…. and here’s the Aer Lingus peak and off peak Avios calendar for 2019

In our other article today we published the Iberia and British Airways peak and off peak calendars for 2019 which are very useful when planning reward flights, especially during school holidays.

Since 2017 Aer Lingus also has its own peak and off peak calendar.

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 and most of October are also off peak on Iberia, but there are number of days where Aer Lingus is the only IAG airline with off peak days.

On short haul the cost differences are modest. If you want to fly from London to Dublin in Economy on 12th February 2019 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 reviewed the seat here)

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 (actually, you can’t do it online, you need to call) 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.  You should compare the taxes and charges across both avios.com and the BA call centre before booking however.

Aer Lingus 2018:

(blue = off-peak, green = peak, click to substantially enlarge)

Aer Lingus 2019:

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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:

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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