Aer Lingus redemptions are still far cheaper when booked at avios.com (but no 2-4-1’s)
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It’s been a while since we talked about booking Aer Lingus flight redemptions, but a big release of business class reward seats between Dublin and Philadelphia this week (hat-tip to US site Frequent Miler) reminded me to remind you of how you can pay too much.
If you were thinking of visiting Philadelphia next spring, there are two business class seats per flight available virtually every day between January and March on Aer Lingus from Dublin.
I’m not here to recommend Philadelphia in January or not – I’m guessing it could be chilly – but late March / potentially April if the seats are there should be better. I simply want to use it as an example.
If you were planning on booking Aer Lingus in business class, here is my review of Aer Lingus A321LR business class. Here is Rhys reviewing one of the A330 Aer Lingus business class routes from Manchester.
There are two ways of booking Aer Lingus redemption flights
Aer Lingus flights are now bookable on ba.com so this is where you would logically decide to start.
If you want to use a British Airways American Express 2-4-1 voucher on Aer Lingus (which you now can, plus Iberia), you MUST book on ba.com.
You’ll get a bad deal, but you’ve got no choice!
This isn’t where Aer Lingus frequent flyers book their redemptions though. They use the avios.com website, which is also used by Vueling Club members.
You can’t just go to avios.com and log in with your British Airways Executive Club account details. You need to open an Aer Lingus Aer Club or Vueling Club account (free, on their respective websites) and then use ‘Combine My Avios’ on avios.com to move your points across from British Airways Executive Club.
Moving Avios is free, instant and can be reversed if needed.
A full HfP article on using ‘Combine My Avios’ is here.
Look at how ba.com rips you off when booking Aer Lingus flights
I did dummy bookings for business class flights using Avios between Dublin and Philadelphia. By starting in Dublin and not London you can avoid long haul UK Air Passenger Duty, albeit that you need to buy a ticket to Dublin.
Using ba.com:
- Dublin to Philadelphia, return in Business: 100,000 Avios + £419
- Dublin to Philadelphia, one way in Business: 50,000 Avios + £221
- Philadelphia to Dublin, one way in Business: 50,000 Avios + £691, screenshot below
If we swap over to the avios.com website to book exactly the same flights:
Using avios.com:
- Dublin to Philadelphia, return in Business: 100,000 Avios + £241 (save £178)
- Dublin to Philadelphia, one way in Business: 50,000 Avios + £132 (save £89)
- Philadelphia to Dublin, one way in Business: 50,000 Avios + £108 (screenshot below, save £583!)
The savings in taxes and charges are huge. A couple flying from Dublin to Philadelphia and back in business class would save £356 in charges by booking at avios.com.
The really scary saving is the one you get if booking a one way flight from Philadelphia to Dublin. The £691 taxes and charges bill drops to £108 if you use the avios.com website.
Even avios.com is a bit of a swizz though ….
United Airlines is, intriguingly, an Aer Lingus partner. This is despite the fact that United Airlines is in Star Alliance and Aer Lingus, whilst not in an alliance, has a parent aligned with oneworld.
Let’s look at what it would cost to book using United Airlines miles. Here is a screenshot showing Philadelphia to Dublin, one way, in Business:
The same flight which costs 50,000 Avios + £691 via ba.com, and 50,000 Avios + £108 via avios.com, costs just 88,000 United MileagePlus miles + $5. Avios.com is still pocketing over £100 of random charges.
How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (September 2023)
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
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 £12,000 Read our full review
You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points.
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
30,000 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.
Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa
Get a 10,000 points bonus plus an extra 500 points for our readers 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.
EDIT: Applications for this card are temporarily suspended due to IT issues with the British Airways On Business SME loyalty scheme.
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 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.
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