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Blow to Irish Avios collectors as SuperValu Real Rewards ends its partnership

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Avios collectors in Ireland are facing a blow as the Aer Lingus AerClub programme losing its supermarket partner, SuperValu.

(As a reminder, our coverage of Avios Ireland (AerClub) is exclusively on the Head for Points website.  You will not receive these articles via our daily emails unless it is a deal which UK residents can take part in.)

The way that this programme has worked is that you earn one Real Rewards point for every €1 you spend in SuperValu.  You could convert Real Rewards points or Money Back vouchers into Avios at the rate of 1:1.

SuperValue dropping Avios

At 1 Avios per €1 spent, it wasn’t hugely generous unless there was a transfer bonus running.

The Avios / SuperValu partnership ends next month

According to an annnouncement on the SuperValue website here:

“The loyalty partnership between AerClub and SuperValu Real Rewards will end on May 19th 2022. From that date, you will no longer be able to convert Real Rewards points into Avios.”

It is going out with a 50% transfer bonus

The one piece of good news is that the partnership is going out with a bang.

Until 5th May, you will get a 50% bonus when converting Real Rewards points into Avios. This is the highest bonus for some years.

This means 1 Real Rewards point is worth 1.5 Avios.

The minimum transfer level is 50 Real Rewards points or a €2.50 Money Back Voucher.

Full details can be found on the SuperValu site here.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2025)

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

Get 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

30,000 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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large 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, and the standard card is FREE. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.

Capital on Tap Visa

NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 Avios per £1 Read our full review

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review

There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business

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

50,000 points when you sign-up 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

Comments (13)

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

  • Will says:
    5 Apr5 April 08:23

    What a great name for a rewards program!

  • Declan says:
    5 Apr5 April 11:23

    It’s exceptionally difficult to earn Avios or any other airline rewards points in Ireland already – and this just makes the situation worse. Why are we not offered the types of credit cards available in other Eurozone countries? I really don’t get it.

    • James Harper says:
      5 Apr5 April 18:05

      Is there anything stopping you applying for credit cards in other Eurozone countries? I have a French bank account because it’s easier to maintain as a Euro account than anything with a UK bank and that gives me access to credit cards across the Euro zone.

      I’m particularly interested if you are limited because I was thinking of moving the account to AIB but if I’m limited in my credit cards as a result, I’ll stick with Credit Agricole.

      • Max says:
        5 Apr5 April 20:44

        Which French bank lets you open an account without a French address?

      • Declan says:
        5 Apr5 April 22:46

        I can’t open a bank account or get a credit card in another country without a valid address in that country.

    • Bob says:
      5 Apr5 April 19:41

      There is almost no competition in other Eurozone countries between banks like in the uk. They all offer the same type of “loans” if you want a card. And with no reward points.

      • Declan says:
        5 Apr5 April 22:50

        BA have free or low fee Avios reward earning cards available in Italy and France with 1 Avios per €1 spend. Iberia have similar in Spain. All we have in Ireland is an Aer Lingus card with an €8 monthly fee and only earns 1 Avios for every €4 spend.

    • bafan says:
      6 Apr6 April 00:40

      It’s a tiny country and a very uncompetitive financial market. Not rocket science really.

      • Peter says:
        6 Apr6 April 10:16

        I don’t know if I mis-remembered, so please correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t there also a tax of so much a year on credit cards which I think also discourages take up from customers which also leads to it being less competitive? I don’t think the government over there is pro-credit card for people.

        • QFFlyer says:
          6 Apr6 April 10:19

          There is, an annual stamp duty of around EUR30 per credit card.

          • QFFlyer says:
            6 Apr6 April 10:20

            Should have added, it also applied to debit cards when I had an Ulster Bank ROI account (but didn’t apply to non-residents, so I never actually paid it).

        • Rob says:
          6 Apr6 April 11:51

          €30

      • QFFlyer says:
        6 Apr6 April 10:18

        This, NZ faces the same problems, Amex or bust (appreciate Amex gave up on Ireland years ago though).

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

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