Behind the Scenes of My Tier Point Run - Part 1 Outbound
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- čas přidán 29. 06. 2024
- After 5 years I finally needed to execute a tier point run to re-establish gold status with British Airways. I'd already gotten half way to the tier point total I needed with a trip to Jakarta which I previously covered on the channel, and to complete the process I elected to undertake a "traditional" tier point run from Europe to the West Coast of the US.
In this video I'll show how the outbound flights went, how I coped with them and I'll share some tips for planning a trip like this. In part two, I'll talk about the return flights, which didn't go so smoothly....
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⏰ Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro
2:30 - What I Booked and How I Booked It
4:32 - Changes After Booking
7:56 - Positioning
9:12 - Dublin to London
10:12 - The Thistle Hotel and Packing
11:14 - London to Boston and Jetlag
13:03 - Boston to New York to LA
17:26 - Preparing For A Trip Like This
18:18 - Bed!!!
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You nailed walking AND talking, well done Sir :D
@steve-marsh - I tried to walk and chew gum once - it didn't go well.
Its not as easy as you make it look!! And I also seem to be constantly out of breath when I do it!
@@MattsPlanet haha me too, after my 20 takes 🤣
I did the olde DUB-HNL run back when it earned around 1200TPs. One thing I remember is how tiring the whole thing is. Especially the move between AA and BA at JFK on the return. That was a trek. I did the itinery of DUB(I)-LHR-IAD(I)-LAX(A) // LAX-HNL(A) // HNL-LAX(A)-JFK(I)-LCY(I) // LHR-DUB(I). That was quite the journey.
That worked out to just over £1000 at the time. The golden years of the TP run I think.
The "golden era" indeed! Never done a Hawaii run as that last leg out there feels like one too many for me and its usually on not-great equipment too.... But then again, pricing to Hawaii hasn't been that great for many years...
@@MattsPlanet It's very tiring and at least for my itinery needed an overnight in LAX. Which did break it down a little bit but added to the whole time and out of run expenses.
The whole thing was extremely tiring with so many flights and so much sitting and waiting.
I've also not seen anywhere close to that value of TP/m since. Coupled with the removal of the 210 points per AA first long distance leg it's made the value much lower.
It was nice to do the new (at the time) A380 club world, and finally get the babybus on the return though.
I think your run is around the best you can do now. It's still decent value mind you especially if you can build a holiday out of it. I doubt we'll see anything like the old HNL TP runs again.
Fabulous as always. Excellent advice. I see Amex have moved the goalposts once again ! £300 fee plus £15000 for your voucher…
Indeed - slightly more bothered by the £15k than the £300 but I think we'll have little choice but to swallow both....
Love the Steve Marsh shout out! (Despite my username, actually another Scot - and retired accountant - here!). That looked a gruelling 25 hours - would never go that long without a stop off in a real bed.
That's the limit to what I will undertake these days!! But for cheap tier points you gotta do what you gotta do!!!
Great to meet you at the first wing in T5 on Wednesday. Enjoy your trip
Great to meet you too!!! Still waiting for those pesky tier points to post....
@@MattsPlanet 😬
Ah, the dreaded AA involuntary re-route. Best strategy I've found, as ever, is to do your own research and when you call to reschedule, have the flights you want ready to go. My experience has generally been that if you do that, the agents are most helpful. If they have to look, you sometimes get odd combinations or told it cant be done. As to paper copies - if it saves you on one trip out of 100, its worth the weight. Having something physically tangible with flight numbers and confirmation numbers and phone contacts and insurance info is a godsend when technology doesnt want to work. Landing somewhere and turning on your phone only to find out the travel e-sim you bought isnt working and wifi is limited and dodgy is never fun.
Looking forward to the next one. Oh, and TSA Pre Check is amazing when you have to connect in the States off of an international flight....
Agree with all of that - thanks! And TSA-pre has had longer queues than the regular lines on both of my recent transits but I think its still quicker - but when there is a regular queue, TSA-pre is amazing!
My mentor!!! Thank you so much Matt for all your work. I have my 2nd TP run next week...something I would never have done without your videos! Keep up the great work!
It's always great to hear this feedback - thanks for taking the time to share it! And have a great trip!
I print two copies of everything, and after a TP run in the USA with missing baggage, I take two sets of clothing in my carry on.
You looked bushed, I know the feeling.
The things I do for my viewers!!! It was a long day for sure!
Hi Matt,
Thank you so much for this video! You manage to show that Tier point runs are not at all glamorous all the way. It shows you need to be prepared, have your homework in place, and be able to react , change your plans last minute. It almost feels like properly" going to work". I appreciate that the rewards of a few years of benefits are worth it, but it also shows that it takes a certain person, with a certain drive and conviction, to even contemplate playing this game!
I salute you sir, and wish you strength and health!
Regards
Thomas
Thanks Thomas! That was the goal here - to show that 25 hours of straight travel is not all champagne and lobster!!!
In the end it’s great fun though even for an old codger like me
Great video - looking forward to the sequel. It's an efficient way to get lots of TPs but I guess what bothers me is the potential itinerary changes that could happen. I quite like the simple double TP holidays involving one flight each way. You mastered the Steve Marsh walk and talk - just need to throw in "wee" here and there e.g. I'm taking a wee trip from Dublin to LA...
I'd say expect itinerary changes, but they will come well before travel and will be manageable - indeed there may be opportunity in them.... If I wasn't making these videos, I'd probably have simplified things with a double holiday trip somewhere!
Great to see it but I'm not nearly brave enough to try and recreate it 😄 An enjoyable video though, Matt.
It jut requires some planning and some flexibility!! You can also build in some overnights if this is too extreme!
Good video. Bonus-point for the lounge misdeed. I remain in awe of your TP management.
P.S. I've just paid my first Barclaycard Avios bill. I've earned ............ 0.9 of a sandwich.
P.S.2 BA offered me the chance to subscribe for points. Looked like bad VFM, so I passed.
A subscription for avios is not terrible but you can do better.... Enjoy the half a sandwich!!!
due to do GLA- DUB- BOS- LAX -LAS -Reno (last not on oneworld) and back in november - watch out for thanksgiving 720 TP
Reno is a fun place to spend a day or two if you've never been - have fun!
For a moment Matt I thought you were going to follow the Steve Marsh 'no bag trip' experiment, requiring pants to be washed in hotel wash basins! 😄
Indeed! For a 7 night trip that's a challenge, even for Steve I think!
Evening Matt, another good video. I do wonder, if you’d done say LHR-BOS-LAX + 5 nights hotel along the way, then an identical return to qualify for the double tier points could you have completed the trip with less strain on the body and for similar tier points and money? Looking forward to part 2! All the best.
Cheers Jack. Runs ex-UK (which is a requirement for the double tier points) are more than twice the cost, plus you lost tier points from not adding the starting and ending legs to (eg) Dublin... Shorter, quicker and easier on the body sure, but quite a lot worse value. I did find something ex-JER in a sale that would have worked with a transatlantic in First, but I need to make videos and it wouldn't have produced the same quantity of content!
@@MattsPlanet Ah, understandable! Will keep an eye out for something ex-JER myself. Keep the great videos coming.
Great video Matt! Recently did the run to Jakarta from Riyadh via Colombo with Sri Lanka airlines which was excellent. Squeaky connections 1hr 15 on way out and 45mins on return. I was booked through and hand luggage only…. The flight attendant said not to worry, Sri Lankan airlines doesn’t leave their passengers behind…
Riyadh to Colombo is a wee bit more expensive but if you're in Riyadh it should work well.... And SriLankan does seem to know where its passengers are and makes allowances for small delays - unlike BA... But that's a story for another day!
I love this channel, thanks for the informative videos Matt! Always a pleasure to view.
By the way, what’s your take on United airlines? I have a trip booked to San Francisco with them this July, but I’m absolutely bricking it after their recent run of incidents, especially out of SFO.
Its been a long, long time since I've flown on United so no current opinions to offer... On the broader issue, there's publicity when things go wrong, and rightly so... But there's 100,000 commercial flights a day, perhaps half on Boeing equipment, and you only see an incident every few months??? So its vanishingly unlikely you'll have a problem on any plane, let alone United's. You're still at far more risk in the cab or bus to the airport than you are on the plane
@@MattsPlanet very well put, I guess I need to stop watching so many airline disaster videos! 🤣
Thanks for the video Matt. Just completed my 2nd tier run in March to keep Gold. Had a similar problem in that AA changed my flights from DUB-LHR-JFK-LAX-TUC to PHX instead of LAX but meant I arrived in TUC earlier. Apart from that it all went very smoothly and it’s all thanks to you for showing me how to plan and carry out tier point run so many thanks again
Great to hear - enjoy the status!
Hey Matt... The "TSA Pre" you refer to is actually called "TSA Pre Check" in the states... You might have guessed I am a bit of a pedant 😛
Happy to take the correction!!! Not immune to moment of pedantry myself so happy to receive one!!! Things can't be "quite unique", they're either unique or they're not!!!! This is a safe place!!!
Me and wife just dropped to bronze, looking for something to bring back to silver as we have been always happy with silver and not gaining further experiences for gold unless it happened naturally 🎉 thanks for your shows
Silver can be an excellent sweet spot... 5 nights in Sofia and you'll be back there in no time!
Another great video, thanks Matt!
Thanks!
Thanks for the info + video 🍻🍻🍻!!!
Any time!
A great video and I really enjoyed the “Steve Marsh” shoutout…😂.
It’s fun to see all the CZcams channels I watch refer to each other.
It’s like the Marvel Cinematic Universe of travel. 🚘✈🚆😁
I know steve watches my videos!!! He's a lot fitter than me though!
Love it, thanks Matt can't wait for Partb2
Same time next week!
Excellent as always
Thanks!
Hi Matt, only recently discovered your videos - terrific! Factually rich, well informed and irreverent. We must've missed each other on a similar TP run by about a week, judging by the time stamp, though I did this one in F on both the trans-con and inter-con legs, which renewed Gold in more or less just one trip. I was particularly amused by your reflections on getting to LAX airport hotels: I also stayed at the FP, though my cunning trick is I now walk there.
Thanks! I had an F trip in my basket as it got tier points at the same average cost as this trip, but I ended up picking this one as I could get more videos out of it! The things I do.... And I have walked from the FP to the In'n'Out but it looks a very similar distance to the terminals.... At the end of a 25 hour day? Not sure.... Although I expect its quicker quite a lot of the time!!!!
Lots of useful information here sir...thanks
Thanks - hope it was enjoyable too!
I’m doing my first tier point run in May and it’s almost the same as yours: DUB-LHR-BOS-LAX-SFO.
Have also had the American Airline flight changes too 😂 glad to know I’m getting the full experience
I hope you don't get the same experience back, which I'll share next week....
Great honest trip review. Really appreciate the worts and all aspects of tier points runs !
Its great fun, but he prepared!!!
Good info on this video. Unfortunately for you, there were too many American flights. The last time I flew American, my flight out of DFW changed gates 5 times in a 2 hour period. Every change was in a different terminal - so I spent my two hour layover on the train going back and forth to the 4 terminals - didn't need to go to terminal 5. You are a brave person to trust American in doing these tier runs. I too hate waiting for the hotel shuttle - and now for my biggest gripe - I usually stay in Marriott or Hilton properties - both theoretically provide digital keys to my phone. 8 times out of 10 I end up having the check with the front desk - what a pain!
I remember taking that train around DFW as a form of entertainment back when I didn't have lounge access - under pressure its less fun!
Thanks Matt, another great educational vid for me as a future tier point runner. Looking forward to part two.
Thanks Alan - same time next week for part 2!
Great video as always Matt! Showers at JFK look far superior to those at LHR which really need refurbed
LHR showers are a flashback to the 90's for sure! JFK wins that contest comfortably!
Thank You ✈️
Thanks for watching!
Well done mate
Thanks!
Hi Matt, long time fan here, you've helped me figure out a lot of tour itineraries for my crew!
Question, Google flights and ITA have a limit as to the amount of flights you can add to an itinerary... I'm heading to LA in July and have to re-qualify for Gold, however, I can't mirror your itinerary here due to the amount of legs. May I ask how you managed to fit DUB - LHR - PHL - BOS - LAX - CLT - JFK - LHR - DUB ? Bear in mind you have to add each sector? Really appreciate your guidance. Best, Ollie
ITA has a limit of 6 "chunks" but you can put multiple legs in each chunk.... So I would have done 1 - DUB to BOS via PHL, 2 - BOS - LAX, 3 - LAX - CLT, 4 - CLT - LHR via JFK etc etc etc. You can then get 8 or 9 flights in one ITA result. I do this in my "return to the matrix" video if you want to check that out
Great video.
Suitably 'teased', pre the next video, I thank my lucky stars I no longer need to do a tier-run having reached a 'life-time' goal.....I just need to live long to enjoy!
Lifetime gold is quite an achievement - congrats! The slog is real for me for another 20,000 tier points!!!
Comedy Gold as always
I try my best!!!!
"he seems to have honed his skills selling fruit off a barrow in East London" 😂😅😂😅😂
I won't share his name!
Great watch Matt, a lot more to a TP run than first meets the eye ie. potential schedule change + just how to manage that jet lag. Hope you had a nice time in LA, all will be revealed in the next video it seems. I can second your complaint with airport hotel buses particularly at LAX, there’s just so many of them, and so many people too, not particularly straightforward to navigate.
Hope you’re well, Matt. 🙌
All good thanks!
I did a tier point run last year (albeit for Royal Jordanian) with short hops on AA, 4 flights total in Economy within a single day, returning to my home airport in Omaha that evening, because RJ only counts flight segments anyway. But now that I'm focusing on BAEC, I'd do the same thing but fly in First for all segments. Don't know if BA will award 40 or 60 per hop, but in any case, I stand to earn up to 240 tier points for a whole day of flying and back home at night. I've decided to switch to BAEC for my oneworld status goals because I can reach Sapphire with less flights, which means for less money and within a shorter timeframe. And it's Daddy Matt's bread and butter!
Omaha, somewhere in middle America.... The counting crows are one of my favourite bands! Probably 40 tier points but they all count!
Thank you for all the tips! I followed your video and booked a Christmas trip to one of smaller Californian cities this December for a tier point run! We managed to book a long layover in Boston in the first leg and then for the return leg left around 3hrs at least for each interchange. Fingers crossed American doesn’t change the scheduling 😂 thank you and great video as always
Congrats! Welcome to the club! You say "we" so I assume you convinced the other half to come?? Not everyone achieves that! And I'd wager you 20p that American will change something before December!
@@MattsPlanet yes we’ll be doing it together :) ah we’ll have to see what AS throws at us then! We’ll probably book the positioning flights to Dublin using avios and companion voucher closer to our travel dates in case of the scheduling changes impact.
Got my TP run In 50days, positioning flight to Dublin the night before then DUB-LHR-JFK-SFO-LAS 7 days in vegas then SFO-JFK-LHR-MAD for the return,then a quick Ibera flight back to LHR . That will get me to a total of 1510 for the year so my first time Gold
Congrats! 7 nights in Las Vegas is a great way to break up the flying!
Maybe a video calculating the value of 40 tier points vs 80 minutes 😜.
On a more serious note, would be interesting to see a tier run on virgin miles tickets (no tier points available on BA avios tickets).
Regarding the dreadful queue to check-in at the hotel, most of the big brand hotels I stay with allow to skip check-in and go straight to your room (mobile phone unlocks the room using NFC)
Looking forward to your next video!
Thanks! Very hard to stack flights on a Virgin ticket to the same extent as you can on BA/AA so a run is s tricky thing to engineer.... I will have to look into that hotel trick - although this was a clapped out old Sharaton that was a converted motel and I don't think the doors allowed it.....
Matt, thanks for another great and informative vlog. How do you know when you’re booking how many tier points you’re going to get?
Yes - tier points are very predictable. Avios are trickier to predict but you can get close. And both are confirmed on the booking once you've made it
Very nice. Good to take a look at BOS: I shall be there in a couple of weeks with a 7 hour overnight connection to enjoy which, given the price and/or distance to hotels I shall be doing the hard way, unless a last day offer materialises. Just back from a 1000 TP run which involved an overnight training session in MAD: unfortunately, I'd just dropped down to Bronze so had no lounge access to my following day's flight to get the final qualifying flight on a separate economy ticket.
Totally agree about having everything backed up onto dead tree. Haven't had to use it for a few trips, but good to know it's there. Lots of moving parts on these trips.
Overnights in airports is pretty hard core - well done for surviving! We kill a lot less tree these days than we used to!
I have found the Dublin run difficult especially returning the next day to LHR… I have a Dublin flight in October via LHR for about 1500 business class plus mr Dublin so 1600 not bad, as CA is free… I don’t know is I could do four legs though. American changed my last flight 4 times nightmare. So happy days
American does like to tinker with their schedules! I'd have happily popped an Alaskan leg in to mix things up but as this began and ended in LAX that wasn't an option this time
Great content as always Matt. Thank you. You forgot to mention in the vid, that Hotel shuttle pick-ups at LAX are on the upper (departure) level. Car hire, local busses, uber & personal car pick-ups are downstairs at arrivals. I will very seriously be looking at one of these runs to LAX later this or early next yr for one of my solo trips without the wife. (she don't like changing flights).
I am still yet to get my head around the IAG matrix. I have never booked anywhere other than BA and their website. So it will be something new. The main reason is that all my trips normally include a car, so it is linked to BA holidays. (double tier points). Thats what got me up to GGL. I'm thinking maybe November of Febuary for my tier point run, during my Executive membership year transition period. Any tips?? Regards. Paul.
If you book 5 days with a car (or a hotel) that's superb - even if it is a little more expensive starting from within the UK. And you need to have a "deep and meaningful" conversation with the wife - LHR - LAX is 140 tier points... LHR-JFK-LAX is 280 and you get to experience the flagship lounge! Getting to GGL is quite an achievement so well done there - time in the CCR convinces most spouses in my experience! Get a pencil and paper to work out the impact of the conversion before booking the next trip and you could double dip....
Always good content, I ve changed from flying SAS to Ba because of these videos. I was wondering if you could make a video on where it be best to move. AMEX points to? I have 150k and heard Virgin is the best value on return
I think the answer to the MR part is anywhere you're going to get good value.... Virgin tends to have a lower points / higher taxes pricing than BA so if you are short of points they are a good option.... Very rare for a bonus to be offered on transferring them out (unlike the US) but if one does crop up, that would be the very best option
Matt, as always another good video and I have considered doing a TP run but having seen you do it for real I think I’m gonna take a raincheck. BTW like you I have GE but didn’t appreciate that when you renew your ESTA you have to do your fingerprints all over again - quick question do you still go through the GE lane but instead of waving you through they call you to the desk to fingerprint you? Also is it “fair” to have to renew an ESTA when you have been approved for GE which lasts for 5 years unlike an ESTA? Just a thought - keep up the good work Ian
Having a new ESTA slowed me down by perhaps 2 minutes - still really quick with GE and you do still use the GE lane. And I don't really understand why an ESTA is still needed with GE but it is - behind the scenes it may speed things up but its not obvious to the user!
Enjoyable video Matt - decided it’s not for me!
I'm glad the video helped you decide that! It doesn't have to be quite this extreme, but it's always going to be a bit hectic....
@@MattsPlanet I’m sticking with BA silver Atm
In Dublin we just call them trips to America 🙂
Fair!!
I also liked the Steve Marsh shout out! did you use your positioning flight to DUB to get tier points? or did you fly Ryanair/EasyJet etc?
On this occasion I needed a handful of tier points to get me to the 1,500 so I bought a cheapo revenue ticket on BA to Dublin.
Matt a question not really related to this video, although it goes without saying I really enjoyed the behind the scenes info. Have you ever flown 1st class from LHR-ORD? If so is it worth the few hundred pounds extra. Apart from the lounge access at LHR T3, ( loved that video) what are the 1st lounges like at Chicago. I'm looking at a trip next March booked for the double tier points, either with a hotel or car hire as I have friends in Milwaukee and elsewhere. Would you choose AA over BA for a 1st experience.
Cheers
Steve. C.
I think we've blown it.
YNWA.
G'day Steve. Been a while since I was through ORD - as its
I really enjoy your videos thanks for your efforts !! Can I ask the following? On a tier point run you mention travelling with hand luggage only which makes sense however I have to travel with special mouthwash and toothpaste due to a medical condition. Therefore I pack it into hold luggage problem solved but does cause an issue on a tier point run. In a scenario such as mine do you have tips ? I'd always be concerned about taking my special mouthwash and toothpaste through customs in case it's confiscated.
My only suggestion would be to decant the stuff into 100ml packages so it'll go through regular security.... Or find airports with the new scanners so you can take larger liquids through and stick with them - which will be tricky for a few years yet sadly
You sound sooooo much like Tony Robinson.
You're not the first to say that!! I am quite a lot taller!!
Did you visit the other end of the lounge in Dublin (right from the reception desk)? They usually have more hot food there
I do know you can get between T1 and T2 airside but I remember it being a decent walk.... Next time I'll try!
@@MattsPlanet I mean in the lounge you went to. There's two sides - left and right of the reception desk. The bar is on the left side but there's usually been some hot dishes (but no booze) on the right side.
Dublin airport must be one of the worst international airport I've ever been to, the last we were there we still had to take our shoes off, it was a few years ago mind.
If you're there before 10am it can be awful - it calms down a bit later in the day... And the security can be a wee bit too thorough....
If I wanted to replicate that tier point run, what do I type in to the BA or AA or ITA Matrix website? I run out of number of flights to add. Is it by using routing? And when do I stop over vs. Change at an airport? Thanks very much for these videos.
The latest matrix video I made essentially found this trip - that shows step by step how to do it.... Search "return to the matrix" on the channel and it should be what you need
Hey Matt, bit of feedback, I don't enjoy the tease aspect. Please just tell us, what hotel it was..what you did in la, and in brief what went wrong. We are going to watch the next videos anyway and this will only serve to whet the viewer appetite and increase enthusiasm and hunger for next episodes of this series.
Fair enough! I don't much like doing it either... I actually went on a cruise.... And what went wrong coming back is quite a story so that's best left to the next one!
A little cheeky but I want to get to Silver - so where could I cut your tier run and would it be possible to get 300 tier points return with a car hire/hotel booking doubling it up?
The problem is that tier point runs to the East Coast aren't much cheaper than those to the West Coast... So DUB-LHR-BOS-JFK would get you 220 each way and adding a West Coast leg takes it to 360 e/w with virtually the same cost. So you rarely see East Coast tier point runs that make any sense. If you need 600 the advice is somewhere like Sofia - twice.... So 80 tps e/w double doubles to 320 as a holiday so two trips gets you there...
Did I understood you correct: You are flying to AMM this month? Direct turnaround or staying a few days? It's also a great tier point location for miles&more (cause it counts as intercontinental)
LHR-AMM-DOH-BKK - completed it as I type and it was great fun... Not super easy on the body but I had time to recover in Bangkok! Stay tuned for the videos!
@@MattsPlanet good to hear Matt. I am also in Bangkok in one week again. looking forward.. Will achive my Lufthansa HON status this year. 6000 TP in a calendar year (200 per long haul BC leg) is a little bit more to fly than for BA Gold ;-) AMM is a nice sweet spot for that. a return from LHR gives you 480 LH TP in Austrian bc. cost 600 EUR. Have fun in BKK!
15k subscribers special coming up?
I thought about it but decided to wait until 20k....