Great Card If
- You fly with Aer Lingus and its partners frequently.
- You want to earn the Aer Lingus companion certificate.
Don’t Get If
- You rarely ever fly with Aer Lingus and its partners.
- You want a card that earns transferable rewards.
Aer Lingus Card — Is It Worth It?
If you regularly fly to Ireland to visit friends and family or are a fan of its Avios rewards currency, then the Aer Lingus card might be a good addition to your wallet.
With the card, you earn more Avios on all your flights and daily purchases, receive perks like priority boarding, get travel protections like baggage delay insurance, and can spend your way toward the Aer Lingus companion certificate. The card also does not charge you foreign transaction fees.
Aer Lingus Card Top Benefits
Companion Certificate
With your Aer Lingus card, if you spend $30,000 on the card in a calendar year, you receive an economy companion ticket good for 12 months.
The companion ticket is in the form of a voucher that can be redeemed for an economy companion ticket with a paid economy flight. This effectively works as a ticket that’s buy one, get one for you and a traveling companion that you have a full year from the issue date to use. Plus, you earn at least 30,000 Avios as well from the card spend needed to earn the certificate.
Priority Boarding
By holding the Aer Lingus card, you and any authorized users on your card receive priority boarding on Aer Lingus flights departing from and returning to the U.S. from Ireland. This allows you to hop on the plane early and get comfortable as you head off on your next vacation or return home.
Aer Lingus Card Protections
- Lost Luggage Reimbursement: If you or an immediate family member check or carry on luggage that is damaged or lost by the carrier, you’re covered up to $3,000 per passenger.
- Baggage Delay Insurance: Reimburses you for essential purchases like toiletries and clothing for baggage delays over 6 hours by passenger carrier up to $100 a day for 3 days
- Extended Warranty Protection: Extends the manufacturer’s warranty of items purchased with the card by an additional year on eligible warranties of 3 years or less
- Purchase Protection: Covers your new purchases made with your card for 120 days against damage or theft up to $500 per claim and $50,000 per account
Best Ways To Earn and Redeem Your Aer Lingus Avios
To earn as many Avios as possible, use your Aer Lingus card for as many purchases as you can, especially those that fall within its bonus categories of Aer Lingus flights and Aer Lingus partner flights, along with hotel accommodations booked directly with the hotel.
When it comes to redeeming your Avios, you’re not limited to redeeming through Aer Lingus. You can also move points between Avios partners, including British Airways, Iberia, and Qatar, which allows you to use your Avios to fly on a variety of Oneworld partners. This leaves you with a long list of the best ways to redeem Avios.
Alternative Cards to the Aer Lingus Card
For those who prefer a card that earns transferable rewards, giving them access to a wide list of transfer partners with which to redeem their points, the Chase Sapphire Preferred card is a fantastic option.
It earns you 5x points on purchases made through Chase Travel, 3x points on dining, gas and EV charging, vacation homes, online grocery purchases, and select streaming services, 2x points on all other travel purchases, and 1x points on purchases outside of these categories.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred card also offers great travel protections, a $100 annual hotel credit, access to bonuses when redeeming your points through Chase Travel, and access to Chase transfer partners, including Aer Lingus.
The Obsidian Card could be a great choice if you want to earn points each month on rent or your mortgage payment without paying a transaction fee. You can transfer Bilt Points to Aer Lingus or other great partners of Bilt Rewards, such as World of Hyatt and Alaska Airlines’ Atmos Rewards.
With the Obsidian card, cardholders earn up to 6x points at Bilt partner restaurants, 4x points on hotels and 3x points on flights booked through the Bilt Travel Portal, 3x points on dining or grocery purchases (on up to $25,000 per year, then 1x; you can choose the category once per year), 2x points on other travel purchases, and up to 1.25x points on rent and mortgage payments (offer terms).
Additional benefits of the Obsidian Card include an annual $100 Bilt Travel hotel credit (split into 2 $50 semiannual credits), no foreign transaction fees (rates & fees), and trip delay reimbursement.
A maximum benefit amount and certain restrictions and limitations apply. Please review the Bilt Obsidian Card Mastercard Guide to Benefits for details.