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British Airways launched its Autumn sale a few days ago and although at the time I only focused on the excellent long-haul First Class and Business Class fares that are available, it would be remiss of me not to point out the fantastic short-haul Business Class fares that are available and that will earn an Executive Club member an incredible 160 Tier Points in just one trip.
British Airways 160 Tier Point Sale Sweet Spots
Because British Airways awards Tier Points based on the distance of a flight, there are a number of the airline’s longer short-haul routes that award considerably more Tier Points that all of the others – while a London to Belgrade roundtrip (1,060 miles each way) will only earn an Executive Club member 80 Tier Points, the slightly longer London to Sofia roundtrip (1,271 miles each way) will earn a member 160 Tier Points – and these are routes on which prices should be keenly watched by anyone wanting to load up on some “cheap” Tier Points.
Right now, the British Airways sale is offering some very good Business Class deals on a range of routes that will all earn Executive Club members 80 Tier Points one-way or 160 Tier Points for a single round trip.
Here’s a selection of the best one-way fares I’ve found:
- Bucharest – from £117
- Catania – from £114
- Funchal – from £139
- Istanbul – from £137
- Kalamata – from £137
- Kefalonia – from £133
- Lanzarote – from £139
- Malta – from £118
- Paphos – from £124
- Preveza Lefkada – from £125
- Reykjavik – from £111
- Sofia – from £99
- Tenerife – from £136
- Thessaloniki – from £145
All of these offer fantastic value (the most expensive only costs £1.81/TP) but the standout fares here are the deals to Sofia, Reykjavik, and Catania where Tier Points start at just £1.24 each. If you were so inclined, you could actually use the amazing fare to Sofia to earn British Airways Gold status for well under £2,000.
The best way to find these fares is to use the British Airways Low Fare Finder tool which will show you the months in which the cheapest fares are available, but be aware that the length of stay you choose will impact how readily available the best deals are. Here, for example, is what availability is like for a 3-night stay in Sofia…
…and here’s what availability looks like for a 7-night stay.
One last thing to note is that these fares shouldn’t be viewed in isolation. Not only can they be a very economical way to earn Tier Points on a short break, but they can also be used as a great way to rack up Tier Points in conjunction with a great Business Class fare that originates in Europe. I’ve already written about a trip I booked earlier this year which saw me combine a great London – Sofia Business Class fare with an amazing Sofia – Los Angeles fare to earn a total of 880 Tier Points but, with great Qatar Airways Business Class fares available to Asia, these short-haul fares can also be used to link up with great deals heading East.
Bottom Line
With British Airways having extended most people’s status for a year this may not seem like a logical time to be considering how to maximize your Tier Points when you next fly…but it is. You may have status locked in for another year but the earning period for status for the following year will soon be upon you (if it’s not already here) so any opportunity to lock-in easy Tier Points should be seriously considered.
