Aer credit card

If you are going to

• Use the lounge passes and fast track passes
• Use the free flights (particularly if you can use them for something semi expensive, e.g. you're flexible but booking, say, ski flights which are always dear but very few people will look for the free flights)
• Find the travel insurance worth it

It can be worth a few hundred quid a year over the cost of having the card in terms of those benefits alone. But you need to be using them in the first place, not changing your plans to do it.

Then, if you spend a huge amount on the card and pay it off in full every month the Avios do add up. I don't use cash or debit for anything, including any bills I can pay by card - broadband, phone, bins are the only ones currently unfortunately; holding out hope a power firm allows it (and are cheap in the first place - spending more money for a tiny reward is pointless)

Make sure you put your credit card numbers - any credit card, any bank - on your Avios account in the first place as there are a number of places that give you Avios automatically that way; Harvey Nicks and Aircoach for me in the last year.

As an Aer Credit card user (also currently Platinum with Aer Lingus) I consider the main benefit is the annual travel insurance which I would buy anyhow - aside from that I can pick up points on my spending, not great rate but, I'd be spending the money anyhow so may as well get some Avios.

Depends on your appetite/needs and how fast you want to earn Avios, I see Revolut have an option which costs e540 per year but way faster points earning, lounge access with Priority pass and a few other benefits.

Aside from that, no cards in the Irish market with Avios earning potential.

You can direct your general (but particurlarly travel) spending via the AerClub estore to really bulk up points and that does not require an affiliate credit card, so no additional fees.

It really comes down to how much you put through the credit card monthly and how much you currently travel, whether you have status with EI already for lounge access etc as to where the best package is for you

Yes, once a month. Week or so after the payment date from memory.

Apologies, you are correct. It's a perk on the American version of the aer lingus card.

Have you actually looked at the cover?

It covers family and here is the summary of coverage - which to me seems to be typical in the market. I also have Private Health Insurance which is providing medical cover for me but, that is not a requirement of the BOI Policy.

At effectively €72 for annual multitrip - easy to compare with the other available in the market.

The benefits are changing to be solely focused around Avios points from October.

https://personalbanking.bankofireland.com/app/uploads/Update-to-Aer-CC-Customer-Notification.pdf

Lads.. this just in. Massive changes to the Aer club card coming on the 23rd of October. I think the bank are getting scared about revolut and their miles program.

Bank of Ireland Aer Credit Card changes its benefits to offer 40,000 Avios annually for spending €10,000 in a membership year. Cardholders will now earn one Avios per €3 spent on everyday purchases, making award redemptions easier and more accessible

https://www.headforpoints.com/2024/08/13/aer-lingus-credit-card-changes/

With the changes taking effect in October, does anyone know what will happened to free flights that have already been earned? Will customers still be able to avail of them in the rest of their membership year? And what about customers who are moving towards earning flights at the €5000 threshold? Will they no longer be able to reach that threshold effective from the October changes taking effect?

I wonder if the business case isn't stacking up for them, or maybe there was negative customer reaction/people wanting to know what will happen to their currently earned flights.

This opens up Long Haul for everyone which is by far a better proposition.

I can pay for my own flight to Malaga like.

Got an email from BoI saying that the proposed rewards in October are not going ahead. No real explanation given only that is was an "error".

Sorry for hijacking the thread but does anyone know if I can use my 2 reward flights for 2 adults and then add an infant to the booking?

This is at the bottom of the email about the reward flights:

Children under 16
Don’t forget all flight bookings for children under 16 must include an adult on their booking. If you plan on travelling with children under 16, for example if 2 adults and one child plan to travel you will need to request the Aer Credit Card flights for one adult and one child, and once these flights are confirmed the second adult can book a regular fare on aerlingus.com.

Surely that doesn't apply to an infant who won't be taking up a seat? It would probably work out more expensive than just booking 2 regular adult fares and paying the infant fee.

For nearly all people, yes

That's a daa lounge. It's the sole Aer Lingus lounge in the corridor between the terminals that it covers

They come in monthly, mid month I think for the previous months bill. Can't log in to check the dates because the website is erroring out!

So here's an interesting one, according to B&Q I had followed a link from https://direct.mediasource.ir to get to their site instead of the aer club site so no avios are being awarded on my €100 spend, all very strange

A bit of a downgrade from my last credit card provider so. Maybe I'll get notifications if I use Google Wallet?

do you know what exactly the changes were? I was thinking of switching to the Aer Card, heard off a colleague that there was a significant downgrade on the aer card recently and looking for clarity! Cheers.

Question: I recently used my free flights and the whole thing was a bit confusing to me. I thought the fare was just a basic fare (so no checked-in luggage), but on my return fare the boarding pass mentioned 'cabin bag' …does this mean that I get to bring the cabin bag on board the flight? Or just that I have to check it into the hold along with everyone else? I didn't notice any of this on the outbound flight because I decided to use the fast track security/priority boarding ticket …that experience was also hit and miss because the woman boarding us at Dublin airport looked like she had never seen a priority boarding pass before except for business class and elite frequent flyers.

Q of my own

How long does the credit card application take ?

Submitted my documents online Monday evening , but haven't heard anything since ,going give them a ring tomorrow if I don't get any update

During the summer BOI had a massive backlog of applications, basically if your application went for manual underwriting you’d be waiting nearly six weeks. Must have come down now but I’d call just to check all is OK