Would you shop in Boots without an Advantage card or Tesco without a Clubcard? So why fly with Aer Lingus without joining AerClub? Check out my beginners guide to AerClub below and find out why you should join!
If you have booked an Aer Lingus flight within the last few years, you have probably been asked to join their frequent flyer programme, AerClub. I assuming if you haven’t joined AerClub yet, its because you thought you had to fly regularly with Aer Lingus to get the benefits. Believe me, you don’t! My beginners guide to AerClub will explain why.
Even if you have no plans to fly with Aer Lingus this year, you can still join AerClub, trust me, the benefits are worth the effort. Don’t worry if you have left it late to join, with this beginners guide to AerClub, you will be saving money off your next Aer Lingus flight in no time.
The benefits of joining AerClub:
AerClub has over one million members. Avios is the travel reward currency of AerClub, which is also used by other international airlines such as British Airways & Iberia. As an AerClub member, you collect Avios points when you fly with Aer Lingus and their partner airlines, as well as with a range of other retail, travel and leisure partners.
Then you can use Avios to save money off Aer Lingus flights. Let’s use one of AerClub’s partners, Marks and Spencer, as an example.
If you spend €100 online with Marks and Spencer via the AerClub eStore, you will receive 400 Avios. The AerClub eStore is an online shopping portal, where you shop in the same way as you would normally shop online, but instead of searching directly on the Marks and Spencer website, you access it via the AerClub website.
There is no extra cost to you for shopping in this way. I should also point out that the 400 Avios that you will receive for spending €100 with Marks and Spencer online, is actually the M&S standard reward rate with Avios. During promotions this rate will be much higher.
You can then use these 400 Avios to save money off your next Aer Lingus flight. There is no filling out forms, no application necessary, simply select ‘Pay With Avios’ when booking an AerLingus flight on AerLingus.com or via the Aer Lingus app. See more in this guide to AerClub and Avios in this short video.
See how to pay for flights with Avios here.
How to collect Avios
As well as collecting Avios when you fly with Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia and other airlines, you can also collect Avios when shopping in Kildare Village ,Decathalon and online, via the AerClub eStore. I’m not talking about obscure boutiques, I mean your favourite retailers like M&S, ASOS, River Island, Apple, as well as Currys, Disney and JD Sports.
You can get Avios when you travel too, for example when you book car hire with Avis or Budget and also with a range of hotel partners. Fancy afternoon tea in the Merrion Hotel, or want to treat yourself in Appleby Jewellers? Yes you guessed it, these are all AerClub partners too! I accumulated over 100,000 Avios in this way and used them to upgrade my flight to Orlando this year.
See more ways to collect Avios here
See tips to boost your Avios balance here
How to spend Avios
Once you accumulate Avios, you can use these to pay for reward flights, hotels, car hire and travel experiences. You can also use them to part-pay for Aer Lingus flights. So even if you have only accumulated 400 Avios, you can use these to get a discount off your next Aer Lingus flight.
See more ways to spend Avios here.
How to Join AerClub
If by any chance you have not joined AerClub yet – now is your chance! It is so easy to join, simply click here. By joining AerClub you will enjoy the benefits of being part of a global network of partners and you can pay for flights with Avios. You can also use Avios to pay for hotels, car hire and travel experiences.
Where can I see my membership number and Avios balancee.
Once you have joined AerClub, log in on AerLingus.com with your username and password, where you will see your membership number, Tier Credits and Avios balance. You can also log in on the app to view your membership number and account details.
Note it can take up to four weeks for Avios to be shown on your balance, depending on where you have collected them. For hotels and car hire, your Avios will be added to your account after you have completed your booking.
What are AerClub Tier Credits?
As well as rewarding you with Avios, AerClub reward their frequent flyers with Tier Credits. Tier Credits are only given when you fly with Aer Lingus. If you can manage to collect 301 Tier Credits in one year, you will move from a Green Tier (the basic introductory level) to a Silver Tier and can avail of huge benefits, like business class check-in and even flight upgrades.
See more tips and tricks to boost your AerClub Tier Credits here.
I hope that you enjoyed my beginners guide to AerClub and that it will help you to accumulate lots of Avios. This post was oroginally sponsored by Avios in 2019, so details are subject to change.
Sarah
