Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

How to book low cost flights on Avios points to Montreal with Aer Lingus

Links on Head for Points may support the site by paying a commission.  See here for all partner links.

We told you last week that Aer Lingus is launching Montreal and Minneapolis for Summer 2019.

What I didn’t spot at the time is that Aer Lingus is NOT fudging Avios pricing to Montreal.

This is what I mean.  Dublin to Boston is 2,993 miles.  This was a generally agreed fact at Aer Lingus when it was a British Airways Executive Club partner.

However, when Aer Lingus launched its Avios programme 18 months ago, Boston mysteriously moved.  Aer Lingus suddenly decided that it was over 3,000 miles from Dublin.  This meant that the cost of an Avios redemption in Business Class on a peak date jumped from 75,000 Avios to 120,000 Avios.

Aer Lingus new livery

Dublin to Montreal is 2,973 miles.  And, for once, Aer Lingus is not disputing this fact.

Montreal, which starts on 9th August 2019, is correctly pricing up in the cheaper Avios Zone 4.  This means that an Economy redemption using Avios is just 10,000 Avios each way off-peak and 12,500 Avios each way peak.  Taxes will vary depending on whether you book on avios.com (£188 return) or with BA via the telephone (should be under £100).

A Business Class redemption to Montreal will be just 31,250 Avios each-way off-peak and 37,500 Avios each-way peak.  That said, Aer Lingus only usually makes one Business Class seat available and even that isn’t yet showing for Montreal.  You can book Economy redemptions however.

You can read more about the new Montreal and Minneapolis routes on the Aer Lingus site here.

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards

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 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 card

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.

Category

Aer Lingus and AerClub, British Airways and Avios

Comments (184)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • marcw says:
    20 Sep20 September 10:31

    Has anyone a clue what’s going on with Norwegien Long Haul prices? Seems a bit weirg…

    • Lev441 says:
      20 Sep20 September 10:53

      Someone mentioned that they were pulling a couple of routes earlier than planned so prices are sky high.

  • Dwadda says:
    20 Sep20 September 10:33

    Gosh, there’s almost always biz or PE availability to NYC, I take it for granted with what.. a dozen flights a day. I don’t understand this.

  • Jody says:
    20 Sep20 September 11:00

    OT can I use my Amex companion voucher to fly in to one airport and home from another? Looking to do a USA west coast driving holiday at some point in the next 2 years, so would be really useful to be able to do that.

    • Rob says:
      20 Sep20 September 11:06

      Yes but you need to call to book.

    • Mark2 says:
      20 Sep20 September 11:24

      there are rules about the length of the gap, so landing at JFK and returning from LAX might be a problem as well as a very long drive!

      • Genghis says:
        20 Sep20 September 11:29

        The “jaw” must be shorter than the two BA legs.
        LHR-JFK = 3,451 miles
        LHR-LAX = 5,456 miles
        JFK-LAX = 2,475 miles, therefore permitted routing.

        Taking it to extremes, LHR-SFO, TYO-LHR is also permitted.

  • rhazle says:
    20 Sep20 September 11:10

    Re: IHG credit card overseas spend being double points. I emailed Creation as a Euro airline ticket with exch fee only had regular points not double points. The customer service rep called and explained that overseas spend which was incurred via an internet transaction did not count. That said she said they were reviewing this but as a goodwill guesture they added the double points back on my next statement.

    • Genghis says:
      20 Sep20 September 11:17

      The terms do say “4 points are allocated per £1 (one pound) spent on all other Purchases outside the UK”. I find it strange that it’s not based on actual currency used and therefore 3% fee charged.

    • Liz says:
      20 Sep20 September 13:32

      I was told online overseas transactions only get 2pts.

  • Lev441 says:
    20 Sep20 September 11:20

    O/T – currently on route to Buenos Aires on BA and I’m impressed with the wifi speeds. Good job BA.

    • Query says:
      20 Sep20 September 15:07

      which planes now have wi-fi? and cost if playing J/F?

      • Rob says:
        20 Sep20 September 15:10

        It is totally random at the moment. If you need it, fly someone else.

        • Stu N says:
          20 Sep20 September 23:31

          A friend on a flight to PVG had WiFi recently. Slightly surprisingly kept working in Russian and Chinese airspace.

    • fivebobbill says:
      20 Sep20 September 17:09

      Just off Iberia MAD – LHR yesterday and they give you a code for 4MB wi-fi data free in Biz, so tried it out.
      Glad I didn’t pay, kept disconnecting and speed was abysmal… I was in row 1.

  • Jovanna says:
    20 Sep20 September 11:34

    Do the IHG points count towards status?

  • Alex W says:
    20 Sep20 September 12:04

    Reminds me of the guy at the summer party who was proudly telling me he’d used his Avios to get to Australia in economy ????‍♂️

  • r* says:
    20 Sep20 September 12:11

    How long after making an avios booking (via avios.com) does it take to be able to pick a WTP seat?

    Currently I just have a link to ‘seating’ (which then says seats are only available at checkin) rather than ‘choose a seat’ link that appears on a BAEC redemption?

    • Lev441 says:
      20 Sep20 September 12:41

      Unless you have status, it’s at 24 hours before the flight…

      • Stu N says:
        20 Sep20 September 13:01

        You can usually book seats as soon as the booking is ticketed. You can check this in the App. Look for the “ticket number” field when you go into the flight – table below the seat choice button, would usually start “125”. If you try to do it before it’s ticketed, it usually falls down somewhere in the process.

        You’ll have to pay for seats unless you’re BAEC Silver or Gold. BAEC Bronze can choose free of charge 7 days out (exactly 7 days from the time of the flight).

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

New to Head for Points?

Welcome!  We’re the UK’s most-read source of business travel, Avios, frequent flyer and hotel loyalty news. Let us improve how you travel. Got any questions? Ask them in our forums.

NEW: Sign-up bonuses boosted to 3,000 and 18,000 points

Latest Forum Posts

Get 40,000 bonus points (worth 40,000 Avios) and £300 dining credit with The Platinum Card

Check reward flight availability instantly for free!

See a whole year of reward seat availability on one page at SeatSpy.com

Get £10 when you spend £150 on your free Currensea card

Booking a luxury hotel?

Our luxury hotel booking service offers you GUARANTEED extra benefits over booking direct. Works with Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, The Ritz Carlton, St Regis and more. We've booked £1.7 million of rooms to date. Click for details.

SME? SPECIAL OFFER TO 12TH MAY EARN POINTS WORTH 30,000 AVIOS WITH CAPITAL ON TAP

Get 20,000 bonus points, four airport lounge passes and your first year free with American Express Gold

The UK's biggest frequent flyer website uses cookies, which you can block via your browser settings. Continuing implies your consent to this policy. Our privacy policy is here.

Got it!