUH-CGK tier points run. Is it possible to take the same flight back to Colombo without checking in baggage (e.g., arrive at AUH at 22:00 and transfer to the same flight back to CMB, if I purchased a flight from April 7th to April 9th and April 9th to April 11th for AUH-CGK)? Maybe AUH or SriLankan Airlines don't allow this.
Thanks for your kind comments and question. I've found if I try to book a return flight without an overnight stay I can do it but the price is significantly higher than one night in Jakarta. If you were planning to book this "back to back" then you would need to fly "hand baggage only".
@@mygreygapyear Hi Phil, thanks for your reply. A trip like this will be cheaper from April 7 to April 11, costing AED3860. I think I will complete this "back to back" flight with hand baggage. However, will Abu Dhabi Airport or Sri Lankan Airlines prevent this behavior from happening? Because I have never arranged such an itinerary
@@ryaninchina If they sell you the ticket then you should be ok.
@@mygreygapyear Thanks, hope to meet you one day for tier points run :)
Wow I'm lucky if I can afford a bag of peanuts on BA nowadays!
Thank you for your comment, when you fly in economy you need to pre-order your peanuts to make sure they loaded them 😂
Are there any tips for long haul economy or premium economy earning TPs? I’m assuming the first issue is avoiding the Economy lowest/low and adding stops. For instance, LHR-JFK-PHX-BUR would be two 2000 mile and one short haul leg. Can you add another stop by starting in HEL or DUB?
Thank you for your question, and I think it's a two part question.
Part one is booking multi leg trips that don't easily appear in Google flights like your LHR-JFK-PHX-BUR example. To book these you really need to look at using ITA matrix and one of my favourite UA-camrs is Matt Jones and his tutorial on ITA matrix is brilliant, so my tip for this would be to watch Matt's video here: ua-cam.com/video/GS-N8GovvHA/v-deo.htmlsi=U6cZrhO7ZpZ7v0un
I think the second part to the question is tier points on Economy or Premium Economy flights and it comes down to your goals, your budget and how you value things. I aim to pay £2 for every tier point I earn, plus I aim to get something else out of the trip, like a nice holiday or an interesting experience. I don't think I have ever seen an economy seat that will give you £2 per tier point. I came close with Premium Economy to Abu Dhabi as part of a five night holiday, but again, it didn't make it.
So my second tip would be to find your value and then try to stick to it. If you're travelling for status you'll probably want to pay for business flights to get maximum tier points for pounds spent.
Finally, if I've gone off on some mad tangent and not answered your question then please let me know and I'll have another go at helping you.
Thanks for your question,
Phil
@@mygreygapyear You've answered most of my question! I generally do 6 round trips to US West Coast in economy/PE, 1 or 2 to the US East Coast in economy, and 2 or 3 other long-haul trips (Asia, South America) in business each year. This was earning me Delta Diamond status up until now.
I'm generally not spending double, or more than the ticket price to upgrade from economy unfortunately. Are there any tricks to finding higher TP-earning economy fare classes without paying exorbitantly? Is it easier with AA or AY?
I have used ITA Matrix a bit, but my concern is more with fare classes that avoid economy lowest, without being very expensive. I know this is an odd question for TP earning, which is focused mostly on J/F flights.
For what its worth, I am trying to book an ex-US BA Holiday in J to Taipei in August, but it appears as if BA doesn't codeshare to Taipei.
Did you go to Staffs uni circa 2002 and do computer science? you definitely look familiar!
I did study at Staffs, I graduated in 2006, September 2002 / 2003 would have been my first year. I was at the (now closed) Beaconside campus studying Computing Science. You might have seen me smoking on the bridge to the Octagon Building, please let me know if you think we may have taken some classes together 😊
How many nights stay over in Jakarta needed? A couple - 2 or 3?
Thanks for your question. If memory serves, then the flights sat quite nicely on option 1 so you'd arrive in the morning and then fly out 10 hours later in the evening. So Abu Dhabi leaves in the evening, arrives the next morning in Jakarta.
If you were flying onto Taipei I think I put a night in there, and if you were returning to Abu Dhabi you'd need to put a night in there to get the best rates. But hotels are cheap, good Western Brands are about £35 to 40 but I noted a 5* hotel for £55, so I thought, why not.
Thanks
Phil
Helsinki to Lisbon is just over 2000mi
Thanks for your comment, it is indeed over 200 miles and earns 140 tier points with Finnair. It's a similar price to Malaga in the winter but tends to go up in price during July / August which is when I was initially looking for dates, but you're right, it is well worth mentioning.
Thanks
Phil
Does CX JKT-HKG-Northern Japan (Sapporo ?) still work for 4x 2000 mile sectors ?
Thank you for your comment and your support. Yes, you will get 140 per sector (4 sectors on a round trip) for that, thanks for the tip.
@@mygreygapyear Thanks Phil. I can't remember where I heard this one (maybe Matt). Now I look at it (on google flights), I can't see it for less than 1500 quid. So not really a goer unless there's a sale.
Anyone who devotes any time or money to an airline boys club needs to take a long hard look at themselves. Airlines don't run these 'clubs' for the customer. They were created with one purpose and that is keep you spending your money with that airline. There is a good Fraiser episode involving a spar that sums it up. And the crew actully laugh at how important and entitled most 'Gold' members think they are 😂😂😂
Thanks for your comment, I love Frasier, I remember that episode, it ends with a diamond door and someone positing that there will be a plutonium door 😊 (or some thing like that).
I understand your point on the loyalty club being to get you to spend more money with them, I mean that is the whole point isn't it? I spend money with BA (my loyalty), and they give me free seat selection, First Class Lounge access, extra bags, free upgrades, the seat next to me empty in economy, and other fun stuff.
To give you an idea, I booked three economy seats with BA to film them to compare to the Club seats I'd been sitting in and I was upgraded twice.
As far as the crew laughing behind my back, I think they're more professional than that, certainly in my experience, they have served me wonderfully, so if they do laugh behind my back at how "Entitled" I am, well don't do it to my face and we'll all get on fine. Water off a ducks back mate.
Thanks for sharing your views, much appreciated,
Phil
The BA Holidays Double Tier point offer is now restricted to UK residents only. Maybe a change of address will help, but a bit unfair to the expat British community.
Thanks for your comment and support, much appreciated. You know I had that in my notes and I skipped that bullet point because it sounded wrong, so thank you for sharing. It must be new.
Thanks
Phil
BA is a UK airline so I don’t see why you would want status if you don’t live in the UK? Isn’t it better to get status with your local airline?
Do you know the points I could get on a BA/Qatar Airways codeshare on London - Doha - Harare return?
Thanks for your question, each leg would get you 140 tier points in business, so 560 on a round trip. If it's a holiday with a BA flight number (and you meet the other requirements which seem to change regularly) you could double that with the holiday offer.
Is a BA Gold equal to Gold with another Oneworld Airline eg Qantas? Can the perks that BA Gold give you work on other Oneworld airlines eg lounges?
Thank you for your excellent question. BA Gold equates to Oneworld Emerald which in turn is Qantas Platinum and Platinum One. This means that BA Gold can use any Oneworld Emerald Lounge, in Melbourne and Sydney I get access to the Qantas First Class Lounge when I travel in Economy with Malaysia or Qatar Airways.
There is more information about this and the other benefits in my BA Executive Club video, but if you're in Australia and in the Qantas scheme that may not be particularly relevant.
Thanks
Phil
You talk about runs and back to backs on some of these ideas but then mention double points. Surely to get double points you’ve got to stay 5 nights meaning back to backs aren’t possible?
Thanks for your comment and feedback, much appreciated. I think I need to re-watch the video to find where the confusion has crept in, certainly this video was made "at pace" so that the prices I quoted remained valid when it was released.
You are 100% correct, the British Airways double tier point offer requires 5 nights hotel or car hire to qualify and there are lots of other terms and conditions too, make sure you read them to ensure that your trip qualifies.
Thanks
Phil
thanks for the interesting videos. I live in Bangkok/Asia & planning a trip to the UK this summer & looking to hit Silver in 1 trip. My tank is empty atm. Thinking BKK-AUH - 180TP./600GBP Then something like AUH-MAN//ALC-HKG-BKK out premium & back business for 340TP. (1800GBP) - i know the $perTP are high but I need to take this trip. Any clever ideas? I need to fly into MAN & got a trip to ALC planned. (LON-ALC on miles). BA holidays doesnt work for me.... any suggestions would be great cheers
Thank you for your comment and question. Bangkok is a tricky place to start. You've got some great tier point flights you can take in Asia like Jakarta - Taipei and Taipei - Kuala Lumpur and internal flights within Malaysia all giving you good tier points per pound.
You'll also have the classic Abu Dhabi to Jakarta with Sri Lankan which is currently about £850 for 560 tier points if you're flying via Abu Dhabi. You could just fly cheaply to Abu Dhabi, then do the Jakarta run, then fly onwards with BA.
If you can get to Cairo without breaking the bank or in a tier point efficient way you could either book Cairo - Madrid - Dublin for 180 each way for about £700 ish (round trip). Or Cairo Madrid, then position to Malaga and fly Malaga Oslo with Finnair. Oslo Manchester (in economy) with BA for your 4 qualifying flights.
Good luck with your status chase, let me know how it goes,
Phil
@@mygreygapyear ok think I have figured it out BKK-DOH-AMS /ALC-MAD-BKK QR/IB business class 2100GBP - (2 legs on IB flights & flight nos. inc MAD-DOH) & then AMS-LHR-MAN on BA in economy - exactly 600 TPs.
I did 1560TP for £2350 in November
Thanks for your comment, but don't leave me hanging, I'd love to know which routes you flew to get this excellent value.
the gold lounge is a bit too much for the majority of rich. to the point you can’t have a conversation without everyone hearing. the business lounge is much better in regards to it being a bit more normal where you can have a drink and a chat without feeling like being judged however someone in the public eye or who needs to get work done would probably prefer the first lounge.
Thanks for your comment, much appreciated. I need to do some Business Lounge visiting at Heathrow.
Is possible to earn tier points with British airways from Seattle to New York?
Thanks for your question, BA doesn't fly between those two cities but Oneworld Partners American Airlines and Alaskan Airlines both do fly that route. You need to make sure you add your BA executive club number to the booking to get the tier points or just book it through the BA website using your BA account.
BA are thinking about renaming the Executive Club, as most travellers are not executives.
Thank you for your comment, they really should rename it, but watch them come up with something worse, like "The BA Mile High Club" or something.
@@mygreygapyear There is a thread about it on FlyerTalk. One rumour is the Flying Club....
If they should rename, I think Speedbird Club would be an ok name. It has the provenance and it's something that is sort of flying related. Speedbird is definitely not something that will upset the BA loyalists.
Any ideas yourself for names?
@@Locutus I like "BA Speedbird" but if I have to come up with one then I think I'd go for "The perfectly adequate flying loyalty program" or maybe "10th Flight Free Club" (and the cabin crew stamp your card as you board).
@@mygreygapyear There's always the BA Experience Club. That allows them to keep the initials and sounds similar enough to Executive. 🤷🏼♂️
More annotations wouldve helped follow the video
Thank you for your feedback, much appreciated. One of the issues with my videos that have flight searches and prices is the time pressure to record it and then edit and release it before the flight prices change. If you have a specific question then do please ask it here and I will endeavour to answer it for you, or if there was a section that needed an illustration then I would appreciate further feedback
Thank you for sharing your thoughts,
Phil
What does Gold status get you?
Thank you for your question, one of the major gold perks for me is gold seat blocking, where BA and its Oneworld partners block the seat next to you until the flight is so full that they have to release it for another passenger, so if you've ever wondered "How did that lucky son of a gun get an empty eat next to them?" it might well be their status that got them that.
First Class Lounge access that I talk about here, ua-cam.com/video/or3n7LutlqQ/v-deo.html and here, ua-cam.com/video/ZpfovAoxuig/v-deo.html
But for a full list of benefits you can watch my Going Gold with Executive Club video here, ua-cam.com/video/j-828PrFd7g/v-deo.html. The benefits (the why) is quite near the start of the video.
Thanks
Phil
If you fly with finair do you get ba points I didn't think you did!
Thank you for your question. You'll earn British Airways tier points with any Oneworld flight as long as are paying cash (not points) and you have associated your BA Executive Club Number to the booking, this can usually be done during the booking process. If you book through the BA website then this will be done automatically.
I know that this is simple and obvious when booking with Malaysia and Qatar Airways but oddly hidden when booking with Qantas.
Do I have £3000 to spend on BA tickets? No. Did I watch the whole video? Yes.
Thanks for your comment and thanks for watching, hopefully the videos can provide you with aspiration and inspiration.
Can you get tier points on Reward Flights?
Thanks for your comment, it is a good question, but unfortunately you don't ear tier points on rewards flights with British Airways, however you do with Virgin Atlantic.
thanks for the reply@@mygreygapyear - much appreciated. thanks
If you are gold status are you able to take a guest into the lounge with you? Cheers
Thanks for your question, both Gold and Silver can guest one person, but with Gold it is into the First Lounge and Silver it's into the business lounge.
@@mygreygapyear Great! Cheers for your reply mate loving the videos
The flights from Dublin are not any cheaper now. I flew from Dublin years ago…
Thanks for your comment, and thanks for letting me know. They "almost" hit the £2 per tier point for a while but I guess they've gone again... Boooooo!
I am going to take the flight from Malaga to Helsinki looks wonderful. Going to Malta first a week and corfu, really good hotel deals going now. Flew to Glasgow for 140 holiday in 42 pounds a night. It’s bloody hard work though..
Sounds awesome, let me know how you get on
Seems a bit high tbh :/
Thanks for your comment, appreciated.
I am sorry . But unless you are a frequent flyer this is just pointless and there are just better ways to spend your time . 😂
Thank you for your comment, you make a valid point about frequency of flying and I talk about this very point in my FAQs video in the section at 6.59 Should I Get Status? ua-cam.com/video/LL2L4AxBm9I/v-deo.html