Avios Ireland: You can no longer earn Avios from the free Bank of Ireland credit card

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Aer Lingus recently launched its first Irish co-branded credit card with Bank of Ireland. We covered it in detail here. The general response from our Irish readers was underwhelming given the stonking €7.99 monthly fee for holding the card.

There was an alternative if you didn’t want to pay €7.99 per month.

If you had the standard Bank of Ireland personal credit card, you could also leverage this to earn a handful of Avios points on your day to day spending. This is because the Bank of Ireland personal credit card let you earn SuperValu Real Rewards points.

AerClub Aer Lingus credit card

You received:

1 Real Rewards point for every €1 you spent in SuperValu on your credit card

1 Real Rewards point for every €10 you spent elsewhere

With the 1:1 conversion of SuperValu points into Avios, this wasn’t a great return – 1 Avios point per €10 spent. The card was free, apart from Irish stamp duty, so it was better than nothing. For many people it was certainly better than paying €7.99 per month for the official AerClub credit card.

Unfortunately, Bank of Ireland and SuperValu are ending their relationship.

Bank of Ireland credit card

From 1st April, you will no longer earn Real Rewards points when you spend on a Bank of Ireland personal credit card. This closes off the only alternative credit card route to earning Avios in Ireland.

If you have this card, you are going to have to decide whether to give up collecting Avios from credit card spend or bite the bullet and pay the €7.99 for the ‘official’ Aer Lingus card – although unless your spend is high I doubt it will be worth it.

Want to earn more points from credit cards? – December 2021 update

If you are looking to apply for a new credit or charge card, here are our November 2021 recommendations based on the current sign-up bonus.

You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here. Here are the top current deals:

British Airways BA Amex American Express card

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up, no annual fee and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending ….. Read our full review

British Airways BA Premium Plus American Express Amex credit card

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the UK’s most valuable credit card perk – the 2-4-1 companion voucher Read our full review

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review

Earning miles and points from small business cards

If you are a sole trader or run a small company, you may also want to check out these offers.

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and free for a year Read our full review

American Express Business Platinum

40,000 points sign-up bonus and a long list of travel benefits Read our full review

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa

The most generous Avios Visa or Mastercard for a limited company Read our full review

For a non-American Express option, we also recommend the Barclaycard Select Cashback card for sole traders and small businesses. It is FREE and you receive 1% cashback on your spending: