Aerlingus AerClub/Avios

ironclaw

Just did a quick tot there. The only saving grace I can see is that you can hit the very top tier for not a whole lot of flights. 6 One Way Business Flex flights to the US will see you at the Conciege tier. By comparison, hitting Senator with Lufthansa will take you a good deal more and you can forget about HonCircle (600k miles in two years) unless you are doing First Class legs all year.

goingnowhere

ironclaw wrote: »

Just did a quick tot there. The only saving grace I can see is that you can hit the very top tier for not a whole lot of flights. 6 One Way Business Flex flights to the US will see you at the Conciege tier. By comparison, hitting Senator with Lufthansa will take you a good deal more and you can forget about HonCircle (600k miles in two years) unless you are doing First Class legs all year.

True, but Lufthansa Senator actually means something

What advantage is Concierge if you are already flying Business? The only ones I can see are the ability to get a seat even if flight fully booked and the membership for partner

bustercherry

goingnowhere wrote: »

To a degree it is, if you pay for Plus or Flex fares you earn significantly more

By that argument then all distance/class based programmes are the same. Usually the % of award depends on the fare class booked which is in turn linked to the ticket price.

MayoSalmon

goingnowhere wrote: »

True, but Lufthansa Senator actually means something

What advantage is Concierge if you are already flying Business? The only ones I can see are the ability to get a seat even if flight fully booked and the membership for partner

Concierge status is valuable.

You can get

1 Complimentary membership (Silver) for anybody you want
4 Complimentary upgrades for anybody you want
1 Companion ticket for anybody you want in whatever cabin your flying in

MayoSalmon

bustercherry wrote: »

By that argument then all distance/class based programmes are the same. Usually the % of award depends on the fare class booked which is in turn linked to the ticket price.

Avios is awarded on Spend and Tier Credits are awarded on spend due to the nature of how the fare families work in Aer Lingus.

There's a reason discounted fare classes receive only 50% Tier Credits.

All the big US carriers including JetBlue/Southwest have adopted the revenue/spend model for there FFP's.

ironclaw

MayoSalmon wrote: »

Concierge status is valuable.

You can get

1 Complimentary membership (Silver) for anybody you want
4 Complimentary upgrades for anybody you want
1 Companion ticket for anybody you want in whatever cabin your flying in

But, does that mean I can book a bog standard economy ticket and expect to be bumped to business each and every time, once I've got my Concierge status?

thebiglad

ironclaw wrote: »

But, does that mean I can book a bog standard economy ticket and expect to be bumped to business each and every time, once I've got my Concierge status?

4 times, subject to availability.

MayoSalmon

thebiglad wrote: »

4 times, subject to availability.

Of which 85% of the time there would be plenty

alancostello

thebiglad wrote: »

4 times, subject to availability.

Essentially the upgrade takes the place of an available Reward Seat(that would be otherwise booked for 40k+ Avios), as far as I'm aware there's usually 1 business Reward Seat per 757, and 2 per a330.

If you check the Avios flight booking page and see a reward business seat available on a particular flight, this should be available for a Platinum/Concierge to take as their upgrade when paying an economy fare on the same flight, you just need to ring and they'll process the upgrade for you.

MayoSalmon

alancostello wrote:

Essentially the upgrade takes the place of an available Reward Seat(that would be otherwise booked for 40k+ Avios), as far as I'm aware there's usually 1 business Reward Seat per 757, and 2 per a330.

That was the standard in Gold Circle, this has been expanded to "at least" 3 per 757 and 4/5 per A330

useless

MayoSalmon wrote: »

That was the standard in Gold Circle, this has been expanded to "at least" 3 per 757 and 4/5 per A330

Take a look at avios.com for availability in business class for ORD, SFO and LAX. There's practically none, over a nine month period. I don't believe their load factors are that high...

MayoSalmon

useless wrote:

Take a look at avios.com for availability in business class for ORD, SFO and LAX. There's practically none, over a nine month period. I don't believe their load factors are that high...

Sorry I was talking about Economy. I doubt they have to hold any reward seats in business because it's so high yielding. That said and alluding to the point I was making earlier Conceirge members are entitled to 4 free upgrades a year with pure Avios. There will almost certainly be availablity as load factors in business cabin would be well under 70/80% at the best of times.

alancostello

I was referring to business, so 1 business seat per 757 and 2 per a330.

I would imagine part of the problem is that BA and Iberia folk are now able to book on EI reward seats, so I wouldn't find it too hard to believe that they're all booked out the next few months. I know BA FF folk who regularly book their reward travel a year out(and expect to have to).

MayoSalmon

alancostello wrote:

I would imagine part of the problem is that BA and Iberia folk are now able to book on EI reward seats, so I wouldn't find it too hard to believe that they're all booked out the next few months. I know BA FF folk who regularly book their reward travel a year out(and expect to have to).

But this won't really affect Business availability for Aerclub upgrades...

alancostello

MayoSalmon wrote: »

But this won't really affect Business availability for Aerclub upgrades...

Yes it would. An AerClub upgrade takes an available award seat, if an Award Seat isn't available on the flight, your upgrade won't be confirmed when you call.

MayoSalmon

alancostello wrote:

Yes it would. An AerClub upgrade takes an available award seat, if an Award Seat isn't available on the flight, your upgrade won't be confirmed when you call.

No AerClub upgrades have nothing to do with reward seats availability... You get re-ticketed into U class same class as the bid upgrades etc.

Tom123

MayoSalmon wrote: »

No AerClub upgrades have nothing to do with reward seats availability... You get re-ticketed into U class same class as the bid upgrades etc.

Does that mean you get the tier credits for a business flight if you use the upgrade to business?

ironclaw

useless wrote: »

Take a look at avios.com for availability in business class for ORD, SFO and LAX. There's practically none, over a nine month period. I don't believe their load factors are that high...

The DUB/SFO route on a Thursday and Friday is booked solid for business nearly every time. Its also unbelievably expensive, I don't think I've seen a ticket for less than 5kUSD.

MayoSalmon

Tom123 wrote: »

Does that mean you get the tier credits for a business flight if you use the upgrade to business?

No, U class is ineligible for Tier Credit award however you should be entitled to tier credits for your original class booked.

I doubt this will happen automatically though so you will have to chase them up on it!

Ol' Donie

Conor Pope on Newstalk now about loyalty cards.

Might mention this, i guess

faceman

Ol' Donie wrote: »

Conor Pope on Newstalk now about loyalty cards.

Might mention this, i guess

He was very diplomatic but very clear about how poor the transition has been. Even Kenny commented on it

notuslimited

MayoSalmon wrote: »

Tom123 wrote: »

Does that mean you get the tier credits for a business flight if you use the upgrade to business?

No, U class is ineligible for Tier Credit award however you should be entitled to tier credits for your original class booked.

I doubt this will happen automatically though so you will have to chase them up on it!

Correct. It is not happening automatically in my experience. Current open issue. Regarding previous postings re relevance of Concierge level. In my experience the relevance of Concierge comes into play when you need help when something goes pear shaped. The staff on the phone are usually excellent.

bustercherry

MayoSalmon wrote: »

Avios is awarded on Spend and Tier Credits are awarded on spend due to the nature of how the fare families work in Aer Lingus.

There's a reason discounted fare classes receive only 50% Tier Credits.

All the big US carriers including JetBlue/Southwest have adopted the revenue/spend model for there FFP's.

There is essentially two schemes running in aerclub for reward and recognition. It's essentially a recognition piece bolted on to the Avios Travel Rewards Programme as Avios don't offer that.

There is a direct correlation between how many Avios is awarded and the fare cost (and other elligeble charges), 3 Avios per Eur Eligible Spend.

Tier credits are calculated on fare family and simplified distance model (long haul vs short haul) plus any class adjustment for discounted fares. There is no direct correlation between the customer spend and tier credit calculations, just like there is no direct correlation between class and fare cost in a traditional mileage program. For example, at its simplest, despite my business long haul fare costing more than the passenger next to me; we still receive the same amount of credits.

Also is no correlation between tier credits and Avios; they are both are calculated independently.

mx5ire

So i just spoke to the "AerClub" helpline - called the usual number - and the call is answered after a few mins by a chap who admits that he is not affiliated with AerClub, they just front the calls, and he tells me that the you cannot speak to anyone in AerClub directly, unlike Gold Circle days. 

I had called about Tier Credits disappearing on the 1 year minus anniversary of your member ship expiring. So he told me that because i was previously a GC member, that my membership expiry carried over, hence i lost my Tier Credits on 30 April. Now i pointed out that the website page specifically says otherwise - (I posted this here a week or so ago) - and he said "OH" - and put me on hold. 

About 15 mins later he came back and said that they were sending an email "upstairs" and that i would get an email about this. I queried when, no idea. Also floated missing flights, wrong avios points awarded etc etc, he just didn't know, but said he would pass it on. That was clearly the end of the 27 min & 55 sec phone call, 90% of which was on hold. 

So this again contradicts what other EI staff have told me and others on here about Tier Points. My wife's Green membership still has all her Tier Credits, no expiry date on it, yet after 5 months and 9 days from Aerclub start, mine are wiped, contrary to the EI website statements below. It is very clear that Gold Circle members are getting hit harder than previous Gold Circle Applicants, or new AerClub members. That is just plain ridiculous. Loyalty indeed.

[font=CartoGothic-Light, CartoGothic-Light-e, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]You earn Tier Credits over a 365 day period based on your anniversary date, which is the date you joined AerClub.[/font]
[font=CartoGothic-Light, CartoGothic-Light-e, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Tier Credits are reset to zero at the end of your membership year[/font]

MayoSalmon

mx5ire wrote: »

 
My wife's Green membership still has all her Tier Credits, no expiry date on it, yet after 5 months and 9 days from Aerclub start, mine are wiped, contrary to the EI website statements below. It is very clear that Gold Circle members are getting hit harder than previous Gold Circle Applicants, or new AerClub members. That is just plain ridiculous. Loyalty indeed.

Green members have no expiry because its the default membership!

Your wife's credits will disappear on her anniversary date which for all Green members who came from Gold Circle will be in late Nov/Dec timeframe.

Again all this confusion has occurred because Aer Lingus tried to accommodate Gold circle members who had time remaining at launch of AerClub on there Gold Circle cards.

Do you not understand that you have been given 17 months of benefits? You can argue that they then should of given you 17 months of time to accumulate tier credits but they didn't..

AndyBoBandy

MayoSalmon wrote: »

Again all this confusion has occurred because Aer Lingus tried to accommodate Gold circle members who had time remaining at launch of AerClub on there Gold Circle cards.

They never accommodated me. I was a Gold Circle member for 8 years consecutively, and my last card issued was valid til August 2017, yet in the transfer, I was moved to Green.

The reason I was given was that I only earned 1,900 points in the AerClub 'collection' period of Nov 15 to Nov 16, despite always ensuring to earn a minimum of 2,400 GC points every year August to August to maintain membership.

I'm now Silver, and on the verge of Platinum (one more return trip required), so I don't give as much of a sh1t anymore, but the whole process still left a bitter taste.

(When I originally only made Green, I called them and they said don't worry, they were going to make an initial transfer of GC members to AerClub (status), and after that they were going to go back and transfer over people like me, regular GC members who just missed the AerClub cut)

RMDrive

MayoSalmon wrote: »

Green members have no expiry because its the default membership!

Your wife's credits will disappear on her anniversary date which for all Green members who came from Gold Circle will be in late Nov/Dec timeframe.

Again all this confusion has occurred because Aer Lingus tried to accommodate Gold circle members who had time remaining at launch of AerClub on there Gold Circle cards.

Do you not understand that you have been given 17 months of benefits? You can argue that they then should of given you 17 months of time to accumulate tier credits but they didn't..

Do you not understand that they have only given me 3 months and then 9 months to accumulate tier credits and move to the next tier? They haven't given me anything. They've taken away my opportunity to have my tier status reflect my spend and loyalty to their company.

MayoSalmon

RMDrive wrote: »

Do you not understand that they have only given me 3 months and then 9 months to accumulate tier credits and move to the next tier? They haven't given me anything. They've taken away my opportunity to have my tier status reflect my spend and loyalty to their company.

How?

AndyBoBandy

Worth mentioning I got fast track today at BHX with my silver card.
I was a little pressed for time so asked the girl at check in could I use it, so she checked my card and printed me off a fast track ticket, which was a godsend as the security queue was fairly big/slow as we come into holiday season.

So if you don't ask you don't get it seems, as I wasn't offered Fast Track 2 weeks ago!

alancostello

Used Fast Track coming back from Berlin Tegel last night, just showed them my card at the lane and they let me through.

On a lounge note, the setup is absolutely absurd, Terminal C used by Aer Lingus in Tegel is basically a separate warehouse used mainly for AirBerlin about a five minute walk away from Terminal A.

There's a lounge right beside the EI gates, however, when I went in to the lounge, I was told the Aer Lingus lounge was in Terminal A, there is no air-side connection to Terminal A, so how on Earth you're supposed to use the lounge in Berlin I do not know.