The 7 Best Ways to Redeem Aer Lingus AerClub Avios
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Aer Lingus AerClub launched in December 2016 as part of the Avios family with British Airways, Iberia, and additional airline partners.
Avios is complicated — while the points are the same, which program they sit in influences your award ticket availability, options, prices, and booking method. You can be booking the same flight with your Avios and get 3 different Avios prices and fees!
AerClub uses the Avios.com website for all award ticket bookings. Compared to British Airways Executive Club and Iberia Plus, even flight availability can differ.
But complexity can mean opportunity if you take the time to learn!
The great recent news for U.S.-based travelers is that Chase Ultimate Rewards has now added direct transfers to Aer Lingus AerClub and Iberia Plus, in addition to previously available British Airways Executive Club transfers. Rather than the complicated and error-prone “Combine My Avios” process, these direct transfers are simple and instant.
We have previously highlighted the best ways to redeem British Airways Avios. Now let’s compare to AerClub Avios and see what values we can unearth!
Table of contents
- Aer Lingus Credit Card Partners
- The 7 Best Ways to Redeem Your Aer Lingus Avios
- Off-Peak North America East Coast to Ireland in Economy for 13,000 Avios and No Fuel Surcharges (Aer Lingus)
- Off-Peak Rest of U.S. to Ireland in Economy for 16,250 Avios and No Fuel Surcharges (Aer Lingus)
- Off-Peak North America to Ireland in Business for 50,000-62,500 Avios and No Fuel Surcharges (Aer Lingus)
- Off-Peak North America-Anywhere Aer Lingus Flies (Aer Lingus)
- Ireland to UK/Europe in Economy Starts at Just 4,000 Avios (Aer Lingus)
- Experience British Airways Galleries Lounge at London Heathrow for 9,000 Avios (British Airways)
- Flybe With No Peak Dates (Flybe)
- Guide to Spending Aer Lingus Avios
- Summary
Table of Contents
- Aer Lingus Credit Card Partners
- The 7 Best Ways to Redeem Your Aer Lingus Avios
- 1. Off-Peak North America East Coast to Ireland in Economy for 13,000 Avios and No Fuel Surcharges (Aer Lingus)
- 2. Off-Peak Rest of U.S. to Ireland in Economy for 16,250 Avios and No Fuel Surcharges (Aer Lingus)
- 3. Off-Peak North America to Ireland in Business for 50,000-62,500 Avios and No Fuel Surcharges (Aer Lingus)
- 4. Off-Peak North America-Anywhere Aer Lingus Flies (Aer Lingus)
- 5. Ireland to UK/Europe in Economy Starts at Just 4,000 Avios (Aer Lingus)
- 6. Experience British Airways Galleries Lounge at London Heathrow for 9,000 Avios (British Airways)
- 7. Flybe With No Peak Dates (Flybe)
- Guide to Spending Aer Lingus Avios
- Summary
Aer Lingus Credit Card Partners
Aer Lingus Visa Signature® Credit Card
Chase has launched the Aer Lingus Visa Signature® Credit Card. You earn 3 Avios per $1 on Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia, OpenSkies and LEVEL, and 1 Avios per $1 elsewhere.
$30,000 annual spend earns a companion certificate for economy class travel between the US and Ireland.
Chase Ultimate Rewards Credit Cards
Collecting Chase points by using a Chase credit card is one of the best ways to earn AerClub points, because Chase points are:
- Very easy to earn
- Transferable to Aer Lingus AerClub (1:1 ratio)
- Transferable to many other airlines and hotels!
Recommended Chase Cards (Personal)
| CHASE CARD | BENEFITS & INFO |
|---|---|
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card |
|
Chase Freedom Unlimited® |
|
Recommended Chase Cards (Business)
| CHASE CARD | BENEFITS & INFO |
|---|---|
Chase Ink Business Preferred℠ Card |
|
Chase Ink Business Cash℠ Card |
|
Chase Ink Business Unlimited℠ Card |
|
The 7 Best Ways to Redeem Your Aer Lingus Avios
1. Off-Peak North America East Coast to Ireland in Economy for 13,000 Avios and No Fuel Surcharges (Aer Lingus)
With the December 2016 launch of Aer Lingus AerClub, British Airways moved Boston 14 miles west on its Avios award chart. This means the famous ultra-cheap Boston to Dublin award is no more.
Most of the year is off-peak for Aer Lingus, except summer months and some dates around Christmas and New Year’s — this is many fewer peak dates than British Airways or Iberia. For an off-peak ticket, it’ll only cost you 13,000 Avios!
Aer Lingus is expanding U.S. East Coast capacity to:
- Boston (14 per week)
- Hartford (7 per week)
- New York (21 per week)
- Philadelphia (4 per week)
- Washington (7 per week)
- Toronto (7 per week)
2. Off-Peak Rest of U.S. to Ireland in Economy for 16,250 Avios and No Fuel Surcharges (Aer Lingus)
Beyond the U.S. East Coast, other North America-Dublin routes top out at 16,250 Avios.
Seattle flights launch in May 2018!
Services will be:
- Orlando (4 per week)
- Miami (3 per week)
- Chicago (14 per week)
- Seattle (4 per week)
- Los Angeles (7 per week)
- San Francisco (7 per week)
3. Off-Peak North America to Ireland in Business for 50,000-62,500 Avios and No Fuel Surcharges (Aer Lingus)
While not the bargain basement deal of economy, off-peak North America-Ireland business class goes for 50,000 Avios from the East Coast and 62,500 Avios elsewhere.
This is competitive with other frequent flyer programs…but when you add onward connections to the UK and Europe, prices become less competitive.
4. Off-Peak North America-Anywhere Aer Lingus Flies (Aer Lingus)
Avios awards are priced by distance per segment. A non-stop off-peak award from Boston-Dublin costs 13,000 Avios in economy. Adding a connection on Aer Lingus can add as little as 4,000 Avios to the total one-way price!
Aer Lingus flies to many popular Mediterranean destinations. Many of these will still cost less than the typical 30,000 miles from North America-Europe charged by most other airlines.
Explore the Aer Lingus route map here.
5. Ireland to UK/Europe in Economy Starts at Just 4,000 Avios (Aer Lingus)
Ireland to UK/Europe starts at just 4,000 Avios peak and 4,500 Avios off-peak. Always compare to cash tickets, though, because intra-Europe flights can be quite cheap — they might not even be much more than the award ticket taxes and surcharges.
6. Experience British Airways Galleries Lounge at London Heathrow for 9,000 Avios (British Airways)
Book a British Airways flight from London Heathrow for as little as 9,000 Avios and experience the British Airways Galleries Lounge before departure.
Book a short-distance business class award flight on British Airways to gain Galleries access. You can also connect in London as long as your onward flight from London is British Airways.
If you book an Aer Lingus flight, they have their own lounge, and because Aer Lingus is not a Oneworld member, you cannot use Oneworld elite status to access Oneworld airline lounges such as Galleries when traveling on Aer Lingus.
7. Flybe With No Peak Dates (Flybe)
Flybe is a budget UK and EU airline that operates between many smaller cities that otherwise would need to connect in London or Dublin. See the Flybe route map here.
Most Flybe tickets are cheap in cash — you may even think they’re too cheap to use Avios points, because of taxes and surcharges assessed. Still, it is good to compare. The great thing is, every day of the year prices as off-peak for Flybe awards!
Guide to Spending Aer Lingus Avios
Traditional airline award charts are priced by geographic region. This yields the familiar 25,000-mile U.S. domestic round-trip award ticket.
In contrast, AerClub prices awards on 3 criteria:
- Distance
- Peak or off-peak date
- Fare class
Distance Zones:
AerClub has 6 distance zones:
| Zone | Miles | Examples (flying from Dublin) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0-650 | London, Edinburgh, Paris, Amsterdam |
| 2 | 651-1,151 | Barcelona, Berlin, Nice, Venice |
| 3 | 1,152-2,000 | Malaga, Lanzarote, Rome, Dubrovnik |
| 4 | 2,001-3,000 | N/A |
| 5 | 3,001-4,000 | New York, Boston, Chicago, Toronto |
| 6 | 4,001-5,500 | Miami, Orlando, Los Angeles, San Francisco |
Peak or Off-Peak Dates:
AerClub publishes its peak travel dates each year, and peak date award travel costs more Avios than off-peak. These are separate from British Airways and Iberia peak dates.
Regardless of whether you use Aer Lingus Avios, British Airways Avios, or Iberia Avios to book Aer Lingus flights, these peak dates always apply to Aer Lingus flights. However, each program may charge different amounts of Avios and fees, so always compare.
2018 peak dates are:
- December 16, 2017-January 4, 2018
- March 23-April 8, 2018
- June 16-September 9, 2018
- December 15-31, 2018
2019 peak dates are:
- January 1-6, 2019
- April 12-28, 2019
- June 15-September 8, 2019
- December 19-31, 2019
How Much Do AerClub Avios Award Flights Cost?
Combining the 6 distance zones and peak dates, you get the following one-way award prices:
| Zone | Economy | Business | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off-peak | Peak | Off-peak | Peak | |
| 1 | 4,000 | 4,500 | 7,750 | 9,000 |
| 2 | 6,500 | 7,500 | 12,750 | 15,000 |
| 3 | 8,500 | 10,000 | 17,000 | 20,000 |
| 4 | 10,000 | 12,500 | 31,250 | 37,500 |
| 5 | 13,000 | 20,000 | 50,000 | 60,000 |
| 6 | 16,250 | 25,000 | 62,500 | 75,000 |
What Airlines Can You Book With Aer Lingus Avios?
Instead of the Aer Lingus website, you book Aer Lingus Avios tickets with the companion Avios.com website.
With Avios.com, you can book the following airlines:
- Aer Lingus
- British Airways
- Flybe
- Iberia
- Vueling
HOT TIP:Aer Lingus is not a OneWorld alliance member, so you can’t directly book awards on airlines like American Airlines and Cathay Pacific. Instead, you can use the Avios.com Combine My Avios feature to move your Avios to British Airways Executive Club or Iberia Plus to book OneWorld and other partner airlines.
Aer Lingus AerClub vs. British Airways Executive Club to Book Aer Lingus Flights
You can book Aer Lingus flights with either Aer Lingus Avios or British Airways Avios. There are pros and cons to each approach.
| Aer Lingus Award Flights | Aer Lingus AerClub | British Airways Executive Club |
| Award Availability | Different/better | Different/worse |
| Online booking | Yes | No (must call) |
| Taxes and surcharges | Higher | Lower |
| Short-haul saver award (lower surcharges) | No | Yes |
Summary
Aer Lingus AerClub is a new, niche program in the Avios family, and its expanding U.S. routes increase options for trans-Atlantic travelers.
Direct point transfers from Chase Ultimate Rewards to AerClub make it easy to earn Avios. United Airlines flyers can also earn Aer Lingus Avios on United flights through their partnership.
AerClub award options are limited to only a few Avios.com partner airlines. To really maximize value, make sure to learn about the British Airways Executive Club and Iberia Plus for the best uses of your Avios.
This is good info on Aer Lingus …. except I’m having zero success finding award space on Aer Lingus. When I search on Avios.com for a route that I *know* AerLingus runs (IAD-DUB), the only award space is BA, which has stupid fees. Is there any way to look for *only* Aer Lingus space?
@Kenneth Blakely – we are seeing Aer Lingus availability on that route on sample searches such as late September. Unfortunately, the avios.com site does not have a filter to search by airline. You’ll have much more success with Off-Peak dates than Peak.