Perhaps the biggest downside living in Ireland for me is the lack of an airline branded credit card to earn frequent flyer points. For people into the miles and points scene, this is a great way to rack up a lot of miles for later redemption.
There are other ways to earn lots of points, which I have to do because there is simply no other alternative. Let’s have a look and see what they are.
Branded Credit Card
Aer Lingus is the flag carrier of Ireland, and their AerClub uses Avios points as the currency. There is no credit card in Ireland, as I mentioned. Guess what though? They do have a credit card, the kicker is that it is only available for residents of the United States.
Other Ways To Earn
Hotel booking sites Kaligo and Rocketmiles have been responsible for netting me tens of thousands of Avios. When their pricing is the same or similar to booking directly, I’ll go through them for the bonus points. They are trustworthy and I’ve never had any issues.
Earning points on day to day spend is possible. When I lived in the UK, I had a Tesco Clubcard and converted my shopping points to British Airways Avios. In Ireland, I shop mainly at SuperValu and convert my points to Aer Lingus Avios. It’s not much, but it all adds up.
Finally, while there’s no branded credit card, I can still earn my miles the old fashioned way. Yes, that’s right – paying for my airline tickets and earning the points from flights. It is the main way I earn all my points, and it really influences my booking decisions.
Overall Thoughts
Hopefully one day Aer Lingus will partner with an Irish bank and offer a branded card to the local market. It’s something I would certainly be interested in, especially if it was with a big bank, like AIB. Hint, hint.
Regardless of that, there are still many ways to earn miles and points. My recommendation for Irish people – and others in a similar situation – is keep an eye on every avenue that can earn and relentlessly focus on them. You can still come out with lots of points to play with.
What do you think of the lack of a branded credit card? Does it affect you? What are your strategies for earning frequent flyer miles? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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Featured image via Chris Lofting via Wikimedia Commons, also found at Airliners.net
It’s not as good in the U.K. as it used to be since the cap on interchange fees. Quite a few cards have been withdrawn from the market, though there still a few decent options. Amex still offer some good cards – are they available in Ireland as well?
True, I’ve seen the UK market shrink with several cards being withdrawn. American Express is available in Ireland, however it is only the standard green or gold card. We have no co-branded Amex cards such as the various BA Amex cards in the UK. That is actually the only way to earn, by doing so through Membership Rewards, but as it’s not co-branded, earning rates are low, no bonuses etc.
Amex Gold and BA cards my go to options at mo. Having said that, the way the Brexit negotiations are going I’ll end up having to use the points to buy food once we crash out of the EU on a no deal basis…..
I know, Brexit isn’t looking particularly appealing, though as an outsider, it never did. Good you still have options though! I’ll be jumping on those if I end up in the UK with work, that’s for sure!
It’s the stuff of madness, Trent – unbelievable stupidity and quite a nasty racist undertone to a lot of the debate. Anyway, just want to say that I always look forward to your articles – a nice mixture of reviews, news and history – consistently insightful and enjoyable. Keep up the good work!
I agree, from what I’ve seen it’s certainly been unpleasant in a lot of ways. Thanks for the kind words – I don’t often get feedback on what I do, so it means a lot to hear it. Really appreciate it!! 🙂