Aer Lingus’ AerClub is a fairly new frequent flyer program that earns Avios. There are three Avios programs: Aer Lingus, British Airways, and Iberia.
Avios can be transferred between the programs and each program has advantages and disadvantages.
You can earn Aer Lingus Avios several different ways including flights on Aer Lingus and their partners, transferring from credit card or hotel programs, Chase Avios credit cards, hotels, rental cars, and online shopping.
Earn Avios on Flights on Aer Lingus
Aer Lingus awards you Avios based on the cash price of your ticket. You earn 3 Avios per U.S. dollar or Euro spent on Avios.
For example, if you paid $500 for a flight, you would earn 1,500 Avios.
You can also earn extra points if you are an Aer Club elite member.
Earn Avios on Partner Airlines
You can earn Avios by flying either British Airways or United Airlines. Avios are awarded based upon distance flown.
Most cheap economy fares earn 50% of actual miles flown, which you can calculate using this calculator or plugging your routing into GCMap.
Aer Lingus Credit Cards
Aer Lingus offers two credit cards. The Chase Aer Lingus Visa Signature Card for U.S. residents and the Aer Credit Card for Irish residents.
The Chase Aer Lingus card earns 3x Avios on flights booked with Aer Lingus, British Airways, and Iberia.
The card also gets you priority boarding on flights between the U.S. and Ireland and a companion certificate if you spend $30,000 per calendar year.
You can also earn Avios that you can transfer to Aer Club with the Chase British Airways Visa and the Chase Iberia Visa.
Transfer Partners to Aer Lingus
American Express Membership Rewards– You can transfer American Express points instantly to Aer Lingus at a ratio of 1 point to 1 Avio.
Chase Ultimate Rewards– You can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points instantly to Aer Lingus at a ratio of 1 point to 1 Avio.
British Airways and Iberia– Aer Lingus, Iberia, and British Airways are all owned by the International Airline Group (IAG), which allows you to transfer Avios between the programs if each of your accounts has been open for at least 90 days and have previous points activity.
Marriot Bonvoy– You can transfer Marriot Bonvoy points at a rate of 3 Marriott points to 1 Avio. Plus, if you get a bonus for transferring in increments of 60,000 Marriott points, which equals 25,000 Avios.
Heathrow Rewards– London Heathrow airport has its own rewards program called Heathrow Rewards, which is a 1 to 1 transfer partner to AerClub.
Hotel Stays
There are several ways you can collect Avios on hotel stays.
Marriott Hotels– You can earn 2 Avios per USD spent on their upscale brands (Westin, Ritz Carlton, Marriott, etc.) and 1 Avio per USD on their budget brands (Courtyard, Aloft, Springhill Suites, etc.).
For the hotel options below, you would forgo any hotel points or elite status benefits by booking with these third party hotel booking websites. However, these websites could be a good option for independent hotels or situations where the Avios you earn outweigh any hotel points or benefits.
Avios Hotels– You can earn 15 Avios per £1 spent by booking a hotel via Avios Hotels.
Agoda– You can earn Avios with Agoda’s Points Max program when you create an account and choose Avios as your preferred points currency. Not all rates qualify for Avios or qualify for different amounts, so you will have to click through to each hotel to verify the rate and number of Avios.
Kaligo and RocketMiles– Kaligo and RocketMiles are both hotel booking sites that allow you to earn Avios (or other airline points). The hotel rates are usually higher than booking directly with the hotel, so I usually recommend these websites for business travelers who are less price-sensitive and want to earn a lot of Avios.
To test each booking website, we did a test hotel booking for four nights at the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles.
In our example, Kaligo was the best deal, but I would still price out all four to see which has the best combination of price and Avios.
| Booking Website | Avios Earned | Final Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Avios Hotels | 11,140 Avios | $1,199.97 |
| Agoda | 9,150 Avios | $1,466.19 |
| Kaligo | 15,882 Avios | $1,200.96 |
| Rocket Miles | 18,000 Avios | $1,341.80 |
Shopping
You can easily earn Avios with online shopping via their eStore. All you have to do is click through the shopping portal before you visit the merchant’s website.
You can also double-check that you are getting the best deal with online shopping by entering the merchant into Cashback Monitor and comparing the earn rate to the Avios eStore.
Aer Lingus also partnered with several other merchants so that you can earn lots of Avios for those of you that live in Ireland:
SuperValu– SuperValu is a grocery store in Ireland that allows you to convert grocery points into Avios.
Shopping Malls– You can earn 5 Avios per €4 spent at Kildare Village (near Dublin) or Bicester Village Shopping Collection locations.
Appleby Jewelry– You can earn 1 Avios per Euro spent at Appleby Jewellers.
Travel Partners
Avis Rental Car– You can earn 3 Avios per €1 spent on an Avis car rental, with a minimum 500 Avios for 1-2 day rentals and a minimum 700 Avios for 3+ day rentals. Plus:
- Free additional driver on every rental for AerClub members
- Join Avis Preferred and collect 1,000 Bonus Avios on your first Preferred rental
- Rent with Avis 4 times in a calendar year and collect 1,000 Bonus Avios
Budget Rental Car– You can collect 2 Avios per €1 spent on a Budget car rental, with a minimum of 250 Avios per rental.
Viator– Viator is owned by TripAdvisor and is a website to book tours and other activities. You can earn 4 Avios for every €1 you spend with Viator.
Holidays with Aer Lingus– If you are starting your trip in Ireland, you can earn 1 Avios point for every €1 spent on your next flight and hotel booking with Holidays with Aer Lingus.
Other Ways to Earn Aer Lingus Avios
There are a few other ways you can earn Aer Lingus Avios.
The Economist– You could subscribe to The Economist and earn:
- Up to 4,400 for a one-year subscription.
- Up to 6,400 for a two-year subscription.
- Up to 8,400 for a three-year subscription.
International Money Transfers– You can also earn Avios with Midpoint when you transfer money internationally. You would earn 1 Avio for every €11 exchanged. You would need to go to:
- Go to midpoint.com/mpt/avios/home
- Select AerClub as your loyalty programme and enter your AerClub membership number
- Sign up and enter your personal details. Check your last name matches the name on your AerClub account and your personal identification.
Frequently Asked Questions
Aer Lingus Avios expire after not earning or spending one Avio within 36 months.
Yes. You can use the Combine My Avios tool to transfer British Airways Avios to Aer Lingus Avios if both accounts have been active for 90 days and have earned at least one Avio.
