The 2021 Aer Lingus peak and off-peak Avios flight redemption calendar is here

What are the peak and off-peak calendar dates for redeeming Avios points in 2021? 

We have turned the Aer Lingus peak and off peak into a neat little table, below, which gives a better overview of the entire availability.

There are two things to remember:

This calendar only applies to Aer Lingus. British Airways and Iberia have their own peak and off-peak dates. You can see the British Airways peak and off peak calendar for 2021 here and the Iberia peak and off peak calendar for 2021 here. This is useful because you will often find that when BA is peak during UK half-term school holidays, Iberia (and occasionally Aer Lingus) are running off-peak fares.

The Aer Lingus calendar applies wherever you book an Iberia redemption, whether it is on ba.com, aerlingus.com or avios.com.  Similarly, if you try to book an British Airways redemption on aerlingus.com it will NOT follow the dates below.

All redemptions on partner airlines such as Qatar Airways are charged on a separate chart at peak date rates, 100% of the time

Note that peak dates are in yellow whilst off peak is in white.  Click to enlarge:

Whilst Irish and British school holidays vary, Aer Lingus’s peak dates cover the big holidays including the summer, Christmas and Easter.

There are some exceptions. February, May and October half terms are all off-peak on the Aer Lingus calendar, as are both May bank holiday weekends.

This means that Aer Lingus redemptions are cheaper during those holidays, and you are likely to save on taxes and fees, too. You can see how Aer Lingus redemptions charge lower taxes and fees here.

As a reminder, here is the peak and off-peak Avios pricing chart for Aer Lingus flights:

If you want to learn more about how to spend your Avios most efficiently, read our beginner’s guide to redeeming Avios points here.

You can read more about how the British Airways companion voucher works in this article.

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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.