There is one single credit card in Ireland where you can earn Avios in the Aer Club frequent flyer programme. That is the Aer Lingus Aer Credit Card offered by Bank of Ireland.
Thus far I have avoided getting the card for a few reasons. That is not the financial institution I bank with, the card has a monthly fee, and the points earning is not super fantastic.
Aer Lingus Aer Credit Card
The card permits you to have two free return European flights each year once you spend €5,000 on the card. You also receive free Travel Insurance, two Fast-Track and Priority Boarding passes and two airport lounge passes, valid in Ireland.
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- It looks nice enough!
Points earning is 1 Avios for Euro when booking with Aer Lingus and 1 Avios for every four Euro on other card spend. It’s not the greatest rate at all, and that coupled with the €6.50 monthly fee put me off, especially as my current credit card has no fees at all.
So, What Changed?
Once again, Bank of Ireland are offering 5,000 bonus Avios for new card holders, valid for applications through to 16 February 2024. That requires a spend of €1,000 by 16 May 2024, which is a simple target to hit. I find it hard to leave 5,000 Avios on the table for little to no effort whatsoever.
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- Maybe I can use my Avios for a beach break!
I also want to see how the free flights actually works in practice, as I know they come from separate inventory to the usual. Looks like my mission is going to be to spend €5,000 quick smart to get access to that portal or however it works. Finally, as there is no Avios earning for grocery shopping any longer, I need to fill that hole and earn points somehow and this will be how I do it.
Overall Thoughts
It’s part curiosity and part pragmatism that has made me apply for the Aer Lingus Aer Credit Card. If I’m going to keep collecting Avios, I may as well use every opportunity to do so.
No doubt I’ll be back again to report back on the benefits and how they work. I’m sure there will be some interesting times ahead with this card.
Do you have the Aer Credit Card? What features have you used? Did you find it easy to use the travel benefits? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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Featured image via Flight Global.
I have used it for the past 2 years and find it very handy. The annual travel insurance included, the lounge passes and priority are super handy. Not to mention the two return flights – just have to pay taxes and charges once you’ve spent 5k on the card within the year of application and each subsequent year – it most definitely pays for itself.
For context, one of the reward flights, I flew Dublin to Athens. I paid €46.28 with taxes and charges, friend who booked the same flights paid nearly €400
Great to hear your experiences with the card. That is exactly the kind of value I’d be wanting to get from the Bank of Ireland flights, that’s for sure. It’s a real saving if you manage to redeem them that way. Thanks for that!
Is that €6.50 monthly charge on top of the Outrageous government €30 per year charge
Yes, it is indeed, which makes it even pricier than it should be.
I have the card and it’s OK. I hate the monthly fee and you need to use the card to get the benefits. When you book its very manual and you need to fill out a form and wait a couple of days. Pay the tax. The most frustrating thing is the ticket they give you must be the lowest category, no seats, no changes what so ever. I had to stay in BHX for 6 extra hours because they would not modify to an empty flight earlier. The lounge and fast track are always a nice treat. Just make… Read more »
I plan on using it for everything until I trigger the flight benefits and then see what I can do to get the most bang for my buck. I’ll use the points for reward flights, it’s what I use them for now, so that will continue as is. If it doesn’t work out well for me, I’ll cancel it, but I’ll see how it goes. They’ve offered the 5,000 bonus Avios I think twice before, so this is the third time I think. It was never provided earlier, so you must have had it a while. Thanks for the comment!