Can I earn Avios and British Airways tier points if I fly with Aer Lingus?

In this article we’ll look at whether you can earn Avios and British Airways tier points by flying with Aer Lingus.

It is possible to earn Avios on Aer Lingus and in fact, AerClub, Aer Lingus’ frequent flyer program also uses the Avios reward currency. This means that there are two ways of earning Avios with Aer Lingus.

Earn Avios in British Airways Executive Club

When you book or manage your flights with Aer Lingus, you can add your British Airways Executive Club number or an Aer Lingus AerClub number. Upon completion of your flights you will automatically be credited the correct Avios.

Here is the full chart of earning rates, sourced from the British Airways website.  

• Economy lowest – 25% of miles flown

• Economy low – 50% of miles flown

• Economy flexible – 100% of miles flown

• Business lowest – 150% of miles flown

• Business flexible – 250% of miles flown

There is no elite status bonus if you have status in British Airways Executive Club.

Earn Avios via AerClub

Aer Lingus has its own Avios-based loyalty scheme called AerClub.  Nothing stops you from opening an AerClub account, crediting it with the Avios from your Aer Lingus flight and then using ‘Combine My Avios’ to move them to British Airways Executive Club.

Just to make life confusing, the earning model for AerClub is totally different.  It is not based on your class of travel, it is purely based on how much you spend.

The Aer Lingus website explains this is more detail.  You earn 3 Avios per €1 spent or, for tickets priced in £, 1 Avios per £1 spent. Taxes and charges are removed from what you spend before calculating your Avios.

You may need to do the maths to see which of the two options here (AerClub or British Airways Executive Club) is more lucrative.

Can you earn British Airways tier points on Aer Lingus?

You will NOT earn British Airways Executive Club tier points when you fly with Aer Lingus as it is not a member of the oneworld alliance.

There is one exception. If your flight is booked as a British Airways codeshare, which means it is an Aer Lingus aircraft but the flight number on your ticket says BA XXXXX, then it is treated as a BA service. This means that you would receive tier points.

(This article is part of our ‘BA Q&A’ series which explains how British Airways Executive Club works.  You can see all of our ‘BA Q&A’ articles here. )

(Head for Points is the UK’s biggest frequent flyer website with 2.5 million monthly page views.  Want to learn more about earning and spending Avios?  Click here to read our latest news stories and click here to join the mailing list for our weekly or daily email newsletters.)

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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.