Lots of Aer Lingus business class Avios seats to the US have appeared – with low taxes

US award notification site Thrifty Traveller has posted about the appearance of a lot of Aer Lingus business class reward availability to the United States from Dublin.

As you can now use ‘new style’ American Express 2-4-1 companion vouchers on Aer Lingus, and you can use those vouchers for a flight departing outside the UK, this is a good low tax redemption option.

I will eat humble pie for being rude about the lack of Aer Lingus business class reward availability in recent articles!

As there is no easy way of showing availability across the weeks (you can use United Airlines but this isn’t always a perfect match with what ba.com offers) I randomly took the 10th of the month between Dublin and Boston.

There were seats on 10th March, 10th April, 10th May …. you get the idea.

Availability is also meant to be better than usual to New York JFK and Toronto. You may get lucky on other routes too.

What are the taxes and charges from Dublin?

Dublin to Boston is 100,0000 Avios + £298.30 for one person from Dublin. Using a 2-4-1 companion voucher would make it 100,000 Avios + just under £600 for a couple. You need to add the cost of getting to and from Dublin of course.

IMPORTANT: If you are NOT using a 2-4-1 voucher then do not book on ba.com. Use the avios.com portal instead, where taxes will be £50 per person lower. This article explains how to move your Avios to avios.com.

Remember that you clear US customs and immigration in Dublin, as I explained in this article. You land at a domestic gate in the US and walk straight out of the airport.

We desperately need SeatSpy to add coverage for Aer Lingus and Iberia to allow us to maximise the value of our American Express 2-4-1 companion vouchers by easily showing when Aer Lingus has reward seats.

Our latest review of Aer Lingus A330 business class is here. Our latest review of Aer Lingus ‘single aisle’ A321LR business class is here. The seats are the same on both aircraft – it is just the layout which differs.

You can see a full list of Aer Lingus routes to the United States in this article.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (January 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 Mastercard

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

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.

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

50,000 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.