Aerlingus AerClub/Avios

AndyBoBandy

SB Morer wrote: »

Why is Ireland treated so poorly by IAG? Why are we given such limited options when it comes to earning Avios?

Because IAG don't really want or need AerClub. BA is their premium service.

It was fairly obvious when Gold Circle changed to AerClub, and the debacle that followed that they didn't give a toss about it.

If they could shut it down tomorrow they probably would.

It has to be one of the most unattractive frequent flyer services out there.

Sheep Shagger

Wonder how many people actually like the loyalty programme, same goes for the ridiculous Aer Lingus credit card.

goingnowhere

Credit card is pointless...

If you fly a fair bit the AerClub program (say IE-LHR only) it is insanely generous in terms of fast track, boarding and lounge access at Silver level, no other program gives so much at such a low level.

Problem is as you go up the levels (I've been all 3 levels in the same 12 months...) there is nothing extra really bar the upgrade to business class vouchers which until COVID came along were useless unless you booked months ahead.

In summary if you make Silver the program is unbeatable, if you make Concierge its pointless as you are probably flying in business or Aer Space anyway...

Dublinflyer

goingnowhere wrote: »

Credit card is pointless...


In summary if you make Silver the program is unbeatable, if you make Concierge its pointless as you are probably flying in business or Aer Space anyway...

Could not agree more on the card, why would you pay for a loyalty card extension as that's what is really is. Even a sign up bonus would make a big difference.

I travelled a lot for work in the past and hit Concierge pretty quick but the amount of benefits you get at silver are silly. Silver should get say fast track but not the lounge etc. The only good thing I seen about passing silver was that I could bring someone else with me in the fast lane and the lounge.

NH2013

I'd agree, benefits are very good at silver and very easy to earn, the only real advantage as you move up is the companion you can bring through fast track and into the lounge, otherwise exceptionally easy to effectively get the top benefits.

It did though entice me to fly Aer Lingus whenever I could back before COVID kicked off, so from that point of view it does it's job.

goingnowhere

Concierge has a fee wavier on changing flights, great but you have to call them as the website isn't set up to allow this. If work are paying who cares.

Platinum and Concierge now both have a secret phone number for assistance.

The original plan was access at EI owned lounges only for Sliver (i.e cost is zero to EI bar some coffee and soup)


I actually never flew in Business class while I was Concierge, flew down the back, out of 4 flights only once did the free WiFi card appear (and some extra vino), other times I had to hit the call bell (only time I've ever hit the call bell in 400+ flights) to get the WiFi card, and I gave them plenty of time to come around before hitting the button.

SB Morer

Unfortunately I don’t fly for work so there’s no way I’d earn sufficient Tier Points to advance to any status level. That’s why my post was about Avios earning ability in Ireland Vs the U.K. It’s unclear to be why our options to earn Avios are so low here.

For example why are retailers on the BA eStore who also operate in Ireland not included in the AerClub eStore? And why can’t we get a decent earning credit card in this country?

Noxegon

AerClub is easy if you’re doing transatlantics. If you’re not, then it’s pretty hard unless you’re buying the expensive fares.

AndyBoBandy

Noxegon wrote: »

AerClub is easy if you’re doing transatlantics. If you’re not, then it’s pretty hard unless you’re buying the expensive fares.

I made it to Concierge only flying to/from the U.K.
I was always booking Plus fares to guarantee the 25 (at the time) Tier Credits.

I did 1 business class trip in Concierge, and a few more U.K. flights, and pretty much haven't flown since (bar maybe 2 trips in the last 2 years), and am still at Silver...

Dublinflyer

SB Morer wrote: »

For example why are retailers on the BA eStore who also operate in Ireland not included in the AerClub eStore? And why can’t we get a decent earning credit card in this country?

Ireland has a bit of history with loyalty points in general. I remember in the early 80s the petrol stations all went crazy giving out stamps that you collect for all sorts of things including big TV's, a big deal back then. If I remember correctly the price of petrol was going up and up so and the government decided to try divert blame, lots of tax on petrol, and claimed that the price was going up to find these saving stamp schemes so they were all stopped, and of course they made changes to the tax law that makes is expensive to run these things.

Creamy Goodness

SB Morer wrote: »

And why can’t we get a decent earning credit card in this country?

Short answer, the interchange fee is capped by the EU at 0.2%, Stateside it's roughly ~2%* .


Interchange fees are - boardly speaking - what funds rewards and really any rewards in Ireland is really funded by marketing budgets, we're just too small a nation with terrible competition in the banking sector. I guess for the UK whilst they've been following the EU fee but come Jan 2021 they don't have to and probably had much bigger marketing budgets for this stuff let alone 13x the population leading to increased competition.


* card brand dependant

jackc101

Can I ask a theory question;
I've 55,000 avios, we'll occasionally use SuperValu & Visa as well as the eStore when getting something that happens to be on there anyway.
So; tipping away up with them without putting much effort in.
My OH would kill to do Business class return to NY for a milestone birthday, in a few years, presuming travel returns to normal.

Best bet / use of avios would be to book the flights at standard and upgrade to Business?

• 56,000 needed for 2 economy flights SNN/DUB to NY return (Off Peak) - Waste of avios?
• 148,000 needed to upgrade 2 going SNN/DUB to NY return (Off Peak)
• 200,000 needed for 2 business SNN/DUB to NY return (Off Peak)

SB Morer

Creamy Goodness wrote: »

Short answer, the interchange fee is capped by the EU at 0.2%, Stateside it's roughly ~2%* .


Interchange fees are - boardly speaking - what funds rewards and really any rewards in Ireland is really funded by marketing budgets, we're just too small a nation with terrible competition in the banking sector. I guess for the UK whilst they've been following the EU fee but come Jan 2021 they don't have to and probably had much bigger marketing budgets for this stuff let alone 13x the population leading to increased competition.


* card brand dependant

I understand the interchange fee prevents us from getting anything like the cards they have in the USA. However other Eurozone countries such as France and Italy have excellent Avios earning credit cards. While those are larger countries Finland with a very similar population to us has a Finnair MasterCard which earns one point per Euro with no annual fee. Why can’t we have anything similar?

Creamy Goodness

SB Morer wrote: »

I understand the interchange fee prevents us from getting anything like the cards they have in the USA. However other Eurozone countries such as France and Italy have excellent Avios earning credit cards. While those are larger countries Finland with a very similar population to us has a Finnair MasterCard which earns one point per Euro with no annual fee. Why can’t we have anything similar?

my only other guess would be that credit products aren't very popular here, very few of my friends and family use them, and especially since most banks now offer debit cards as opposed to when we had lazer.

Dublinflyer

Creamy Goodness wrote: »

my only other guess would be that credit products aren't very popular here, very few of my friends and family use them, and especially since most banks now offer debit cards as opposed to when we had lazer.

I wonder if they were available would it encourage people to use them a bit more. I have a friend in the UK who has it down to an art with his amex card and it has paid for some nice holidays for him and the other half.

Van.Bosch

jackc101 wrote: »

Can I ask a theory question;
I've 55,000 avios, we'll occasionally use SuperValu & Visa as well as the eStore when getting something that happens to be on there anyway.
So; tipping away up with them without putting much effort in.
My OH would kill to do Business class return to NY for a milestone birthday, in a few years, presuming travel returns to normal.

Best bet / use of avios would be to book the flights at standard and upgrade to Business?

• 56,000 needed for 2 economy flights SNN/DUB to NY return (Off Peak) - Waste of avios?
• 148,000 needed to upgrade 2 going SNN/DUB to NY return (Off Peak)
• 200,000 needed for 2 business SNN/DUB to NY return (Off Peak)

I looked at this, upgrade is the way to go. If you don’t have the Avios to upgrade 4 flights, you can buy them or else book economy out and just upgrade to business on the way back.

billy few mates

Sheep Shagger wrote: »

Wonder how many people actually like the loyalty programme, same goes for the ridiculous Aer Lingus credit card.

It actually put me off using them.

cson

jackc101 wrote: »

Can I ask a theory question;
I've 55,000 avios, we'll occasionally use SuperValu & Visa as well as the eStore when getting something that happens to be on there anyway.
So; tipping away up with them without putting much effort in.
My OH would kill to do Business class return to NY for a milestone birthday, in a few years, presuming travel returns to normal.

Best bet / use of avios would be to book the flights at standard and upgrade to Business?

• 56,000 needed for 2 economy flights SNN/DUB to NY return (Off Peak) - Waste of avios?
• 148,000 needed to upgrade 2 going SNN/DUB to NY return (Off Peak)
• 200,000 needed for 2 business SNN/DUB to NY return (Off Peak)

https://www.aerlingus.com/media/pdfs/EI_routes_avios_amounts.pdf

Your numbers are a little off - 2x Y off peak would be 52k. I think your best bet would be to book 2x one way Y via avios and either try and collect the remaining 74k Avios or else pay cash for 2x one way J fares.

Creamy Goodness wrote: »

my only other guess would be that credit products aren't very popular here, very few of my friends and family use them, and especially since most banks now offer debit cards as opposed to when we had lazer.

Bingo.

Its a cultural thing.

Sheep Shagger

Lack of earning credit card could also be blamed on the lazy/backward legacy banks in this country.

ironclaw

Sheep Shagger wrote: »

Lack of earning credit card could also be blamed on the lazy/backward legacy banks in this country.

I know this sounds insane but someone once told me (And they could very well be wrong but it sounded plausible) but we don't have points cards as its technically a benefit in kind, and hence is taxable especially for businesses.

I tried to get a Lufthansa CC card from Germany a few years ago and they declined it as Ireland was specifically exempt from them being issued. At least that's what the said, I've otherwise always qualified for other cards.

SB Morer

ironclaw wrote: »

I know this sounds insane but someone once told me (And they could very well be wrong but it sounded plausible) but we don't have points cards as its technically a benefit in kind, and hence is taxable especially for businesses.

I tried to get a Lufthansa CC card from Germany a few years ago and they declined it as Ireland was specifically exempt from them being issued. At least that's what the said, I've otherwise always qualified for other cards.

From Revenue.ie:
Air miles: Your employee may receive air miles because of frequent air travel for work. This is not a benefit in kind. Your employee will not have to pay tax on it.

https://www.revenue.ie/en/employing-people/benefit-in-kind-for-employers/travel-passes-and-air-miles/index.aspx

L1011

SB Morer wrote: »

From Revenue.ie:
Air miles: Your employee may receive air miles because of frequent air travel for work. This is not a benefit in kind. Your employee will not have to pay tax on it.

https://www.revenue.ie/en/employing-people/benefit-in-kind-for-employers/travel-passes-and-air-miles/index.aspx

That exemption is for air miles awarded on travel; not giving someone the rewards off a corporate card which is the norm in the US. I suspect they'd probably give the same guidance there though.

However, if you're using your own card and reclaiming I can't see any issues.

cson

The reason you don't see credit card rewards in Ireland is because;

(a) Credit card adoption tends to be low, particularly if you have one that has an annual fee which will scare the **** out of most people

(b) EU caps on interchange fees

(c) APR's and associated fees aren't as high, thus there isn't the same pot to offset rewards as they have in the US

(d) Competition is pretty fierce in the US, its patently not in Ireland in the banking, or indeed travel sector. I'm always amazed with the lack of chain hotels outside of Dublin; how Marriott or Hilton don't have a presence in the likes of Galway astounds me but then I guess they figure they'll sell the beds regardless of the brand. Ergo the knock on is why would Marriott or Hilton offer a cobrand or transfer partner option here?

Even in the UK, I think the sign up bonus on an Amex Gold is ~10k MR, which is not even enough for an off peak one way EI flight to the Eastern US.

Jim Root

Boss is making noises about getting me back to London...is the AL lounge in Dublin open? God the the thoughts of those 6.30am flights starting up again...

goingnowhere

Earliest reopen date is 22 October

Sheep Shagger

Jim Root wrote: »

Boss is making noises about getting me back to London...is the AL lounge in Dublin open? God the the thoughts of those 6.30am flights starting up again...

Christ is that really necessary (would he risk the travel himself?)

Used to travel a bit to the UK and within Europe for work , can't see me travelling again this year and will be much reduced going forward, maybe when only really gad to be face to face (sales or problems).

Used to have a no flight before 8.30am rule myself, would never schedule a meeting for earlier than 11am.. if they want me there earlier then pay for a hotel to go the night before.

SB Morer

cson wrote: »

The reason you don't see credit card rewards in Ireland is because;

(a) Credit card adoption tends to be low, particularly if you have one that has an annual fee which will scare the **** out of most people

(b) EU caps on interchange fees

(c) APR's and associated fees aren't as high, thus there isn't the same pot to offset rewards as they have in the US

(d) Competition is pretty fierce in the US, its patently not in Ireland in the banking, or indeed travel sector. I'm always amazed with the lack of chain hotels outside of Dublin; how Marriott or Hilton don't have a presence in the likes of Galway astounds me but then I guess they figure they'll sell the beds regardless of the brand. Ergo the knock on is why would Marriott or Hilton offer a cobrand or transfer partner option here?

Even in the UK, I think the sign up bonus on an Amex Gold is ~10k MR, which is not even enough for an off peak one way EI flight to the Eastern US.

Thanks for this, but I acknowledged most of those facts in a previous post. The question I asked that sparked this current thread is why EU Eurozone members with similar populations to Ireland (such as Finland) can have credit cards with no annual fee that earn modest rewards such as 1 mile per €1 when all we are offered Is the sole AerClub Card from BOI which offers a quarter of those points and has an annual fee of €96. I was also unclear as to why AMEX operates in so many EU counties (including tiny Luxembourg) but not in Ireland.

trellheim

Boss is making noises about getting me back to London...is the AL lounge in Dublin open? God the the thoughts of those 6.30am flights starting up again...

If anything happens I do not think travel insurance will cover you

Jim Root

goingnowhere wrote: »

Earliest reopen date is 22 October

Wont be travelling until after that so, good info thanks.

I guess I’ll take it as a sign of my relative importance, given the current climate. Rather be asked to start back on the hamster wheel of business travel than be out the door....

Travel insurance is a good point, I’ll need to check that.

goingnowhere

No insurer is going to cover you unless its a green list (or whatever it will be called next week)

I'd be very clear you ain't going until you have a letter from the CEO/legal/HR director which provides an undertaking to match in hard company cash the normal insurances.

Thankfully there is no fuss in the UK the NHS will take care of you.