BA Tier Point Runs
BA Tier Points are like the golden tickets of the aviation world. The more you can get, the faster you climb up status levels, bagging increasingly enticing rewards. To maximize those chances, you’ll need to learn about runs.
I am a sucker for collecting points. Tier Point runs are flights planned specifically to rack up on points. Often, you can orchestrate these by simply tweaking your pre-existing travel plans — it just requires a bit of extra flexibility.
Simple things like where you stop over, how often you stop over, and what fare you choose all massively impact the Tier Points you earn. Get tactical on a single trip, and you limit the flights you shouldhave taken overall.
It’s easy to see why so many people are desperate to learn about runs, isn’t it? In this guide, I’ll teach you all about this sneaky trick so you can maximize your climb through BA Executive Club’s status levels. You’ll be bagging First Class lounge access in no time.
Snapshot OVERVIEW
In a rush? Not to worry; I can give you a quick summary with information you can use immediately. You won’t get all the tips and tricks, but you can nail an initial understanding of these runs.
Tier Point runs are an independently organized category of trips that have been given a nickname by frequent flyers. They are primarily centered around collecting points, so involve a few steps to maximize earnings. It’s a flexible type of travel style.
You can only earn these points on eligible flights, so it’s advisable to check the Flight Calculator tool before committing. Similarly, make sure you input your Frequent Flyer number correctly. You have to get savvy when taking Tier Point runs — this is all on you to organize and execute.
Always look at ways you could further optimize before you click ‘Book’. For instance, you could look at promotions like their double Tier Points holiday promotion. BA recently extended this to June 2025, so snap it up!
BA Tier Points: An Introduction
Before we discuss how to organize a run, it’s important that I establish your current understanding of Tier Points. If you don’t know all the ins and outs of this points allocation system, you could slip up organizing your run. Nobody wants to go through all of that for nothing.
British Airways runs a membership program called Executive Club. It’s free to join and allows you to collect Avios and Tier Points, redeem rewards, and climb through membership ranks as you go.
The Difference Between Avios & Tier Points
The first thing to understand is that earning Tier Points is totally different from earning Avios. The two have their own system and rules.
Avios
Avios is a reward currency you can earn and redeem across multiple airlines. As long as you maintain the activity of using or earning one Avios per 36 months, they don’t expire.
You can also earn Avios without flying, for instance, by booking an Airbnb or even a car hire. You can even earn points through eligible credit cards — meaning you can clock up your rewards with everyday spending.
Tier Points
In contrast, Tier Points, for the most part, are only earned through flying with BA or an eligible partner. I’ll revisit this with some non-flying tricks at the end, but, for the most part, you’ll need to take to the air.
Tier Points are status climbers rather than a reward currency like Avios. Different numbers correspond to different rungs on the Executive Club membership ladder.
You start at Blue, moving upwards to Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Anything above 600 points and 4 BA flights (or 50 BA flights alone) a year sees you reach the Silver level, where you receive complimentary lounge access. You’ll have to climb quickly, though, as points expire yearly.
This urgency is the primary reason behind Tier Point runs; flyers want to maximize earnings quickly. By organizing a savvy couple of runs, they reduce the often unrealistic demands of a large number of eligible flights.
Do You Automatically Earn Tier Points On Every Flight?
Let’s clear something up before we clarify what each status level gets you. You don’t automatically earn Tier Points on every flight, so move forward cautiously. You’ve got to make sure a flight is eligible.
You can earn both Avios and Tier Points through the Oneworld Alliance program. The Oneworld Alliance is like one big membership group that houses:
| Alaska Airlines | Iberia | Qatar Airlines |
| American Airlines | Japan Airlines | Royal Air Maroc |
| British Airways | Malaysia Airlines | Royal Jordanian |
| Cathay Pacific | Qantas | Sri Lankan Airlines |
| Finnair |
Oneworld Connect member Fiji Airways is due to join the Alliance fully in 2025, and Oman Air is set to be another new addition to the group.
But ultimately, even if you take tons of these eligible flights, you need to meet the minimum BA requirement to secure your membership level. For Silver and Gold, there are four BA flights. Don’t get caught up in clocking up points with partners and then get caught short on actual BA flights!
What Each Status Level Gets You
It’s good to establish why you should even care. And by understanding the different status levels, you can see exactly how many points you should strive for.
It’s helpful to see the breakdown of exactly how many BA flights versus partner flights are required, too. My personal goal for 2024-25 is Silver, as I really value lounge access, especially when trying to work from otherwise loud and crowded airport environments.
As a general rule, you’ll notice the biggest difference in your flight experience, aiming for Silver upwards, but hold your decision for a second. I’ll run through each status level and what it gets you.
Blue
Everyone starts on Blue. It’s a nice entry-level position, but you really need to move up from it ASAP if you want to see any impressive benefits.
You get saved seat and meal preferences and access to members-only sales. However, the primary plus of having a Blue status is that you get to start earning Avios and Tier Points. In theory, you could get a lot of value out of Blue from earning Avios for reward flights.
However, even if you just want to focus on Avios collecting, higher statuses increase your capacity to collect them by doubling or tripling earnings. It’s worth climbing.
Bronze
Bronze is a great step up. It’s where you start to see the bonuses drip in rather than roll in (like you do in Silver).
You’ll need 300 Tier Points and a minimum of 2 BA flights, or 25 BA flights in a single year. If you aim for the 300 Tier Points, you can earn these on as many partnered airlines as you wish.
Priority boarding and check-in are granted, and you get free seat selection seven days prior to departure. It essentially allows you to be more organized and, therefore, have a less stressful, more enjoyable airport experience.
Silver
Silver is where things get exciting, with complimentary business lounge access in airports worldwide. This means you get a luxury experience from the moment you step foot in an airport, with lounges typically including co-working spaces and buffet food and drink. There’s also an extra luggage allowance for free — always handy.
The catch is that you’ll need 600 Tier Points and a minimum of 4 BA flights, or a whopping 50 BA flights a year. That’s a lot, isn’t it? This is where Tier Point runs come in, so don’t worry.
Gold
If you can reach Gold with the Executive Club, you’ve made it in travel life. You’ve got First Class lounge access, which typically includes facilities like showers and extra inclusions such as premium drink packages.
You’ve also got a First Class check-in experience, meaning you’re the first on and off the plane in slick style.
To get here, it’s no mean feat. The value of this membership level is reflected in the fact you need 1,500 Tier Points and 4 flights with BA.
How To Use Tier Point Runs
So, you are finally ready to get cracking on organizing an ultra-lucrative Tier Point run. The best thing about this strategy is that you could easily earn over half of what you need to attain Silver or even Gold.
No matter how much you love flying, nobody wants to take unnecessary flights, be that based on environmental concerns or simply schedule demands. I know my eyes nearly popped out of my head looking at ’50 BA flights’.
Tier Point runs aren’t just about flying to earn membership rates, but about reducing the number of trips you must take for the same reward. It’s a savvy process where you pick a route that earns you an unusually high number of points. And yes, it does require some flexibility, but it also does work well.
There are two main ways to increase Tier Point earnings:
- Increase your fare class
- Increase your stopovers
On runs, these are the tricks you pull out of your sleeve. At a minimum, you want to be flying Economy Flexible(any of the lower rungs don’t earn enough to justify the extra legs). Ideally, you should be flying in Business Class.
There’s a vast difference between fare class earning capacities. Check this, for example, on a London to Abu Dhabi flight:
- World Traveller (Lowest): 20 to 35 Tier Points
- World Traveller Flexible: 70 Tier Points
- World Traveller Plus (Premium Economy): 90 Tier Points
- Club World (Business Class):140 Tier Points
- First Class: 210 Tier Points
Flying return from London to Abu Dhabi in Business Class would almost get you to Silver, while flying the same route in the lowest World Traveller wouldn’t even get you Bronze.
How To Maximize Earnings Based On Stopover Routes
The trick here is to plan stopovers. If you were going to fly directly, don’t. If you can, aim for long-haul routes, like London to the US or London to Australia.
For example, here is an example of what you’d earn flying return from London to Sydney with two stopovers:
| London to Abu Dhabi – 140 Tier Points ⬇️ Abu Dhabi to Hong Kong – 140 Tier Points ⬇️ Hong Kong to Sydney – 140 Tier Points | Sydney to Hong Kong – 140 Tier Points ⬇️ Hong Kong to Abu Dhabi – 140 Tier Points ⬇️ Abu Dhabi to London – 140 Tier Points |
That’s 840 points alone, which can increase if you book with their holiday promotion deal. With 840 points, you’ve immediately secured Silver status, and with the double points deal, you are nearing Gold status on just one trip. Impressive, right?
If you flew directly from London to Sydney in Business Class, you’d only earn a total of 480 points (240 each way). So, it makes sense to splurge on a few extra stops.
Let’s also consider the same route in Premium Economy for those who don’t want to spend on Business Class:
| London to Abu Dhabi – 90 Tier Points ⬇️ Abu Dhabi to Hong Kong – 90 Tier Points ⬇️ Hong Kong to Sydney – 90 Tier Points | Sydney to Hong Kong – 90 Tier Points ⬇️ Hong Kong to Abu Dhabi – 90 Tier Points ⬇️ Abu Dhabi to London – 90 Tier Points |
That would total up to 540 points – just shy of Silver status – plus extra through the double points promotion.
Needless to say, flying this route in First Class would blow your earnings out of the park. You’d earn 210 Tier Points a leg, totaling 1,260 points, with the potential to increase that by also booking a hotel through the BA holiday package.
How Effective Are Tier Point Runs?
Very. Tier Point runs are a fantastic way to boost your earnings without taking a lot of unnecessary or unrealistic flights. By combining different stopovers and upping your class (even by just a level), you can quickly transform your membership prospects.
One thing to note is that doing this typically requires a larger upfront cost, often upwards of $2,000, if not more, at a time. If you aren’t used to splurging on single flights, this can be a bit of a panic.
I’m passionate about savvy travel, and I can relate to feeling counterproductive when spending heavily on single trips. It feels like you’re going against the grain initially.
That’s why it’s really important to research flight eligibility and make sure you input all your membership details correctly. You’ll need an existing Executive Club membership account to earn, and all your information at hand when booking the flight. It’s a big upfront investment – high-risk, high-reward.
Overall, though, spending more on a single trip tends to work out more cost-effective than spending dribs and drabs throughout the year. That’s especially the case if you spend bits here and there without even earning a status increase. Don’t fall into that initial trap of thinking, ‘That’s too much on one trip.’
You Don’t Have To Sacrifice An Annual Flight Budget
If you’ve got lots more flights to fund that year, it’s also worth maxing out on Avios earnings on your run.
Strategies like booking accommodation through BA’s shopping portal and booking on an Avios-earning credit card will all rocket your earnings. Then, you can use the Avios to book reward flights later in the year.
Remember that London-to-Sydney Business Class run we looked at earlier? Well, here’s how many Avios you could earn in the lowest rung of Business fare:
| London to Abu Dhabi – 5,138 Avios ⬇️ Abu Dhabi to Hong Kong – 5,658 Avios ⬇️ Hong Kong to Sydney – 6,875 Avios | Sydney to Hong Kong – 6,875 Avios ⬇️ Hong Kong to Abu Dhabi – 5,658 Avios ⬇️ Abu Dhabi to London – 5,138 Avios |
That’s a total of 35,342 Avios in one trip.
This doesn’t include any accommodation earnings (you get 3 points per Airbnb booking) or extra points from credit cards, where you earn at least an Avios per pound or dollar spent. You can easily redeem these for future flights or upgrade to higher-fare classes.
I am a big believer in using Avios-earning credit cards, and if you’ve not got one yet, definitely research it. You won’t only get points for buying your flights, but also your accommodation, spending money, and even random things like shopping for holiday clothes. I noticed the biggest spike in my earnings when I received my AMEX.
When expertly planned and executed, Tier Point runs are the single most effective way to reach higher status levels in BA’s Executive Club. And if you plan them properly, they don’t involve too many sacrifices.
Can You Earn Tier Points Without Flying?
In short, yes, you can – but it’s tricky, and mainly limited to making the most of one-off promotions. Earning Tier Points without flying is not for the faint-hearted, although it’s a great way to bolster your points even further.
The best way to earn Tier Points without flying is through credit cards. Frustratingly, credit card earning gets you Avios, not points to climb up the membership ranks.
However, British Airways occasionally releases promotions to prompt members to sign up for or spend on specific cards. For instance, they recently ran a promotion on the BA Premium Plus AMEX card. Anyone who spent more than £15,000 before 21st May 2024 received up to 200 Tier Points.
Earning a lot without flying generally requires bigger spending. But it might be worth monitoring, especially if you’re a business owner with many outgoings.
To Conclude: Using Tier Point Runs
Tier Point runs are a smart way to rocket your earnings. It’s all too easy to add a tactical stopover here and there, and you can get enough return rewards off it to justify the upfront spend. Forget taking dozens of lackluster earning flights when you can choose one lucrative trip.
I’m planning a trip around Africa for next May, and I’m already researching ways to bolster my earnings. Flying into Namibia and out of Uganda is the perfect opportunity to squeeze in a Tier Point run, especially as I’ll likely need a repositioning flight anyway.
Definitely keep an eye out for ways that you can maximize your earnings on existing trips.
You’ll need to do a bit of research, but that planning time is nothing compared to how fast you’ll access a higher BA status. Working smarter, not harder, is the name of the game.
