 Poster: A snowHead
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A public service announcement, but a bit of a specialist interest, I've just gotten some relatively* cheap LHR-GVA Club Europe** tickets from BA for the week before Christmas December 2023 in their Exec Club sale that I believe ends tomorrow. Worth a perusal for anyone who has managed to convince Mum that December skiing is a runner as long as she doesn't have to go. Will choose the resort at the last minute.
* For BA, anyway.
** Club Europe is outstanding for BA Exec Club tier points, and with the post Covid collapse of business travel, the primary way I maintain status.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Dyrlac, define cheap. 
And over what days does it look good? 16 to 23 or 17 to 24? Or other combinations?
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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| ster wrote: |
@Dyrlac, define cheap.
And over what days does it look good? 16 to 23 or 17 to 24? Or other combinations? |
When it comes to skiing*, you cannot accuse me of flinging nickels around like manhole covers (does that Americanism translate?), but c.£600 all-in return on saturday (16) to saturday (23) which in my experience is as good as it gets for club europe at that time of year for that routing. Maybe £250 less for full freight economy. Sure, could fly EZJ, but life is too short.
* I am actually parsinimous in other aspects of life.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Doesn't seem at all cheap to me for a very short flight. We are using Avios to fly to Venice in a month, £4.00 for 4 of us, and will get more legroom in an exit row seat than you do in CE. Maybe if you turn it into a BA holiday with a car rental and you get double tier points it would be a bit better, but still many better ways to maintain status IMHO.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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If you have status then flying CE is not much different to flying economy on the emergency exit row (only difference is the meal on the plane). I suppose the OP finds the 80 TPs for £600 useful if he needs to retain status this year (but even with the x2 BAH offer that is only 160 TPs so will need many more of these).
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@Yona,
CE does give you lounge access, a meal on the plane (& drinks!) + can make it easier for luggage if you have your own gear.
I cancelled my £2 avios flight today & recovered 39,000 avios. Then booked Business for 19250 avios & £100 using my 2-4-1 voucher.
£100 is worth it to recover the 20,000 avios + the lounge access + the inflight meals + the extra baggage allowance as we take our own gear.
Oh & fast track checkin as well as fast track lane once returning to the UK
next year plan is 2-4-1 voucher to Japan Business class 200k & £1,1000 if my calcs are right.
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| Dyrlac wrote: |
A public service announcement, but a bit of a specialist interest, I've just gotten some relatively* cheap LHR-GVA Club Europe** tickets from BA for the week before Christmas December 2023 in their Exec Club sale that I believe ends tomorrow. Worth a perusal for anyone who has managed to convince Mum that December skiing is a runner as long as she doesn't have to go. Will choose the resort at the last minute.
* For BA, anyway.
** Club Europe is outstanding for BA Exec Club tier points, and with the post Covid collapse of business travel, the primary way I maintain status. |
90% of the time I use Avios to go BA Club, unless the cash price is very cheap. Have Amex BA and Barclaycard Avios cards plus sign up bonuses etc etc so have Avios coming out of my ears despite 3 or 4 return European skiing and city breaks a year.
Best way to get to the slopes with the baggage allowance if you have your own skis etc etc, and now a lot more flights LHR, LGW, LCY
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| Yona wrote: |
| If you have status then flying CE is not much different to flying economy on the emergency exit row (only difference is the meal on the plane). I suppose the OP finds the 80 TPs for £600 useful if he needs to retain status this year (but even with the x2 BAH offer that is only 160 TPs so will need many more of these). |
The delta from regular BA (in the sale, for this route, for those dates) is only £250 or so, which is a reasonable (in my mind anyway) amount for 65 tier points (up from the 15 you'd get for flying in the back of the bus) plus the baggage allowance (I end up checking 2 bags with my skis and civilian necessaries; boots and day 1 ski kit come with me in the cabin). You only need 600 TPs to retain silver, and 65 is a reasonable chunk of that for a short trip that I would have made anyway. CE as a product isn't, as you note, objectively very good (other than avoiding someone in the middle seat), but I do like silver status when flying with the hoi poloi (dedicated check in, priority boarding, BA lounge access (where they are better placed to sort things for you if stuff goes wrong), and bonus avios). For reasons exhaustively covered in other threads, as a Londoner, I'll only ever fly BA if I have any choice in the matter. And, every little helps in building up to 35k lifetime TPs.
But anyway, my point was if you have priorities similar to mine, that was a pretty good fare for the route/dates. Closer to the time it's more like £1000, which is madness.
Always in the market for TP accumulation strategies!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@Dyrlac, as a former gold card holder (soft landing to silver this year) here is how I did it.
Book biz and downgrade the price with AVIOS. That way you still get the TP’s and miles. Eg if I fly Gla to LGW or LHR i would get 3,500 miles back for a 5k AVIOS outlay.
From GLA to VCE it was 160TPs return so it mounts up.
do one TP run. I’ve never done one myself but people that did said one inconvenience makes a difference later in the year. There are some hot spots to get great TPS . Eg from LHR I believe that Malta is just over the line to get 80tps/leg so 160 in total.
If going long haul. Get a flight to Inverness (tax free airport so you save the money you would spend in a hotel) and then fly from there. Premium economy is a sweet spot for points/£
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He does flying to Inverness and then flying from there help?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Yona wrote: |
| If you have status then flying CE is not much different to flying economy on the emergency exit row (only difference is the meal on the plane). I suppose the OP finds the 80 TPs for £600 useful if he needs to retain status this year (but even with the x2 BAH offer that is only 160 TPs so will need many more of these). |
Less legroom in CE than in an exit row seat.... I can live without food for 90 mins as I shall have partaken of plenty in the lounge beforehand. I maintain my status with mainly longhaul trips for work where I add a car or hotel to get the double points. Horses for courses etc, this year mrsendo and myself will have to work a little harder to maintain Gold as the threshold is back up to normal, but we've enjoyed the benefits. Silver is a very useful level to be at .
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| Dyrlac wrote: |
| Always in the market for TP accumulation strategies! |
https://speedbird.online/fares.php?view=LowestFares&Selection=Lowest_Fares_Tier
Take 2 trips to Bulgaria, combine with a rental car/hotel to get the double tier points, and you've got silver status for the next couple of years. £500 for double baggage allowance, fast track, lounge access etc.
Or 1 trip to US west coast, breaking the journey at JFK, with a car rental, + 1 trip to Bulgaria, and you've hit gold.
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| zikomo wrote: |
| He does flying to Inverness and then flying from there help? |
I believe you get TP points for each leg & BA do not charge for the UK connection in the UK to London.
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You know it makes sense.
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| Gored wrote: |
| zikomo wrote: |
| He does flying to Inverness and then flying from there help? |
I believe you get TP points for each leg & BA do not charge for the UK connection in the UK to London. |
Correct, and if flying long haul afterwards in CW then you get booked into CE for more points. There were some great fares out of Dublin last year that we used to get to west coast. Just need to keep reading and searching for deals.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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@endoman, we did see the Dublin fares to east coast USA and took advantage! Worth keeping an eye on.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I did something like this to renew BA Silver for 2 more years - a BA holidays trip to Sofia for 5 nights + car (didn't actually pick up the car) which cost around £350 and gave me 320 tier points. Paid for the hotel using IHG points.
The rest of the required tier points came from a business class trip to Bangkok with Cathay Pacific in December booked for around £1500 during a sale.
I always fly economy within Europe (either using Avios or cheap cash fares). The extra luggage allowance on BA for skiing and cycling trips, plus lounge access, seat selection, skipping the check-in queues... it's worth it for me for the moment.
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FAQ
and I’ve flown a lot. I learned a lot from endoman on FT forums 
