One of the best things about the Aer Lingus AerClub loyalty programme is that it uses Avios as its currency. There are multiple other ways to earn points besides flying with Aer Lingus, whether that’s flying with partner airlines or spending via the eStore. You’ll also find some very well-priced redemption options, particularly for cabin upgrades and transatlantic routes, with huge savings if you fly from Ireland vs the UK.
But how do you earn Aer Lingus Avios, and which redemptions are worth spending your hard-earned balance? Here’s everything you need to know!
Make sure you also read part 1 of this article, which goes into detail about the AerClub status levels and how the loyalty programme works.
In this post:
Avios Earning Airlines and ‘Transfer Your Avios’
Aer Lingus is part of the IAG Group, which also includes British Airways, Iberia, LEVEL and Vueling, all of which use Avios as their loyalty currency. Due to this, the ways you can earn and spend Avios with Aer Lingus are similar to BA.
This is a great feature. Despite Aer Lingus not being part of an alliance and having a smaller loyalty programme, you can transfer Aer Lingus Avios to BA, then to partner airlines via ‘Transfer Your Avios’.
Note: You can also earn Aer Lingus Avios with a variety of other airlines, such as United and American Airlines, if you opt to credit your flight to AerClub.
Earning Avios with Aer Lingus
There are many ways to earn Avios via the AerClub. Avios do not expire as long as you collect, spend or purchase at least one Avios every 36 months.
Flights with Aer Lingus
The Avios earning model on Aer Lingus flights rewards higher spend. You will earn 3 Avios for every €1 spent, or 4 Avios per £1 spent on flights (excluding taxes, fees and other extras such as seats and bags). You will also receive a bonus based on your AerClub status level, including:
- Silver – 25%
- Platinum – 50%
- Concierge – 75%
For example, if you book a Business Class flight from Dublin to Boston for €2,500 (excluding taxes and fees), you would earn 7,500 Avios if you don’t hold Aer Lingus status. However, with status bonuses, you would earn 9,375 Avios as a Silver member, 11,250 as Platinum and 13,125 as Concierge.
Flights with Partner Airlines
Aer Lingus has an interesting mix of airline partners. You can collect Avios with Aer Lingus when flying with AA, BA, or United. You just need to add your Aer Lingus membership number to your booking. You can’t redeem with partners directly via Aer Lingus, but you can, of course, transfer to BA and onwards.
Aer Lingus lets you earn Avios and Tier Credits on American Airlines and British Airways. United earns Avios only (no Tier Credits, and no ability to redeem).
When flying with partner airlines, Avios earned is not calculated the same way and depends on the airline:
American Airlines
Avios collected are based on your cabin and fare. This ranges from 25% in Basic Economy to 250% in Business Flex. This works differently for codeshares.
British Airways
The number of Avios earned is always based on fare type and distance flown (rather than spend). This ranges from 25% in Discount Economy to 250% in First, and even a higher rate of 300% in First with ticket class F:
United
This cross-alliance partnership is definitely worth knowing about. Earnings are based on cabin and distance, which is excellent for cheap tickets. This is something you can’t do with Iberia/BA, etc, so it’s a loophole which is yet another reason to have an Aer Lingus account. Credit to Aer Lingus, then if you like, you can use ‘Transfer Your Avios’ to transfer to other programmes.
You won’t earn Tier Credits, and you can’t redeem Avios for United flights, but it’s still a great long-standing partnership.
Banking and Credit Cards
There’s no official UK Aer Lingus credit card, but there are plenty of ways to earn indirectly. The only direct UK banking partner is Revolut. You can transfer RevPoints at a rate of 1:1. There are often transfer bonuses running too (e.g., 20% more Avios).
However, you can transfer Avios from any British Airways banking/credit card partners, such as AMEX and HSBC Rewards, into your BA account and use ‘Transfer Your Avios’ to transfer into your Aer Lingus account.
Make sure you read our guides to the AMEX Preferred Rewards Gold Card and the AMEX Platinum (plus AMEX Platinum hotel benefits). You may also enjoy our guide to collecting Avios with Barclays.
If you have been a resident in the Republic of Ireland for 6 months or more, you’re in luck, as the Bank of Ireland offers an Aer Lingus credit card for €78.
Each year, you receive two:
- Return flights to Europe when you spend €5,000
- Lounge passes for Dublin, Cork or Shannon lounges
- Fast Track and priority boarding passes at selected Irish airports
Hotels
Aer Lingus has a range of hotel partners. To earn Avios, you need to book via the eStore. View the eStore here
| Hotel / Partner | Earn Rate (per €1) – Non Promo Rate |
|---|---|
| Avios Hotels | 10 – via Avios hotels not eStore |
| Booking.com IE | 4 |
| Hotels.com IE | 4 |
| Agoda IE | 6 |
| IHG Hotels & Resorts IE | Up to 3 |
| Marriott Bonvoy | 4 |
| Radisson Hotels IE | 4 |
| Melia Hotels International | 3+ |
| Best Western Hotels & Resorts | 500 per stay |
| The Merrion Hotel Dublin | 2 |
| ebookers | 6 |
| Millennium Hotels & Resorts IE | 3 |
| Caesars Entertainment IE | 5 |
Car Hire
Aer Lingus is only partnered with two hire car companies. The most lucrative option is Avis, where you can earn 5 Avios per €1 you spend, plus a free additional driver per rental and 1,000 bonus points on your first rental. Budget is also a partner, but the earn rate is 2 Avios per €1.
To earn Avios, you need to add your AerClub number before you finish the transaction. This means you are choosing to credit your loyalty to AerClub rather than the car hire loyalty programme. Once you finish your rental, Avios will be in your account within 8 weeks.
Shopping
Like BA, Aer Lingus has an eStore, and it’s incredibly similar. There are hundreds of retailers, and you will earn a set number of Avios per Euro spent. You can also link your payment card to earn Avios in-store at selected retailers.
Travel Extras
Aside from shopping, car hire and hotels, the eStore has a huge range of partners where you can earn Avios, from Royal Caribbean cruises to Viator and Lounge Pass. You’ll also earn 1 Avios for every €1 spent on Aer Lingus Holidays.
Redeeming Avios with AerClub
Flights with Aer Lingus
The Avios needed for a redemption flight depends on the fare class, date (peak or off-peak) and distance flown (in miles). Aer Lingus has worked this out by grouping destinations into zones 1-6. Redemptions start at 4,000 Avios in Economy and 13,000 in Business:
| Zone | Example Routes | Economy (Off-Peak / Peak) | Business (Off-Peak / Peak) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zone 1 – Up to 600 miles | Belfast – London
Cork – Paris Dublin – Amsterdam |
4,000 / 4,500 | – |
| Zone 2 – 651 to 1150 miles | Belfast – Palma
Cork – Lisbon Dublin – Barcelona |
6,500 / 7,500 | – |
| Zone 3 – 1151 to 2000 miles | Belfast – Malaga
Cork – Tenerife Dublin – Athens |
8,500 / 10,000 | – |
| Zone 4 – 2001 to 3000 miles |
Dublin – Dalaman | 10,750 / 15,000 | – |
| Zone 5 – 3001 to 4000 miles | Dublin – New York
Shannon – Boston |
13,000 / 20,000 | 50,000 / 60,000 |
| Zone 6 – 4001 to 5000 miles | Dublin – Orlando
Dublin – Los Angeles Manchester – Barbados |
16,250 / 25,000 | 62,500 / 75,000 |
Pricing is often much better than BA and is worth transferring your Avios due to lower taxes. For example. When comparing a one-way Business Class redemption from London to Boston on BA and Dublin to Boston (18th November) with Aer Lingus, there’s a huge difference in the taxes and fees paid.
| Airline | Avios (One-way) | Taxes & Fees | Cash Saving vs BA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aer Lingus – Dublin to Boston | 50,000 | £158.60 | – |
| British Airways – London Heathrow to Boston | 54,000 | £381.97 | £220 |
On top of that, there are flights from London to Dublin available from £14 (Ryanair) on the same date (or £179 for Club Europe).
It’s worth noting that only a small number of seats are available for redemption, even if the Business cabin is empty. There is no bid option and no notion of whether extra reward seats will suddenly be released.
Part Payment with Avios: At the payment screen, there is usually a ‘Pay with Avios’ button where you can use some of your balance to reduce your cash fare. This isn’t normally a very valuable use of points in comparison to booking a full redemption fare.
Note: You can also book Aer Lingus redemptions via BA as long as the Avios are in your BA account. However, it’s best to transfer your Avios to AerClub first as BA’s taxes and surcharges are often higher, especially for short-haul bookings.
Flights with Partner Airlines
The process of using Aer Lingus Avios to book with other airlines differs slightly from that of many airline loyalty programmes, as Aer Lingus is not part of an airline alliance. AerClub currently supports Avios redemptions only for Aer Lingus-operated flights.
However, you can transfer your points to British Airways by using the ‘Transfer Your Avios’ function, then book reward flights from there. This means you can book with the same airlines you can book via BA, including Oneworld carriers and IAG partners.
Cabin Upgrades
You can use Avios to upgrade transatlantic Economy tickets to Business. Like flights, the cost to upgrade depends on the date and route. Aer Lingus follows its own peak and off-peak calendar, which has fewer peak dates than BA or Iberia.
Here is the current cost to upgrade:
| Route | Off-Peak Upgrade (one way) | Peak Upgrade (one way) |
|---|---|---|
| Ireland – East Coast USA & Toronto (e.g. Boston, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, Toronto) | 37,000 | 44,750 |
| Ireland – Longer US routes & Caribbean (e.g. Los Angeles, Miami, Orlando, San Francisco, Seattle, Cancún, Barbados) | 46,250 | 55,000 |
| Manchester – New York | 37,000 | 44,750 |
| Manchester – Orlando / Barbados | 46,250 | 55,000 |
To upgrade, you’ll need to contact [email protected] at least 72 hours before your flight, and they will check whether an upgrade is available. If successful, you’ll receive a new ticket. Upgrade availability is fantastic in comparison to many other airline loyalty programmes, but it’s a shame there’s no way to do it on the app. In essence, you could book a cheap Economy fare and upgrade for as little as 37,000 Avios.
Even if Aer Lingus isn’t your programme of choice, you can transfer points over from Avios-earning programmes like BA. The problem is that you’ll need to book direct with Aer Lingus, and there may not be availability, leaving you stuck in Economy.
The great thing about this is that even eligible Economy fares can be upgraded, unlike BA, which limits redemptions for some discounted fares.
Hotels and Car Hire
You can also spend Aer Lingus Avios on hotels and car hire through the AerClub eStore. This is generally poor value.
Air Passenger Duty and Pre-Clearance
As regular flyers, you’ll be familiar with Air Passenger Duty (APD). From the UK, you’re looking at £216 (2,001-5,500 miles, e.g. London to New York) and £224 for Band C (over 5,500 miles, e.g. London–Los Angeles). Many aren’t aware just how much cheaper APD can be when your departure point is out of the UK.
However, if you put the UK-Ireland hop on the same ticket before the long-haul, APD applies to the through journey. Flying from Dublin or Shannon rather than London can save you the UK APD. If you put your UK to Ireland flight segment on the same ticket as your long-haul, your journey is deemed to start in the UK, and APD applies to the long-haul sector. To get to Ireland, you can book a cheap flight from the UK, then start your journey from Ireland.
As well as a huge cost saving, you’ll also save time. Dublin Terminal 2 and Shannon have full US Preclearance, so you clear immigration and customs before boarding and arrive in the US as a domestic passenger.
Final Words
AerClub is a useful bridge between otherwise separate programmes. It’s not part of an airline alliance, but the earning and transfer partners make up for that, whether you opt to credit your flights to United (Star Alliance), transfer to BA and use the network of Oneworld and IAG partners.
Earning rates are straightforward, and they have some of the best-value Avios redemptions in the IAG network, particularly if you have the status bonuses which come with AerClub (25-75%).
Redemptions have particularly good value, especially for transatlantic flights and upgrades from Economy to Business, starting from 37,000 Avios one-way. Reward flight pricing is clear and predictable thanks to Aer Lingus’s zone-based chart. Unfortunately, upgrades require an email rather than bidding via an app. If upgrade space isn’t available, you’re stuck in Economy with no waitlist option.
If you collect Avios or earn/redeem miles with Oneworld airlines, it’s worth having an Aer Lingus account to take advantage of the ability to transfer points if you find a good deal. Just remember that to spend with partner airlines like BA or Qatar, you’ll need to transfer Avios out first, as AerClub redemptions are limited to Aer Lingus flights.
If LHR and LGW are hard for you to get to, flying via Dublin or Shannon from your local airport could be a practical option. Flying from Dublin also gives you access to US PreClearance, and you’ll save on APD.
If you’re unsure whether the Aer Lingus loyalty programme is right for you, make sure you read our AerClub loyalty programme guide to find out how to earn top-tier status for just £2,556.
Make sure you read our other guides to earning and spending airline currency:
