The Aer Lingus AerClub is currently offering a 50% bonus on purchasing Avios, their frequent flyer points. This promotion allows customers to top up their Avios balance and then redeem them for award flights. While some may initially dismiss these offers as worthless, there are actually significant savings to be made.
For example, I personally took advantage of a previous promotion and used the bonus Avios to book first and business class tickets to Australia. The savings compared to the regular airline ticket prices were substantial. This made me realize the value of purchasing Avios during these bonus periods.
It’s worth noting that these bonus Avios promotions occur three or four times a year, with 50% being the maximum bonus offered. It’s important to avoid buying Avios when the extra points are not being offered, as it defeats the purpose of taking advantage of the bonus.
The current Aer Lingus offer is available until 23:59 on Monday, 29 January 2024. To purchase Avios, you will need to have an Aer Lingus AerClub account. You can do this on their website.
One advantage of purchasing Avios is that you can transfer them to other airlines. For example, you can transfer Avios points from Aer Lingus to British Airways and Iberia, and from British Airways to Qatar Airways. All of these airlines use Avios as their currency, so having accounts with them allows you to take advantage of the benefits.
Transferring Avios to a British Airways Executive Club account is particularly useful, as British Airways is part of the oneworld alliance. This means that you can use Avios to book frequent flyer seats on all of their partner airlines, such as Finnair, Qantas, Cathay Pacific, Qatar Airways, Iberia, American Airlines, and Alaska Airlines. This opens up a wide range of options for your travel plans.
When purchasing Avios during the promotion, it’s important to have a strategy in mind. Check the award space for the dates you want to travel, and then see how many Avios are required to book those seats. Compare this to the cash price for the same flights. If there is a significant saving by purchasing Avios and booking a reward flight, it can be a worthwhile investment.
In my experience, the points land in your account almost instantly after making a purchase. Transferring the points between accounts also happens instantly.
To give you an example of the savings you can make, I purchased return business class flights on Qatar Airways from Dublin to Doha and back for around €1,200. The same ticket would have cost €4,600 if I had paid in cash. This demonstrates the potential for big savings when purchasing Avios during a promotion.
If you’re considering buying Avios in this sale, I would highly recommend it. The bonus offer provides a great opportunity to top up your account and save money on future flights. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below.