British Airways has an informal rule, called the 2000 mile rule, to denote whether a flight should be awarded long-haul or short-haul Avios.
Unlike Avios points which can be earned through a multitude of activities, Tier Points can only be earned through the pursuit of flying and are earned on all commercial BA and Oneworld fares (subject to a few exceptions). In very general terms, and in the case of British Airways, the longer the flight coupled with a higher the booking class means there will be a greater number of Tier Points rewarded.
In Short – The 2000 mile rule is what differentiates between a British Airways long-haul and short-haul flight.
- Under 2,000-miles you will likely receive between 5-20 Tier Points in Euro Traveller (Economy) and up to 40 Tier Points in Club Europe (Business) one way.
- Over the 2,000 mark, the figure jumps staggeringly, and you will earn between 20 to 70 in World Traveller (Economy) and 140 in Club World (Business) one way.
This rule applies across Oneworld when crediting to British Airways
If you are ever unsure, you can always check with BA on their Avios & Tier Point page
For Example …
If there are two destinations close together but one is beyond the 2000 mile mark, the earnings between the two airports can be quite different.
Take the below, for example, a flight from Hong Kong (HKG) to Tokyo (NRT) on Cathay Pacific will only earn 40TP in Business. By contrast, a flight from Hong Kong (HKG) to Sapporo (CTS) on Cathay Pacific will earn 140TP in Business while only being 489 miles apart from Tokyo
Hong Kong (HKG) to Tokyo (NRT) on Cathay Pacific Airways each-way
| Class | Avios | Tier Points |
| Economy lowest (K, L, M, N, Q, S, V) | 456 | 5 |
| Economy flexible (Y, B, H) | 1,825 | 20 |
| Premium economy flexible (W) | 2,008 | 25 |
| Premium economy lowest (R, E) | 1,825 | 25 |
| Business (J, C, D, I) | 2,281 | 40 |
| First (F, A) | 2,738 | 60 |
Hong Kong (HKG) to Sapporo (CTS) on Cathay Pacific Airways each-way
| Class | Avios | Tier Points |
| Economy lowest (K, L, M, N, Q, S, V) | 553 | 20 |
| Economy flexible (Y, B, H) | 2,131 | 70 |
| Premium economy flexible (W) | 2,344 | 90 |
| Premium economy lowest (R, E) | 2,131 | 90 |
| Business (J, C, D, I) | 2,664 | 140 |
| First (F, A) | 3,197 | 210 |
Short Haul Plus?
“Short haul plus” is for selected intra-Europe routes on British Airways. The benefit is that this is twice as many tier points as normally available.
On some routes, you won’t pay much more for a 80 tier point route than you would for one with 40 tier points.
Short Haul Plus Routes From London Heathrow
| Country | IATA CODE | Distance |
| Algiers | ALG | 1,037 |
| Athens | ATH | 1,510 |
| Bucharest | OTP | 1,311 |
| Catania | CTA | 1,230 |
| Chania | CHQ | 1,641 |
| Corfu | CFU | 1,277 |
| Dalaman | DLM | 1,758 |
| Funchal | FNC | 1,536 |
| Gran Canaria | LPA | 1,801 |
| Helsinki | HEL | 1,515 |
| Heraklion | HER | 1,689 |
| Istanbul | IST | 1,550 |
| Kalamata | KLX | 1,484 |
| Kefalonia | EFL | 1,374 |
| Kiev | IEV | 1,342 |
| Kos | KGS | 1,689 |
| Country | IATA CODE | Distance |
| Lanzarote | ACE | 1,697 |
| Larnaca | LCA | 2,040 |
| Malta | MLA | 1,307 |
| Marrakech | RAK | 1,425 |
| Mykonos | JMK | 1,589 |
| Paphos | PFO | 2,002 |
| Reykjavik | KEF | 1,180 |
| Rhodes | RHO | 1,745 |
| Santorini | JTR | 1,646 |
| Skiathos | JSI | 1,433 |
| Sofia | SOF | 1,271 |
| St Petersburg | LED | 1,317 |
| Teneriffe | TFS | 1,821 |
| Thessaloniki | SKG | 1,349 |
| Tirana | TIA | 1,182 |
| Zakynthos | ZTH | 1,407 |
Pair the above when booking flights to Asia – Maximise collecting points with connecting flights
Notable Exceptions to the rule
Exception 1
Algiers (ALG) is 1,037 Miles from London Healthrow making it the shortest flight to earn 80 tier points in Club Europe – surpassing Malaga (1,041 miles), Faro(1,064 miles), Dubrovnik (1,073 miles), Gibraltar (1,085 miles), Bari (1,086 miles) and Palermo (1,311 miles) who only earn 40 in Club Europe
Exception 2
Larnica (LCA / 2,002 miles) and Paphos (PFO / 2,040 miles) which are both outside the 2,000 mile marker only earn 80 tier points in Business.
Exception 3
Conversely, Moscow (DME) is the only flight under 2,000 miles to earn the higher 140 tier points in Business. Interestingly the flight to St. Petersburg (LED) only earns 80 tier points
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