Aerlingus AerClub/Avios

TheFitz13 · 14-01-2017 8:28pm

I don't know if this is the right place to ask, but can you use AerClub for flights that are already booked? Also, do people this it is worth joining?

Tenger · 14-01-2017 9:51pm

AndyBoBandy wrote: »

I would disagree with this point,

all thats happened is they have renamed 'Applicant' (Gold Circle) to 'Green' (Aer Club), so as I see it it's 4 into 4, the only difference being you can now collect points (Avios) while still at the applicant (green) stage (though you could also do this in GC, they just only lasted 12 months if you didn't make it in)

there were 3 tiers of actual membership of Gold Circle, and there are 3 tiers of actual membership of AerClub

fobbing people off to Green tier has effectively booted them back down to applicant stage, and they can call it what they like, but it's not in any way a membership of their loyalty scheme.
...............

Well feck me sideways........looks like I was miskead by the promotional info I got in the email and the leaflet that my mates in EI showed me about the new programme.
My eyes have been opened even wider at this point.

jesus_thats_gre · 14-01-2017 10:27pm

tippman1 wrote: »

No sympathy from Stephen Kavanagh:

http://www.thejournal.ie/aer-lingus-aer-club-gold-circle-2-3183951-Jan2017/?utm_source=twitter_self

He can **** right off to be honest.

He has lost a customer with that statement. To give some context, below is a summary of my loyalty status up to the turn of the New Year:
- Hilton = Diamond
- IHG = Spire Elite
- Hyatt = Diamond
- BA = Gold
- Aer Lingus = Elite

Will be going status match crazy and I suspect Star Alliance will be the beneficiary.

Locker10a · 14-01-2017 11:50pm

jesus_thats_gre wrote: »

tippman1 wrote: »

No sympathy from Stephen Kavanagh:

http://www.thejournal.ie/aer-lingus-aer-club-gold-circle-2-3183951-Jan2017/?utm_source=twitter_self

He can **** right off to be honest.

He has lost a customer with that statement. To give some context, below is a summary of my loyalty status up to the turn of the New Year:
- Hilton = Diamond
- IHG = Spire Elite
- Hyatt = Diamond
- BA = Gold
- Aer Lingus = Elite

Will be going status match crazy and I suspect Star Alliance will be the beneficiary.

I certainly Hope you will let him know how you feel, all of these types of complaints should be continuously forwarded to Aer Lingus and indeed Mr Kavanagh, Is he on twitter ?

L1011 · 15-01-2017 4:23am

How many hotel nights are you pushing to keep very high status on 3 decent chains? I was doing 8-10 a month at one stage and only had status at Radisson and (pathetically) Best Western....

goingnowhere · 15-01-2017 8:54am

TheFitz13 wrote: »

I don't know if this is the right place to ask, but can you use AerClub for flights that are already booked? Also, do people this it is worth joining?

Its costs nothing to join, you can add the membership number to any booking made either now or at check in.

Once joined, any new bookings made on the Aer Lingus website will automatically use the number

Unless you are doing a lot of travel unlikely you get anything back, but you should be able to earn shopping at Super Valu in the near future and can pool earnings from BA together

If things go down to the wire and there is one seat left, odds are the person with the AerClub number will win in a 50% scenario

jesus_thats_gre · 15-01-2017 11:37am

L1011 wrote: »

How many hotel nights are you pushing to keep very high status on 3 decent chains? I was doing 8-10 a month at one stage and only had status at Radisson and (pathetically) Best Western....

Hyatt was 52, IHG was 72 and Hilton was 30 or so (they status matched me in fairness).

Tenger · 15-01-2017 12:08pm

jesus_thats_gre wrote: »

Hyatt was 52, IHG was 72 and Hilton was 30 or so (they status matched me in fairness).

jesus_thats_gre wrote: »

......
- Hilton = Diamond
- IHG = Spire Elite
- Hyatt = Diamond
- BA = Gold
- Aer Lingus = Elite
.....

Did George Clooney play you in that movie?

jive · 15-01-2017 3:59pm

L1011 wrote: »

How many hotel nights are you pushing to keep very high status on 3 decent chains? I was doing 8-10 a month at one stage and only had status at Radisson and (pathetically) Best Western....

For those who don't travel as much as jesus_the_gre....

Best Western status match easily enough to diamond, Hilton has a status match challenge over 90 days (4 stays = gold,8 stays = diamond). Just need to get status at 1 chain, find some dud chain that has a promotion for instant elite/diamond status.

Hilton gold is decent, diamond doesn't make much difference I've found (get upgraded more often but nothing to write home about).

All unrelated to this thread though really! You need a lot of nights to maintain them but can be handy for ~2 years and generally you will get a soft landing after losing top status.

dudara · 15-01-2017 5:16pm

L1011 wrote: »

How many hotel nights are you pushing to keep very high status on 3 decent chains? I was doing 8-10 a month at one stage and only had status at Radisson and (pathetically) Best Western....

I have Spire Elite at IHG and Platinum at Marriott & Starwood. I don't really focus on any other hotel chains. I do 3-4 nights per week, but the best way to boost your points is to sign up to every bonus promotion they are running. (Mega Bonus for Marriott and Accelerate for IHG). And of course, once you have top level status, the points roll in even faster

snappieT · 16-01-2017 10:31am

tippman1 wrote: »

No sympathy from Stephen Kavanagh:

http://www.thejournal.ie/aer-lingus-aer-club-gold-circle-2-3183951-Jan2017/?utm_source=twitter_self

Let me understand this... "Kavanagh said there are currently 17,000 active Gold Circle members that had yet to be transitioned to Aer Club" this weekend, but for those people the benefits (fast track) are already cut off?

Former gold member now with zero tier credits (despite constant flights) on green status here.

crisco10 · 16-01-2017 10:43am

tippman1 wrote: »

No sympathy from Stephen Kavanagh:

http://www.thejournal.ie/aer-lingus-aer-club-gold-circle-2-3183951-Jan2017/?utm_source=twitter_self

From a customer satisfaction point of view, its an awful sentiment. But at the same time, he was the first person at Aer Lingus I have seen tell the truth. Through all the social media and promotions etc, they are pitching the move as a good thing. But have never communicated that they are looking to reduce the liabilities associated with their FF scheme. Which was insulting in its own way.

So in summary, I respect Stephen's honesty if not the sentiment.

ishotjr2 · 16-01-2017 11:34am

I think the Avios are useless, a windy road to customer disappointment. If you are travelling to US who else would fly with United...

The only thing it is good for is priority boarding and check-in.

AndyBoBandy · 16-01-2017 11:44am

ishotjr2 wrote: »

The only thing it is good for is priority boarding and check-in.

And fast track, to me that was the biggest perk, seconded by priority check in,

Means an awful lot if you can have that extra hour in bed when your on a 06:30am departure, and you won't be getting back home until 9-10pm that same night!

I live about 20 minutes from DUB, and I'd typically leave the house about 1 hour before my departure (with or without check in bag, (although mostly with, because I always booked plus fares)), and I'd always make it through in time for a 10 minute coffee/snack in the lounge before heading down to the departure gate.

endagibson · 16-01-2017 12:20pm

How do you use Fast Track? I was Gold Circle Gold (should have been moved to the next level and wasn't) and I'm now Aer Club Platinum. Is it marked on the boarding card in some way (I use the QR type on the phone) or do I have to fish out the membership card?

AndyBoBandy · 16-01-2017 12:35pm

endagibson wrote: »

How do you use Fast Track? I was Gold Circle Gold (should have been moved to the next level and wasn't) and I'm now Aer Club Platinum. Is it marked on the boarding card in some way (I use the QR type on the phone) or do I have to fish out the membership card?

The membership card always did it for me in Dublin

super_furry · 16-01-2017 12:37pm

So hang on. People with Bank of Ireland Aer Lingus Gold credit cards still have fast-track security and lounge access?

goingnowhere · 16-01-2017 12:56pm

super_furry wrote: »

So hang on. People with Bank of Ireland Aer Lingus Gold credit cards still have fast-track security and lounge access?

They should do

AndyBoBandy · 16-01-2017 12:57pm

goingnowhere wrote: »

They should do

Aye, apparently that deal is completely separate from Aer Club and shouldn't have been affected in any way.

raouls · 16-01-2017 6:45pm

The BOI Gold Business Card at €120 / year is worth it for Fast Track, lounge access both here and abroad (EI flight for lounge access).

I fly a fair bit (albeit not as much I used to, thankfully) and I've found it far more use than the GC card in recent months

Sadly I lost out (all my points) when Tab went to Gold Circle and now it appears to have happened again. Currently I just have the joining bonus points with AerClub. It would appear that my days of continued membership / loyalty are over.

As such I think I'll just continue collecting Avios (for what they're worth) on my BA card.

AndyBoBandy · 17-01-2017 10:18am

Has anyone had Tier credits applied to their account yet for flights taken since the change over?

I've just booked a trip for later this week (booked advantage & plus fare to get the 50 + 25 tier credits, as well as fast track out of DUB), and I'm just wondering if they've began loading tier credits? as I want to get over the 301 points needed asap and get back my benefits before my travel gets very frequent over the coming months.

Extraplus · 17-01-2017 11:07am

AndyBoBandy wrote: »

Has anyone had Tier credits applied to their account yet for flights taken since the change over?

Yes, I've had tier credits applied for flights taken in December and January. There is no breakdown of the tier credits awarded as of yet (at least for me). There is a breakdown of Avios awarded per flight though. I'm silver in AC.

AndyBoBandy · 17-01-2017 11:10am

Extraplus wrote: »

Yes, I've had tier credits applied for flights taken in December and January. There is no breakdown of the tier credits awarded as of yet (at least for me). There is a breakdown of Avios awarded per flight though. I'm silver in AC.

Did you get what you expected for booking basic (15), plus (25) or advantage (50)

Extraplus · 17-01-2017 11:37am

AndyBoBandy wrote: »

Did you get what you expected for booking basic (15), plus (25) or advantage (50)

Yes, they were all basic. One flight missing from both Avios and tier credits, but there's no way to report a missing flight yet.

djkeogh · 17-01-2017 3:59pm

I've had 7.5 points added for 1 leg of a return trip to Zurich on the Basic fare class which is marked as a sale fare. Took the flight in December.

goingnowhere · 17-01-2017 4:33pm

4 flights so far, no tier points and Avios only on the first one

Getting the feeling its a human punching this in manually

Locker10a · 17-01-2017 4:59pm

goingnowhere wrote: »

4 flights so far, no tier points and Avios only on the first one

Getting the feeling its a human punching this in manually

That wouldn't surprise me at all

billy few mates · 18-01-2017 12:17am

jesus_thats_gre wrote: »

He can **** right off to be honest.

He has lost a customer with that statement. To give some context, below is a summary of my loyalty status up to the turn of the New Year:
- Hilton = Diamond
- IHG = Spire Elite
- Hyatt = Diamond
- BA = Gold
- Aer Lingus = Elite

Will be going status match crazy and I suspect Star Alliance will be the beneficiary.

L1011 wrote: »

How many hotel nights are you pushing to keep very high status on 3 decent chains? I was doing 8-10 a month at one stage and only had status at Radisson and (pathetically) Best Western....

I'm Hilton Diamond
Starwood Platinum
IHG Spire Elite
Clubcarlson Concierge
And Aer Lingus 'Oik' despite the fact that I use on average two flights a week with them to rack up my hotel points....:D

I spend over 200 nights a year in hotels and depending on my travels I can usually keep two schemes at top tier. I'm going to drop out of Hilton Diamond this year as I haven't used them much for the last two years, I have spent over 75 nights each in Radisson (Club Carlson) and Crowne Plaza (IHG) last year and will do again this year. I've also signed up for this excellent offer with Club Carlson to get 500,000 gold points by staying 20 nights by the end of March...
https://www.clubcarlson.com/secure/offers/12417684?int_cid=hp:marquee:q1promo
This coincides nicely with some business trips which will have me staying at least four nights a week in a Radisson until the end of March...;)

L1011 · 19-01-2017 8:58am

Supervalu are now on avios.com with a January start date.

I'm down to mostly leisure travel now but still hit the Carlson deals a lot - 5 nights on the points doubler before Christmas and two booked on that deal. Only scheme I've found with useful redemption at low levels, the points+cash option mainly.

AndyBoBandy · 19-01-2017 11:32am

Flew yesterday to the U.K. on an Advantage fare, as it gives 50 tier credits, as well as fast track and lounge access (priority boarding as well but not applicable as it was a Stobart ATR and a bus from the terminal)

Chanced my arm checking my bag at the Business/Aer Club desk as the terminal was fairly quiet, no issue there, the girl was happy to do it.

Asked the girl how I'd get through fast track as I no longer have a valid card (went from Gold to Green in the debacle) but booked Advantage fare which includes fast track. She said once they see flex on my ticket they'd let me through, I get up to fast track and the guy asks for my card, to which I reply I don't have one but I have a flex ticket which should allow me though fast track, his reply was that it was news to him, and he wouldn't let me through and couldn't do anything for me!, so I again explained to him that my flex fare allowed fast track, showed him the screen grab I took below (as somehow I knew I'd need it) and he eventually reluctantly let me through.

I know that's not really Aer Lingus' fault, but still, talk about a cluster...

Aerlingus AerClub/Avios

Comments