Air Miles

Dublinflyer · 23-05-2014 12:11pm #1

Not sure if this is the right forum for this but I am sure the mods will correct me if not.

Does anyone have any ideas why there are no ways of earning air miles through non airline loyalty programs here in Ireland. Or am I missing something. For example if you get an MBNA credit card in the UK you can earn AA miles on it. There was a discussion in the travel forum where people were talking about ways to get miles quickly through schemes like mbna's. I am hoping you will all come back and say there are loads of ways to collect

Sugar Free · 23-05-2014 12:17pm

This has come up before and I believe at one point Ulster Bank had some sort of offering with credit cards which I has since been discontinued.

I would also like to know about the reasons for a lack of options though as I spend up to half my working time traveling internationally - is it a financial regulatory thing, is the market too small to support it etc?

As it is I have several hotel chains where I can convert their loyalty points to air miles (e.g. HHonors) but the conversion rate is pitiful.

IRLConor · 23-05-2014 12:58pm

Sugar Free wrote: »

This has come up before and I believe at one point Ulster Bank had some sort of offering with credit cards which I has since been discontinued.

The only bank-airline tie-in that I know of in Ireland is that BoI gold card holders get Aer Lingus lounge access.

Sugar Free wrote: »

I would also like to know about the reasons for a lack of options though as I spend up to half my working time traveling internationally - is it a financial regulatory thing, is the market too small to support it etc?

The dearth of options is probably due to the fact that of the two biggest airlines in Ireland one has no frequent flier program and the other has a slightly odd one.

In other countries where there's a bigger selection of mileage programs to choose from, the airlines have to work harder to do deals with partners to make the programs look more attractive.

fits · 23-05-2014 1:03pm

does anyone know how many flights/ miles you have to actually accrue to get gold circle? Its not transparent at all.

IRLConor · 23-05-2014 1:14pm

fits wrote: »

does anyone know how many flights/ miles you have to actually accrue to get gold circle? Its not transparent at all.

You need 2400 points in 12 months.

The points for Aer Lingus flights are here. You get 100 points each way for a flight to the UK, 150 each way to the rest of Europe, 300 each way for a flight to North America and 1,000 each way for flying business class. Some flights (fare class A, W and Z) don't earn any points at all, most often because they're discounted tickets.

You can also earn points on BA, Cathay, Qantas and United but that bit is quite obscure. The conversion from, say United Airlines miles into points isn't explained anywhere that I can find.

jamo2oo9 · 23-05-2014 1:21pm

I know that if you get a credit card with American Airlines, you get a certain amount of air miles depending on the credit card limit. I saw a video on youtube where a guy applied for credit cards from different airlines in the States and they all came with air miles although the interest rates were pretty high (I think anyway). With the air miles he collected, he managed to travel around the globe for free using air miles!

Sugar Free · 23-05-2014 2:01pm

I have Gold Circle membership. It's nothing special, other airlines give you more bang for your buck. The security fast track is handy though during the early morning stampedes.

So I guess in a nutshell the reason for the lack of alternative ways to earn miles is simply down to a lack of competition where Dublin is the hub?

IRLConor · 23-05-2014 2:11pm

Sugar Free wrote: »

I have Gold Circle membership. It's nothing special, other airlines give you more bang for your buck. The security fast track is handy though during the early morning stampedes.

Yup, and if you're travelling with bags the GC/Business desks are a lot quicker than the bag drop queues. That – to me at least – is worth more than the fast track security. You can buy into the fast track security pretty cheaply, so while it's great it's not worth going out of your way to fly EI for. The lounge is nothing special, but it's a nice quiet place to avoid the crowds.

Sugar Free wrote: »

So I guess in a nutshell the reason for the lack of alternative ways to earn miles is simply down to a lack of competition where Dublin is the hub?

That's my guess anyway.

fits · 23-05-2014 2:14pm

Sugar Free wrote: »

. The security fast track is handy though during the early morning stampedes.

?

I would like it for this reason alone. Judging by post above I have taken enough flights in 12 month period but booked through another airline booking system so im not getting points accrueing.

lord lucan · 23-05-2014 2:16pm

Moved to Travel from Aviation & Aircraft, Travel Charter applies.

IRLConor · 23-05-2014 2:23pm

fits wrote: »

I would like it for this reason alone.

Pay Airport Genie €5.95 and you get fast track security and a coffee.

fits wrote: »

Judging by post above I have taken enough flights in 12 month period but booked through another airline booking system so im not getting points accrueing.

Not all flights earn points. (See above)
Not all qualifying flights get automatically added, use the "add missing flights functionality".

Sugar Free · 23-05-2014 2:25pm

fits wrote: »

I would like it for this reason alone. Judging by post above I have taken enough flights in 12 month period but booked through another airline booking system so im not getting points accrueing.

I book my travel through a corporate system and I still get the points. Are you already signed up as a 'candidate member'? You can't claim retrospectively just in case you haven't signed up.

DonnaBar · 01-10-2014 10:39am

There is some more info contained in an article I found in the Independent entitled "Make those air miles pay off" published on July 11 2013. However, if this article proves anything, it's that there is very limited options for Irish flyers. The main one being Aerlingus but which seems to only benefit those flying Buisness Class (gives a 1000 point bonus per flight). When you fly Buisness Class though, you are talking crazy money for flights and although I work for a huge global company, even they are not willing to spend the money on aerlingus buisness class flights.

Dublinflyer · 01-10-2014 11:00am

I have looked a lot and there are no real options for Irish people to get miles through non airline programs.

ardmacha · 01-10-2014 5:54pm

It is not clear to me why there should not be a Eurozone wide market in credit cards since the introduction of SEPA, so that Irish people could more easily access a range of credit with loyalty schemes.

Dublinflyer · 02-10-2014 8:50am

I think as it stands technically we can get cards from any country we wish but all the cards say that you must be resident in the issuing cards country. A lot of cards also still charge a cross border handling charge even though you are in the eurozone and paying for something in euro.

ToxicPaddy · 10-10-2014 7:31am

The only way to really benefit from this sort of points system is to get something like an Amex gold or platinum card. You can link it to your BA account and use it for everything. Every Euro spent gives you miles. It also gives you automatic upgrades to SPG and Hilton Honours Gold status.

A friend on mine does it and she gets free flights, hotels nights, automatic upgrades etc. BA codeshare a lot of flights with Aer Lingus for the time being so iirc you should benefit there as well.

However, Amex is not as widely accepted in Europe as it is in the US so it May not work as well here in Ireland.

I have a Gold Circle and tbh the GC check in desk, the express security lane and the lounge are a nice thing to have on a Monday morning when things are nuts in Dublin airport.

I make a point of clocking up my needed 2400 points to keep the card at the start of the year and it keeps me sane through the rest of the year

Air Miles

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