Aerlingus AerClub/Avios

RMDrive

goingnowhere wrote: »

That was always in the program benefits for Aer Club Concierge "Complimentary Wi-Fi on transatlantic flights" so if it hasn't been happening you should be complaining or actively asking the cabin crew as your status is on the manifest (even on short haul ex IRL/UK you can get the odd free newspaper and sandwich)

A colleague never paid for a business class ticket and travelled Dublin Seattle 11 times a year via ORD, worth in the old days a shade over 1000 GC points, easily made top tier

Yeah, it was always there but the change that I've noticed is that they may a point of coming down to give it to you rather than you having to ask (which was my experience most of the time).

AndyBoBandy

RMDrive wrote: »

Ha. Concierge the hard way here. Not one business class ticket.

Same here, Concierge with flights only to/from the U.K.

goingnowhere

The super smart way for WiFi would be to allow you use your aerlingus site username and password and it would decide based on your status to offer free, discount or full price and use the credit card on the profile and god forbid use Avios to pay for the WiFi

But thats the 21st century IT solution, alas not happening with EI

ButtersSuki

I've actually given up (for the moment) on trying to get my avios balance sorted (missing at this stage over 30 flights). They've really p*ssed me off with all of their f*ck ups since they changed from GC to AC. It's a good job for them we live on an island and effectively limit our choice of flying partners.

Yamanoto

ctlsleh wrote: »

So i can use my BA Avios points to book Aerlingus then? i wasn't aware of that. ive tried that online in the past but was never successful (which is how i ended up with 10 years of unused BA points) ill give BAEC a call tomorrow to discuss.

Yes, many UK flyers choose to redeem BA Avios on EI precisely because taxes and fees charged on award redemptions are way less than ex-UK flights on BA planes. The BA agent will also waive the phone booking fee as the inventory they see is not available to book online.

ctlsleh wrote: »

one final question, does it ever make sense to use the EI Avios points and can you switch points back and forth between the BA scheme and the EI scheme?

In the past it was handy to retain a balance with Gold Circle, as a o/w upgrade to the US would only set you back 4k points & there were Arnotts & Brown T's vouchers that many members availed of. I haven't looked at EI reward pricing, but I get the feeling it'll represent poor value in comparison with just forking out for a revenue ticket.

Use 'combine my avios' on Avios.com & you can shift points between EI, IB & BA.

Also, check out Reward Flight Saver fares on BA.com for European short haul possibilities with a modest tax element.

jesus_thats_gre

ButtersSuki wrote: »

I've actually given up (for the moment) on trying to get my avios balance sorted (missing at this stage over 30 flights). They've really p*ssed me off with all of their f*ck ups since they changed from GC to AC. It's a good job for them we live on an island and effectively limit our choice of flying partners.

You would think that they don't realise that frequent travellers are avoiding flying AL for this reason. The way the transition was executed annoyed me to start with but the nonsense since is majorly off putting.

ButtersSuki

AndyBoBandy wrote: »

Same here, Concierge with flights only to/from the U.K.

On one hand - impressive! On the other - you have my sympathies!

I did on average 2 returns to the Uk a week for 6 months a few years back. Up at 4am, home at 11pm or later same day. Was a walking zombie after a while.

AndyBoBandy

ButtersSuki wrote: »

On one hand - impressive! On the other - you have my sympathies!

I did on average 2 returns to the Uk a week for 6 months a few years back. Up at 4am, home at 11pm or later same day. Was a walking zombie after a while.

I try to avoid the 6-7am departures now if I can, but for the day trips it's unavoidable.

Although when I was visiting North Wales a lot about 2 years ago, I could fly over to MAN and still back home by 5pm.

acer911

Quick question guys.

I was of the opinion that my tier credits reset on my anniversary date (01/01/2018), however when I log into Aer Club it is telling me that I have to earn 209 more points by 01/01/2019 to reach Platinum. Do I have over a year to earn the 209 credits or will these reset on 01/01/2018 meaning that I will need to earn 600 points from then to reach Platinum?

AndyBoBandy

acer911 wrote: »

Quick question guys.

I was of the opinion that my tier credits reset on my anniversary date (01/01/2018), however when I log into Aer Club it is telling me that I have to earn 209 more points by 01/01/2019 to reach Platinum. Do I have over a year to earn the 209 credits or will these reset on 01/01/2018 meaning that I will need to earn 600 points from then to reach Platinum?

I was thinking about this today and about how misleasing the website is.

It tells me I need to earn 41 Tier Credits before November 2018 to reach Concierge (the 50 credits from Friday will credit tomorrow), but it’s very hard to find written anywhere that your Tier Credits go back to 0 12 months prior to this date, despite us all knowin this is what happens

I think they need another little note under your credits balance to say what date the credits will go to 0

mx5ire

AndyBoBandy wrote: »

acer911 wrote: »

Quick question guys.

I was of the opinion that my tier credits reset on my anniversary date (01/01/2018), however when I log into Aer Club it is telling me that I have to earn 209 more points by 01/01/2019 to reach Platinum. Do I have over a year to earn the 209 credits or will these reset on 01/01/2018 meaning that I will need to earn 600 points from then to reach Platinum?

I was thinking about this today and about how misleasing the website is.

It tells me I need to earn 41 Tier Credits before November 2018 to reach Concierge (the 50 credits from Friday will credit tomorrow), but it’s very hard to find written anywhere that your Tier Credits go back to 0 12 months prior to this date, despite us all knowin this is what happens

I think they need another little note under your credits balance to say what date the credits will go to 0

Its an extremely misleading setup that ends up with people seeing their Tier Credits wiped a year earlier than they expect, based on the date on the website, i.e you have to earn xxx before 01/01/2018 to reach Platinum etc. That is exactly what happened to me - my points were wiped completely unexpectedly on 30 Apr this year, despite the website saying that i had until 30 Apr 2018 to reach Concierge.

They have since added a small section on the Tiers & Benefits page trying to explain/justify this. But frankly its just a very poor setup. Due to my GC anniversary date in April, I only had 6 months of GC Elite to maintain status before the AerClub migration, where i was demoted because i hadn't earned enough points in the previous 6 months, and then only 6 months in Aerclub to earn Tier Credit before they also expired. I just think that this is poor treatment of significant revenue spenders.

acer911

mx5ire wrote: »

Its an extremely misleading setup that ends up with people seeing their Tier Credits wiped a year earlier than they expect, based on the date on the website, i.e you have to earn xxx before 01/01/2018 to reach Platinum etc. That is exactly what happened to me - my points were wiped completely unexpectedly on 30 Apr this year, despite the website saying that i had until 30 Apr 2018 to reach Concierge.

They have since added a small section on the Tiers & Benefits page trying to explain/justify this. But frankly its just a very poor setup. Due to my GC anniversary date in April, I only had 6 months of GC Elite to maintain status before the AerClub migration, where i was demoted because i hadn't earned enough points in the previous 6 months, and then only 6 months in Aerclub to earn Tier Credit before they also expired. I just think that this is poor treatment of significant revenue spenders.

So in my case do I need to get 209 before 01/01/2018 and not 01/01/2019 to reach the next tier?

AndyBoBandy

acer911 wrote: »

So in my case do I need to get 209 before 01/01/2018 and not 01/01/2019 to reach the next tier?

Yes, your points will reset to zero on 01/01/2018

It is mentioned in the small print somewhere on the website, though it is still very vague.

acer911

AndyBoBandy wrote: »

Yes, your points will reset to zero on 01/01/2018

So that narrative is completely wrong then!?

goingnowhere

Its to do with the grace given during the transition

So imagine your Gold Circle card expired in May 2017

You would subject to meeting the criteria be issued with a card valid till May 2018, i.e. 1 year 7 months back last Nov/Dec

Thus avoiding the ugly situation of having 6 months to do a years flying to retain status (that said if you earned 1052 points in that period you would have been upgraded to Concierge)

May 2017 everything resets to 0 and you have 12 months to get enough points to retain status, status is always based on the 12 months before the expiry of the care

Noxegon

jesus_thats_gre wrote: »

You would think that they don't realise that frequent travellers are avoiding flying AL for this reason.

This. I fly EI now only when I have to.

steve-o

jesus_thats_gre wrote: »

You would think that they don't realise that frequent travellers are avoiding flying AL for this reason

Many formerly valuable customers have ditched their loyalty to Aer Lingus over this nonsense and, since AerClub still can't properly track customer usage, Aer Lingus don't have the data to know who has left, let alone why.

L1011

If you've a properly working loyalty programme it should be flagging people who drop off - when I stopped fleet driving, Applegreen phoned me to ask if I'd changed filling station! But of course, they don't have one.

AndyBoBandy

steve-o wrote: »

Aer Lingus don't have the data to know who has left, let alone why.

They probably don't care either. I'm sure IAG would have factored in the expected loss of frequent business by implementing a new pi$$ poor FF program, which seems to have been set up with the most basic of IT infrastructure.

Definitely a cheapo job all round!

(Out of interest I wonder how many GC points were out there during the change over? Surely there was a good few million, and they got devalued to squat)

nsa0bupkd3948x

Flew EI to the states and credited the flight to BA as it got more avios than crediting to AerClub. Avios in my BA account the next day.

Was impressed, I presumed I was going to spend months chasing them.

ironclaw

Just realised that none of the tiers entitle you to a checked bag or extra weight. Star Alliance gives you extra weight and complimentary bags with most partners.

Who actually thought up this program?

AndyBoBandy

ironclaw wrote: »

Just realised that none of the tiers entitle you to a checked bag or extra weight. Star Alliance gives you extra weight and complimentary bags with most partners.

Who actually thought up this program?

For many years in Gold Circle I’ve checked bags in for free, it usually just takes a nod and a wink to the agent on the desk.

goingnowhere

AndyBoBandy wrote: »

For many years in Gold Circle I’ve checked bags in for free, it usually just takes a nod and a wink to the agent on the desk.

I've certainly had bags checked in without it being on the reservation.

Its like the deal at the lounge with one guest, well I don't have a guess with me, only once or twice a year, then one day three guests no problem...

George Sunsnow

Camdyn Colossal Geyser wrote: »

Flew EI to the states and credited the flight to BA as it got more avios than crediting to AerClub. Avios in my BA account the next day.

Was impressed, I presumed I was going to spend months chasing them.

BA are very effecient at that and at chasing missing points or avios
3 of the longer Club Europe trips tier points for example Athens or tfn or Rak Via London will get you silver
Using google flights you’d often find those for 3 or 400 euros if you’re flexible on the weekend or mid week

Aerclub is Stone Age in comparison eg what does the equivalent EI status cost?

L1011

KL give you massively discounted bags even on Ivory - made extensive use of that this year.

mx5ire

goingnowhere wrote: »

Its like the deal at the lounge with one guest, well I don't have a guess with me, only once or twice a year, then one day three guests no problem...

This is where they seem to have set a new hard and fast rule, and have been ruthless to me about it. Twice in Dub and once in JFK they have refused to let my wife and 9 year old girl in with me- only 1 guest allowed. Now while its the letter of the law - we were never refused in Dub previously with GC when my daughter was much smaller. I think that it is incredibly petty.

Yet many times i have been in the Dub lounge and seen families with 2 and 3 kids there - so either they are paying 25 Eur a head or whatever it is, or else the rules are selective. The worst of it is that if my wife got her missing flights she would be Silver and then no issue with my daughter as my 1 guest.

acer911

Just got an email from Aer Lingus asking to complete a survey on a recent flight that I had taken.

One of the questions was something like this "Before today, we you aware that Aer Lingus were introducing a new loyalty reward program?"

Anyone know anything about this?

goingnowhere

acer911 wrote: »

Just got an email from Aer Lingus asking to complete a survey on a recent flight that I had taken.

One of the questions was something like this "Before today, we you aware that Aer Lingus were introducing a new loyalty reward program?"

Anyone know anything about this?

Fairly routine, I get one roughly 1 in 10 flights

niallo32

Is there an easy way to calculate the number of tier points due from a flight based on the ticket class or ticket number?

Am due around 450 tier points

goingnowhere

Its on the website

https://www.aerlingus.com/aerclub/using-aerclub/tiers-and-benefits/#/tab-0-green