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![The 6 Best Ways to Redeem Aer Lingus AerClub Avios [2023]](https://upgradedpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Aer-Lingus-Business-Class.jpeg?auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=1420&height=650&fit=crop)
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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 4 different Avios prices and fees!
AerClub uses the avios.com website for all award ticket bookings. Compared to British Airways Executive Club, Qatar Airways Privilege 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 Aer Lingus AerClub, British Airways, and Iberia Plus are all Chase transfer partners. Rather than the complicated and error-prone “Combine My Avios” process, these direct transfers are simple and instant. You can also transfer to Qatar Airways from Citi ThankYou points.
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!
If you spend $30,000 annually on the card, you can earn a companion certificate for economy class travel between the U.S. and Ireland.
Also, you will enjoy priority boarding for yourself and any authorized users on your account on Aer Lingus flights between the U.S. and Ireland.
Collecting Chase Ultimate Rewards points by using a Chase credit card is one of the best ways to earn AerClub Avios because Ultimate Rewards points are:
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The Chase Sapphire Preferred® card is one of the best travel rewards cards on the market. Its bonus categories include travel, dining, online grocery purchases, and streaming services, which gives you the opportunity to earn lots of bonus points on these purchases.
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If you’re looking for an all-around excellent travel rewards card, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® is one of the best options out there.
The card combines elite travel benefits and perks like airport lounge access, with excellent point earning and redemption options. Plus it offers top-notch travel insurance protections to keep you covered whether you’re at home or on the road.
Don’t forget the $300 annual travel credit which really helps to reduce the annual fee!
If you’re a business owner, see our list of the best Chase business credit cards.
One of the biggest sweet spots to use Aer Lingus Avios is for flights between North America’s East Coast and Ireland.
Most of the year is off-peak for Aer Lingus, except summer months and some dates around Christmas and New Year’s — many fewer peak dates than British Airways or Iberia. For an off-peak ticket, it’ll only cost you 13,000 Avios!
Here are some of Aer Lingus’s routes to/from North America’s East Coast:
Hot Tip: If you want to understand Aer Lingus’ route network in detail, check out our definitive guide to Aer Lingus’ direct routes from the United States.
Beyond the U.S. East Coast, other North America-Dublin routes top out at 16,250 Avios.
Even though the distance you fly can be up to 60% longer, you’ll just pay just a few thousand more Avios if you want to fly all the way to the West Coast!
Here are some great routes that fall into this pricing:
While not the bargain basement deal of economy, off-peak North America to 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. However, when you add onward connections to the U.K. and Europe, prices become less competitive.
Hot Tip: For more options, check out our detailed guide to using points and miles to fly to Ireland.
Avios awards are priced by distance per segment. A nonstop off-peak award from Boston (BOS) to Dublin (DUB) 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 to Europe charged by most other airlines.
Explore the Aer Lingus route map here.
Ireland to U.K./Europe starts at just 4,000 Avios on off-peak dates and 4,500 Avios on peak dates. 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.
Book a British Airways flight from London (LHR) for as little as 9,000 Avios and experience the British Airways Galleries Lounge before departure.
Just 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, the airline has its 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.
Aer Lingus Avios is different from traditional frequent flyer programs. By learning its quirks, you can determine when it’s advantageous to use Avios, and when you should consider an alternate program.
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 award flights on 3 criteria:
AerClub has 6 distance zones:
| Zone | Miles | Examples (Flying From Dublin) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 to 650 | Aberdeen, Amsterdam, Birmingham, Bordeaux, Bristol, Brussels, Cardiff, Donegal, Doncaster, Dusseldorf, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Isle of Man, Jersey, Kerry, Leeds Bradford, London, Manchester, Nantes, Newcastle, Newquay, Paris, Rennes |
| 2 | 651 to 1,151 | Alghero, Alicante, Barcelona, Berlin, Bilbao, Bologna, Copenhagen, Faro, Frankfurt, Geneva, Hamburg, Lisbon, Lyon, Madrid, Marseille, Milan, Munich, Murcia, Nice, Palma, Perpignan, Pisa, Prague, Pula, Salzburg, Santiago de Compostela, Stuttgart, Toulouse, Venice, Verona, Vienna, Warsaw, Zurich |
| 3 | 1,152 to 2,000 | Agadir, Athens, Bourgas, Brindisi, Budapest, Catania, Corfu, Dubrovnik, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Izmir, Lanzarote, Malaga, Naples, Rome, Split, Tenerife |
| 4 | 2,001 to 3,000 | Rhodes |
| 5 | 3,001 to 4,000 | Boston, Chicago, Hartford, Minneapolis, Newark, New York, Philadelphia, Toronto, Washington |
| 6 | 4,001 to 5,500 | Los Angeles, Miami, Orlando, San Francisco, Seattle |
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.
In 2020, peak dates are:
In 2021, peak dates are:
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 | ||
| 2 | 6,500 | 7,500 | ||
| 3 | 8,500 | 10,000 | ||
| 4 | 10,000 | 12,500 | ||
| 5 | 13,000 | 20,000 | 50,000 | 60,000 |
| 6 | 16,250 | 25,000 | 62,500 | 75,000 |
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:
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.
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 |
Aer Lingus AerClub is a niche program in the Avios family, and it has become a convenient way to access Ireland nonstop, as well as a competitive option for transatlantic travelers generally.
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 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.
Aer Lingus is affiliated with British Airways, Iberia, and Vueling, which are collectively members of IAG. All share Avios as their points currency, though each airline has its own Avios earning and spending options.
Though Aer Lingus isn’t part of an airline alliance, you can earn AerClub Avios when flying Aer Lingus, British Airways, and United.
Aer Lingus Avios expire without earning or spending activity in 36 months. You must collect or spend Avios to extend, including transferring 1,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points to AerClub.
You can transfer Avios between Aer Lingus, British Airways, and Iberia using the avios.com website. You’ll need to register accounts in both the sending and receiving program.
Depending on your country of registration, you may not be allowed to use avios.com to combine points, and instead might have to use the britishairways.com “Combine My Avios” tool. This tool is subject to certain qualification requirements, such as both accounts needing to have been open for 90 days and have previous points activity.
Aer Lingus Avios do not have a fixed value. Depending on your use, you may see between 1 cent and 2 cents of value per Avios point. Check out our latest points and miles valuations to see our calculation.
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Founder and CEO of Upgraded Points, Alex is a leader in the industry and has earned and redeemed millions of points and miles. He frequently discusses the award travel industry with CNBC, Fox Business, The New York Times, and more.
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