Tier Point Runs - 6 Points on Planning a Trip Arising From My Sri Lankan Experience

[@jimmyjames6492]

💯 - I always try to leave plenty of time between connections myself. Your Tier Point Runs are EPIC!!! Thanks for the info + video!

[@MattsPlanet]

Thanks Jimmy - I'm too old to take unnecessary risks these days!

[@jackculpan]

Super helpful Matt. About to tackle a 3x run on Sri Lankan. Wish me luck...

[@MattsPlanet]

Wow! You need to keep your wits about you doing it 3 times!!! Hope it goes well

[@jackculpan]

@@MattsPlanet Haha agreed. I'm secretly hoping for a cancellation so I can reroute to keep it interesting🤣. Thank you!

[@mikewarde2802]

I definitely echo your sentiments when planning a TPR, I always build a safety buffer in. So much can go wrong and does on occasion! Great video.

[@MattsPlanet]

Better safe (extra time in a lounge!!!) than sorry...

[@richardstreet7518]

Well done Matt... Inverness suits me as you know.. alwsys happy to help the channel.. 😅 using avios to up grade the LHR -AUH sectors from PE to Club is currently wide open.

[@MattsPlanet]

Thanks - Inverness for the win! New flight so lots of award availability - I didn't want to say it in the video so if someone watches it in 6 months time (when all the availability is gone!!!) I don't get grumpy complaints!!!

[@HannahMannah]

Another helpful video with some great tips for a massive TP run

[@MattsPlanet]

Thanks - good for the TPs and good fun too!!

[@bensmithson1773]

Great tip about checking which cities Wizz fly to Abu Dhabi from for low Etihad pricing. I'm seeing astonishingly cheap EY fares from Rome - as low as GBP67 one way on Etihad!

[@MattsPlanet]

Tempting...

[@wv_]

I ended up booking BEG - DOH - AUH for £950 a week in advance - 400 tier points. £1750 for 960 pts including Jakarta. I flew to BEG on Star Alliance

[@MattsPlanet]

That's not bad at all - hard to do much better per TP these days. Hope you enjoyed it too!

[@timtony7153]

Hi Matt, As always, a great informative video on your part, miles ahead on other,......more popular......youtubers. I think it would be great for you, as a clear spreadsheet hero to see if doing these tier point runs is even worth it for the occasional flyer. What I mean is, is spending £1000 worth to get to silver if you only fly 3 or 4 times a year, 50% in economy, and 50% in business as a little treat! It would be very interesting to have a video on the point where mileage runs are becoming value vs just using the same amount of money to upgrade your Y ticket on the occasion you use the alliance for your flights. As benefits are being" enhanced away after listening to their customers" I do not think just chasing status to have it is the right strategy for all! And this is the point that is never investigated. Online on youtube status is What everyone needs,....I am not so sure As always, great content, big fan T

[@MattsPlanet]

That's not a bad idea.... A break even analysis cross-bred with a KZbin video... I've never seen one like that before!!!

[@timtony7153]

@@MattsPlanet sounds like a puppy that will never end up in the kennels to me!!!

[@MattsPlanet]

@@timtony7153 I'd adopt it if it was!

[@adrias78]

Hi Matt, Thank you for the great content and entertainment. I also would like to see such an analysis when it makes sense to run for a gold status or silver would be beneficial. Together with my wife we usually have 3-4 intra European trips and one long transatlantic flight per year. In that case I believe the silver status providing us most of the value and the investment for gold can be rather used for business class trips, which can also contribute to the silver status renewal. My personal idea is to start with 3 business class trips in the first few months right after when TP collection starts, get the silver status and enjoy the remaining 1.5 years with silver status using economy class. Is that make sense? Thanks again for this channel and sharing valuable information for us!

[@ukdavepianoman]

I'm in! I visit Abu Dhabi a lot so the AUH-CMB-CGK route would be a great TPR (and i've never been to Indonesia, so that's an added bonus). I'm willing to let the £/TP ratio slip a little e.g. with hotel in Jakarta to make for a more interesting trip/vacation. Great video as always - such really useful information.

[@MattsPlanet]

Thanks Dave. It's a fun trip!

[@dospalmascb]

Surely just booking a hotel in Abu Dhabi for 5 nights is the answer. LHr-Inv-LHR Abu Dhabi Check in to hotel , fly the sri lankan legs, stay in the hotel on your return to Abu Dhabi then return to LHR-InV-LHR ? or am i missing something? I had wondered about this after your last video but I can't remember if i mentioned it. Another intersting video Matt. Thanks

[@MattsPlanet]

Indeed - that should (in theory) work well. I believe cars are inexpensive in Abu Dhabi and the hotel I stayed in was

[@JamesAidan-s7o]

My thoughts too!

[@immiPlanet]

Great video as ever. Rome to Abu Dhabi for £150 is hard to believe but true.

[@MattsPlanet]

Crazy... Almost worth doing even if you're not running on to Jakarta!

[@t288msd]

excellent info Matt.thanks More tier point run videos please

[@MattsPlanet]

Roger!

[@Glasgowwill]

Hi Matt, really love your videos and very educational. CAn I ask, is this points run worth it if I am chasing a tier renewal with Qatar do you know, please?

[@MattsPlanet]

Don't know that much about the Qatar scheme to be honest.... But in all programs there's a travel requirement for status and clever ways of getting the points at a relatively low cost so I'm sure it could be worth it

[@MoQureshi-ti1nj]

I am sticking around lol Thank you :)

[@MattsPlanet]

Thanks for watching!

[@GG-hi5if]

Even though not optimal, I agree that flying from one of the UK regions in economy/PE is best. Getting the 4/4 BA flights allows you to go for other Ow carriers for the remainder of the year beyond BA/IB. I will hit 610 tps this year so no need to chase gold but I am definitely looking at MAN LHR AUH CMB CGK to net me 610 tps again.

[@MattsPlanet]

It's a pretty good way of getting the status.... Fun too!

[@obdev9473]

Thanks Matt, all useful stuff again. RJ is another OneWorld option to the UAE if you can find a decent fare, perhaps ex-EU as they serve several European cities. AT (guess the airline) is an OW oddball if I'm visiting the missus at her winter lodgings. And according to my meagre Arabic, Abu means father.

[@MattsPlanet]

Thanks - I've seen some respectable RJ fares through to Asia (BKK mainly) but not to the middle east... Keen to fly them though... And how did RAM end up with the code AT???

[@obdev9473]

@@MattsPlanet Wikipedia suggests RAM was previously know as Air Atlas.

[@MattsPlanet]

@@obdev9473 Good detective work!

[@alannicol1223]

Doing this TP run on the 7th after being inspired by your video. Frustratingly the AUH to CMB leg has been cancelled and I’ve not a lot of flexibility regards timings so took their offer of an Etihad direct flight from AUH to CGK. Chances of getting an ORC for the TP and Avios I don’t recieve?

[@MattsPlanet]

Chances are good if its a last minute cancellation - if there's been a lot of prior notice, its tougher...

[@alannicol1223]

@ enjoying the Etihad lounge as we speak. Dreamliner lie flat bed tonight. Another bucket list flight with the added bonus of getting to try the new Zayed lounge

[@AftabKhan-yq5sk]

Matt I just booked FCO to AUH on EY for going nxet week and price was astonishingly low Eur190 in economy. It wll cost more for the LHR-FCO RTN..

[@MattsPlanet]

I was looking 4 or 5 months ahead and Etihad was quite expensive but the bargains are out there! That's cracking value for a 6 hour flight on a full service airline!

[@jackprentice1996]

Hi Matt, great video. I’m using the BA website complex itineraries section to try and look at the flights but whenever I enter AUH to either CGK or CMB to CGK nothing comes up? How did you book this on the BA site? Please and thank you.

[@MattsPlanet]

You probably can't book it on BA as its not capable of carrying a BA flight number.... I booked through the SriLankan website and added the BA exec club number

[@jackprentice1996]

@@MattsPlanet Ah right understood! Was that the whole journey or just the AUH to CGK legs? Thanks again, Matt.

[@jamespaul9929]

Im doing a back to back for the very reasons you state: Jersey to Belfast via LHR and return in a day-£300 for 160TP’s-can you just go to a new gate when you arrive in Belfast City like you can do when you arrive in Edinburgh? Any experience appreciated?

[@MattsPlanet]

Cheers James - don't know Belfast City well - went through it once and remember it being quite small, which means a turnaround back through security shouldn't be too bad even if you aren't co-mingled with arrivals. The place I always check suggests it'll be fine... www.flyertalk.com/forum/british-airways-executive-club/1964325-back-back-b2b-immediate-turnarounds-ba-destinations.html

[@andrewbell52]

Hi Matt, bit of a basic question but what are the real benefits of achieving status ? If you are flying premium classes, you get lounge access and a decent trip anyway. Silver gets you more advanced seat reservations than bronze or blue but on newer aircraft like the A350 there’s not much to choose from any of the seats (Never pay for seats of course ! )And even Gold doesn’t get you into the Concorde room . Check in and boarding can be quite random even with a premium ticket or status - does it make a difference? Is there a case that the right credit cards get you many of the benefits like 241 vouchers and lounge access for the same spend ? Genuine question, as currently BA only gets my redemption spend, cash tickets are with other carriers.

[@MattsPlanet]

Its a very interesting question and your analysis is good... Probably worthy of a video actually but for me its better lounges (the F wing at T5 is great, the Cathay F lounge in T3 is pretty special), plus extra reward availability and a few smaller on-board benefits (like getting the extra legroom seats when flying AA). But pragmatically, gold is not much better than silver outside of London and if you travel in premium cabins, status makes relatively little difference.... For those commuting in economy between London and Glasgow its a huge benefit though...

[@martinaussenhof2852]

Great video. Still not fond of the curtains though. They are way too short 😂

[@MattsPlanet]

I don't love them either! A bit too pink....

[@richardpickard2237]

I can’t get return flights on this Abu Dhabi / Columbo / Jakarta route for less than 13,695 AED ( £2,857)

[@MattsPlanet]

Indeed - pricing has been "enhanced" to a ridiculous level - far more than from other airports in the region - DXB is now around £1500 which is still not great... Hopefully a short term thing but I fear it may be a permanent adjustment

[@Niaphin]

Hi Matt Question about hold luggage on the 2 leg flight - does the luggage need to be collected and checked back in on the 2nd leg, or does the airline do this for you. And a follow on question, does hold luggage often get lost on indirect flights and if so, is it up to the airline to get the luggage to you once it eventually gets to the final destination leg? Appreciate your advice on these points 🙏

[@MattsPlanet]

No worries.... I generally don't recommend doing tier point runs with checked baggage as it adds another way in which things can go wrong.... But on a "simple" through flight like this on SriLankan I wouldn't be too worried.... As you're in transit through Sri Lanka the bags will connect straight onto the next flight - you won't see them. It's only (usually) when you arrive internationally and connect onto a domestic flight that you get your bags back, as the intermediate port is the point of entry into the country. Colombo is quite small and there's only one terminal so I'd say there's a low risk of bags getting lost, but if they are, the airline will have to reunite you with them. It might take a few days though...

[@Niaphin]

@@MattsPlanet Thank you for the advice Matt and by the way I really enjoy your content 👏

[@aviiiii1000]

Could you create a video on best European holidays for tier points coming up in the next 6 months or so?

[@MattsPlanet]

Not sure how interesting it would be.... Most places are 40 or 80 tier points away so there's not a lot of subtlety in how you construct a holiday....

[@streetspiritlondon]

Can I just clarify one thing with the Barclay avios card? Will I get my upgrade voucher if I spend the £10k within say 6 months or do I need to wait one year to receive it? Also if I spend say £20k do I get two vouchers?

[@MattsPlanet]

Once you reach the £10k spend, the voucher is available and you can get it if you chose. Otherwise it will wait until your anniversary and be pushed to you. And its one voucher a year, although if you can get £30k through you can start with the paid card and downgrade to the free one once you've got £10k through then I believe you can get a second one in a year if you then put £20k through the free one

[@streetspiritlondon]

@@MattsPlanet thanks for taking the time to reply Matt. Discovered your channels last week and really enjoying them, find them motivational

[@redcomusic]

Oh dear, BAEC has got too many nooks and crannies to fuss over just for the slim chance of reaching elite status. But it makes for interesting trips and videos! - Red

[@MattsPlanet]

The rulebook of the game indeed is lengthy....

[@tonyferdaise5292]

Thank god the beard is back.

[@MattsPlanet]

I'd never have thoughts some facial sproutings would elicit such a strong reaction!

[@msdes82]

Dear Matt, Do flights on a Qatar airline plane when booked via the BA website and with a joint BA flight number count as qualifying BA flights for the status progression requirements even though its on a Qatar plane. Many thanks. PS my wife says please keep the beard, she likes it!

[@MattsPlanet]

Good question! You need to have the BA flight number on your boarding pass... If you fly on a QR flight number but it could have been booked as BA, that won't count. Needs to be the flight number you actually travel on. Hello the wife!

[@jeohist]

There's a broken timestamp in the description :)

[@MattsPlanet]

Well spotted! Fixed - thanks!

[@ydemel5373]

Why do you call them Sri Lankan AIRWAYS in this video and also on different occasions in the others? :)

[@MattsPlanet]

I can never remember which airlines are airways and which airways are airlines.... So I guess. And often get it wrong!!! Proof I am not perfect....

[@Daniel27600]

For some reason KZbin shows me that this video has 85k likes! What a funny glitch.

[@MattsPlanet]

I wish....

[@adenwellsmith6908]

Check the car out at the airport. Leave it at the airport.

[@MattsPlanet]

Indeed - I've heard that some car rental places will even let you park it in their lots until you get back!