How to earn Avios in Aer Lingus AerClub – including earning Avios from flying United

It is now almost three years since Aer Lingus AerClub was launched.  We don’t cover it much on Head for Points but – as you can earn Avios in AerClub which can be moved across to British Airways Executive Club via ‘Combine My Avios’ – it is worth knowing about how it works.

The key point you should remember – in my view – is that United Airlines is an AerClub partner, despite being in Star Alliance!  I wrote a separate article about this here.  You can earn Avios in AerClub when you fly United Airlines.

How do you earn Avios in AerClub?

The home page for earning Avios is here.

Earning Avios from flying Aer Lingus

Aer Lingus flights earn Avios at the rate of 3 per €1 spent.  This is based on the cash price of your flight, excluding “Government taxes”.   In the small print of AerClub, however, it says “excluding taxes, fees and charges imposed other than by Aer Lingus”.  This means that they may also deduct landing charges etc which will leave very little behind.

For flights not paid for in €, you will earn:

• 4 Avios per £1
• 3 Avios per US$1
• 2 Avios per Canadian $1

Flights booked in other currencies will be converted to €.  You do not earn Avios on ancillary charges such as baggage or seat selection fees.

If you have AerClub status (not British Airways Executive Club status) you earn a tier bonus:

• 25% for Silver
• 50% for Platinum
• 75% for Concierge

I won’t focus on the tier levels as I assume 99% of HFP readers are focused on the BAEC scheme.

Earning Avios from flying Aer Lingus partners

Because Aer Lingus is not in the oneworld alliance, you cannot credit oneworld partner flights to AerClub.

Importantly, the Aer Lingus partnerships with Cathay Pacific and Qantas ended this Summer.  There was an interesting trick here, because many ticket types earned more Avios in AerClub than they did in British Airways Executive Club.  This loophole has now closed.

The truly odd United Airlines partnership remains.  You earn 100% of miles flown for Premium Economy and Business Class, and between 0% (sub-classes F, I and X) and 75% of miles flown in Economy depending on ticket type.  If you find yourself flying United, crediting to AerClub to earn Avios will often be a lot more useful than earning a handful of Star Alliance miles which may never be spent.

You can also credit British Airways flights to AerClub at the same rates as you’d receive in British Airways Executive Club.

Earning Avios in AerClub from non-flying partners

Given that AerClub is now three years old, the list of non-flying partners remains a little weak.  It is a curious mix, because some BA / Iberia partnerships have been extended to include AerClub (eg Melia Hotels) whilst others have not.

The only exclusive deals which you won’t also find via BAEC are:

The Merrion, Dublin hotel – earn 2 Avios per €1 spent

Appleby Jewellers, Dublin – earn 1 Avios per €1 spent

Devine’s Worldwide Chauffeur Services – earn 3 Avios per €1 or £1 

SuperValu – you can convert Real Rewards points from SuperValu supermarkets into Avios, with regular bonus point conversion deals.  Here is the most recent SuperValu / Avios bonus offer.

Aer Lingus Holidays – earn 1 Avios per €1 spent

The Aer Lingus / Bank of Ireland credit cards – we wrote about the Aer Lingus AerClub Aer Credit Card here

Like BAEC, AerClub has partnerships for hotel bookings via Agoda, Kaligo.com and Rocketmiles. 

There is one upside here.  As long as you use a different email address and payment card, you should be able to claim a new ‘first time booker’ bonus on a Kaligo or Rocketmiles booking because you can give your AerClub number instead of your BAEC number.

How do you spend Avios in AerClub?

The Aer Lingus website page for spending Avios is here.

In order to make a booking, you need to log in at avios.com using your AerClub account number.  I wrote a full article on redeeming Avios on Aer Lingus here, but in summary:

you can book Aer Lingus flights via avios.com using AerClub Avios

…. but taxes may be lower if you book via telephone using British Airways Executive Club Avios

the peak and off-peak chart differs from the British Airways one, and the same peak and off-dates apply whether you book via avios.com or BAEC

Conclusion

The key thing to know about AerClub is that it lets you earn Avios when flying with United Airlines.

It will also let you earn a 2nd ‘first time hotel booker’ bonus from Agoda, Kaligo.com or Rocketmiles because you can now credit a booking to AerClub.  There are also a few minor exclusive partnerships but they are unlikely to interest most HfP readers, with the possible exception of The Merrion hotel deal.

Want to know more about redeeming Avios on Aer Lingus?

This HfP article shows you everything you need to know about how to redeem Avios points on Aer Lingus which can lead to substantial tax savings when flying to North America.

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (December 2021)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

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 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

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points, such as:

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

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital On Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios:

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa

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

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus:

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

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.

(Want to earn more Avios?  Click here to visit our home page for our latest articles on earning and spending your Avios points and click here to see how to earn more Avios this month from offers and promotions.)