I am not a fan of waiting – actually, I hate it. Aer Lingus announced the termination of their current frequent flyer programme, The Gold Circle Club, last year. The new programme, AerClub, was due to launch on 31 March 2016. As I outlined in a post in June, this never happened and the launch was pushed back.
Confirmation of Status
On Monday 14 November, I received an e-mail welcoming me to Green status in the AerClub. About time! The e-mail explained I am going to receive 250 Avios points to welcome me to the new club. In addition, I am going to receive some free tier points to help me on my way to achieving Silver status.
This is great and the e-mail ends with, “We’ll be in touch again soon to tell you how to activate your account.” People asking Aer Lingus were told that Tuesday, 29 November would be the launch day. That has come and gone yet again.
Secret AerClub Information
While waiting for a formal announcement, I did some investigation online. The AerClub thread on FlyerTalk does contain some additional information. A member called Snarrig found out in post 109 on the thread that 300 tier points were required to move from Green to Silver.
Tier point earning for European flights is found in the same post. Discounted Low Fare earns 7.5 per flight, 15 for Low Fare, 25 for Plus Fares and 50 for Flexible Fares. This is great since currently the lowest fares earn nothing on Aer Lingus. The free tier points given as a welcome bonus is apparently 60.
Earning rates are based on airfare and FlyerTalk member DELLAS posted the whole table on this thread. People will earn 3 Avios per Euro, 4 Avios per Pound, 3 per US Dollar and 2 per Canadian Dollar. High fare Business Class fares across the Atlantic will earn a very nice pile of Avios as a result.
Overall Thoughts
It looks like the waiting time is going to pay off nicely. The programme will reward all frequent flyers of Aer Lingus no matter how much they spend on their flights. It will be the first time that Ireland has an airline club that allows earning with non-airline partners and I am looking forward to this. The fact you will be able to transfer Avios between Aer Lingus, British Airways and Iberia will be very handy to maximise value.
My prediction is that AerClub will launch soon and tomorrow being 1 December would be a good time for it. Thank you for reading and if you have any questions or comments, please leave them below.
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