…. and here’s the Aer Lingus peak and off peak Avios calendar for 2018
Links on Head for Points may support the site by paying a commission. See here for all partner links.
Yesterday we published the Iberia and British Airways peak and off peak calendars for 2018 which are very useful when booking reward flights, especially during school holidays.
Yesterday, to our surprise, we learnt that Aer Lingus now has its own peak and off peak calendar as well.
Three periods are noticeably different from the BA calendar. Aer Lingus doesn’t have an October and February peak season during the UK half terms, the April peak season is one week shorter and there’s also no peak season towards the end of May / early June.
February is also off peak on Iberia, but if you are travelling in October Aer Lingus is the only IAG airline with Avios off peak redemptions.
On short haul the cost differences are modest. If you want to fly from London to Dublin in Economy on 12th February 2018 you would pay 4,000 Avios with Aer Lingus (off peak) and 4,500 Avios (peak) with BA, one way.
On a long haul flight the saving would be way more, of course, and makes the Aer Lingus long haul services from Dublin to North America particularly attractive during these periods.
Aer Lingus long haul in Business Class is also very attractive, versus British Airways Club World, with the new 1-2-1 fully flat seats. We are planning to review this in September.
Just to be clear the Aer Lingus peak and off-peak dates apply to Aer Lingus flights wherever you book them. If you book an Aer Lingus flight on ba.com then it goes by the Aer Lingus calendar and not the BA calendar. The same goes for Iberia and, if booked on the Iberia site, BA.
In a day or so we will merge this with the BA / Iberia tables and you will be able to find a link to the combined article under the ‘Key BA links’ section of the HFP sidebar.
Remember the odd rules now in place for booking Aer Lingus flights with Avios:
online booking is now available via avios.com and taxes are higher (stupidly high on short haul) – long-haul business class is just over £200 return
telephone booking is available via British Airways Executive Club and taxes are lower – long-haul business class should be under £100 return
you should check availability on avios.com and then call BAEC to book – so your Avios points need to be sitting at ba.com
Aer Lingus 2017 (green = off-peak)
Aer Lingus 2018
How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2024)
As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards. Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!
In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.
You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:
Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard
Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review
Barclaycard Avios Mastercard
5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review
There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:
British Airways American Express Premium Plus
25,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review
British Airways American Express
5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £15,000 Read our full review
You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review
The Platinum Card from American Express
40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable 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.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and click here to apply.
Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa
Huge 30,000 points bonus until 12th May 2024 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
There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.
American Express Business Platinum
40,000 points sign-up bonus and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review
American Express Business Gold
20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year 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.
Clare 
Yuff 
callum 
Anna 
Genghis 
Rob 
Felix Flyer 
Boi 
Gomigo 
Lamb 
ADS 
Comments (35)