Tier Point Sweet Spots: Oneworld Flights Barely Over 2,000 Miles = 140 TP in Business Class

To get a frequent flyer status, most programs require you to earn a certain number of status miles. However, some programs, e.g. the British Airways Executive Club, rely on status points. In this case, Tier Points. Depending on the booking class and distance category, you will receive a fixed number of Tier Points. If you choose the right routes, you can secure the Oneworld Sapphire status very quickly.

The British Airways Executive Club has three distance categories:

1. Short-haul below 2,000 miles
2. Long-haul between 2,000 – 6,000 miles
3. Long-haul between 6,000 – 10,000 miles
4. Long-haul over 10,000 miles

We have put together the details for the calculation in our Tier Points & Avios calculator.

The sweet spot here is just over 2,000 miles (approx. 3,219 km). For a flight under 2,000, you only earn 40 Tier Points in business class. Just over 2,000 miles, however, you’d already get 140 Tier Points = 3.5 times as many!

Unfortunately, there are only very few routes that meet this requirement. We’ll tell you which routes they are:

British Airways

Choices are very limited with British Airways. Only flights from London Heathrow to Beirut and Tel Aviv are barely above the magical 2,000-mile limit and will get you 140 Tier Points in business class.

Iberia

Iberia flights from Madrid to Tel Aviv and Cairo are particularly interesting:

Finnair

With Finnair, you can even break the 2,000-mile mark within continental Europe when you fly from Helsinki to Lisbon or Malaga.

Royal Jordanian

It has already been shown that Amman is a good destination from Europe. It’s practical that Oneworld member Royal Jordanian has its hub there. On flights to Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris, Stockholm and Madrid, you’ll get tier points like on long-haul routes.

Royal Air Maroc

Royal Air Maroc has only been a member of the Oneworld alliance since early 2020 and operates its hub in Casablanca, Morocco. From there, flights to Cairo and Istanbul are particularly worthwhile. You can also score 140 TP on the 2,200 miles route to Malabo in Equatorial Guinea.

American Airlines

With American Airlines, domestic flights over 2,000 miles, in particular, can be very handy on the way to your status. Some routes are even flown with wide bodies, so that you can enjoy a real lie-flat business class.

Here are the suitable flights from / to the individual hubs:

Alaska Airlines

Alaska Airlines is a very recent member of the Oneworld alliance and, just like American Airlines, there are many domestic flights that are just over the magical 2,000-mile limit (up to approx. 2,500 miles).

Malaysia Airlines

With Malaysia Airlines, flights to Taipei, Shanghai, and Kathmandu are particularly worthwhile:

Cathay Pacific

With Cathay Pacific, flights to Indonesia are particularly interesting: Jakarta, Bali, and Surabaya are all just over 2,000 miles away. In addition, Sapporo in the north of Japan is also a good option, as well as India’s East Coast.

Qantas

Down under, long domestic flights with Qantas, e.g. between Perth – Sydney / Brisbane, are interesting. The airports of Broome (BME) and Tonga (TBU) are among the smallest settlements to appear in this list.

Qatar Airways

Qatar Airways has some destinations that are just over 2,000 miles. In principle, however, most of the destinations offered by Qatar Airways from Europe offer 4 x 140 Tier Points = 560 Tier Points for a return flight in Business Class:

SriLankan Airlines

With SriLankan Airlines, flights to/from Doha, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi can be interesting. There is also often a price war on those routes, highlighted by this mileage run.

Japan Airlines

Japan Airlines has a rather small collection of interesting routes. You can reach Bangkok from three airports (Osaka, Narita and Haneda), while Ho-Chi-Minh-City sees daily flights from both of Tokyo’s airports. The latter is actually slightly shorter than 2,000 miles, but gets rewarded with 140 nonetheless.

Fiji Airways

Fiji Airways is not yet a full-fledged member of the Oneworld alliance. However, you can earn tier points on flights from their hub in Nadi, too. Flights to Southeastern Australia are rewarded with 140 TP for a business class flight. Trips to Sydney and New Zealand barely miss the 2,000 miles threshold.