Aerlingus AerClub/Avios

Nijmegen · 28-01-2019 6:53pm

Sheep Shagger wrote: »

Theres a €8 fee per month too, makes it dearer than my BOI plstinum card...dunno how they work out the free travel insurance part is worth €150pa.

I missed the fee. So €96 for the perks, after you spend €5k on the card for the flights etc. I can see how it'd add value for some folks, but when you read the points sites from the US it's pretty thin gruel. But as I say (and I was reading some more about this today out of interest) a reason underlying it in Europe is that the EU capped interchange fees, at 0.3% on credit cards versus 1.5% plus charged in the US. So I guess there's where you get your 1 avios for €4 spent. The value of an avios is obviously difficult to pin down, but 4k for an off-peak flight to London that's probably costing €29.99; of which €9 is taxes, so €20.99 means your avios is worth €0.005 if I'm correct? Now you could go somewhere further during off peak and juice that value a bit, but that's quite the return on €4 spent (0.125%) but fits I guess within the envelope of a 0.3% interchange fee.

cson · 28-01-2019 9:06pm

Surprised they haven't added Priority Boarding as full time benefit, it'd cost them nothing and would probably be attractive to a lot of travelers.

Something like the Chase Sapphire Reserve/Preferred would absolutely hoover up the millennial demographic in Ireland.

jesus_thats_gre · 28-01-2019 10:47pm

billy few mates wrote: »

Just saw a big billboard before security in T2 when I was passing through this morning.
Nothing in it for me so I won't be bothering with it, I don't spend any money on tickets with EI (company pays when I do use them), I don't spend any money onboard, I already have tens of thousands of Avios I don't know what to do with, I don't use the lounge even when I have access and my fast track security is already included in my tickets. My travel insurance costs me about €60 a year (for both of us) I also have travel insurance through work.
I do put several €K a year of expenses on my credit card so it would be nice to get some sort of a points reward for my spending but this card doesn't really match what I'm looking for, hopefully it will open the door to a few other companies trying to come up with something similar...

Identical situation here!!

vectorvictor · 28-01-2019 11:02pm

Avios and Aer Club in general are worthless and the BOI card is more so.

Cash fare for Dublin to LGW on 12th Feb is €29.99

The Avios Aer Club deal is 4000 Avios plus €36.05 in fees and they want you to spend thousands on the card to earn those Avios all for the benefit of giving them back 4000 of those Avios and an extra €6

Long haul and last minute short haul (with virtually non existent availability) offers mildly better "value" but in general bothering with the scheme is pointless.

The real value is to be found in ditching "loyalty" and flying with whoever offers the cheapest fare for any given trip

Nijmegen · 29-01-2019 8:49am

vectorvictor wrote: »

Avios and Aer Club in general are worthless and the BOI card is more so.

Cash fare for Dublin to LGW on 12th Feb is €29.99

The Avios Aer Club deal is 4000 Avios plus €36.05 in fees and they want you to spend thousands on the card to earn those Avios all for the benefit of giving them back 4000 of those Avios and an extra €6

Long haul and last minute short haul (with virtually non existent availability) offers mildly better "value" but in general bothering with the scheme is pointless.

The real value is to be found in ditching "loyalty" and flying with whoever offers the cheapest fare for any given trip

I suspect you’re correct. I like simple loyalty programs, like Hotels.com (collect 10 nights, get a voucher for the avg value of the 10 nights) and have ditched the complicated chain loyalty programs as a result. Even Ryanair’s approach to that model (putting the cash you spend against cash vouchers) is pretty compelling. I think the issue with a program like Aer Club is that there just isn’t enough juice from the program really to justify loyalty for loyalty sake, and the same goes for the credit card. Even if they offered you priority boarding on all flights, sure half the plane has priority boarding nowadays on many sectors thanks to seat sales and all the rest.

The only thing worth a damn from non-US loyalty programs nowadays is fast track security and occasionally getting to use a decent airlines lounge, ala KLM in Amsterdam back in the day. With EI I used to marvel at some of the Mendez or whatever they were IKEA lounges you’d get around Europe. But sure you can buy lounge access in most airports when you really need it.

blackwhite · 29-01-2019 10:31am

Nijmegen wrote: »

I suspect you’re correct. I like simple loyalty programs, like Hotels.com (collect 10 nights, get a voucher for the avg value of the 10 nights) and have ditched the complicated chain loyalty programs as a result. Even Ryanair’s approach to that model (putting the cash you spend against cash vouchers) is pretty compelling. I think the issue with a program like Aer Club is that there just isn’t enough juice from the program really to justify loyalty for loyalty sake, and the same goes for the credit card. Even if they offered you priority boarding on all flights, sure half the plane has priority boarding nowadays on many sectors thanks to seat sales and all the rest.

The only thing worth a damn from non-US loyalty programs nowadays is fast track security and occasionally getting to use a decent airlines lounge, ala KLM in Amsterdam back in the day. With EI I used to marvel at some of the Mendez or whatever they were IKEA lounges you’d get around Europe. But sure you can buy lounge access in most airports when you really need it.

I thought there was some light at the end of that tunnel when they introduced the two "priority" queues in Dublin and Heathrow - 1 for AerClub followed by 1 for "purchased" priority.

But of course they just refuse to enforce it (much like half of the outstation airports ignore enforcing priority boarding altogether)

AndyBoBandy · 29-01-2019 10:49am

I’ve said it before here and I’ll say it again;

I’m convinced the whole (farcical) roll out of AerClub, and the absolutely abysmal return you get for Avios, not to mention the abysmal customer service a lot of folks experienced (and I’m sure continue to experience) is all just a ploy from IAG to drive people away from the Aer Lingus loyalty product.

From the outside it appears they have cut cost at every opportunity (the shockingly poor transfer of the IT when AerClub first rolled out (despite the repeated delays in the roll out to ‘ensure it was ready’), the quality of fare in the Dublin lounge has gone to pot (has anyone ever been there and witnessed all coffee machines functioning normally), the cheaper brown bread, butter, jam, soggier pastries etc...).

Perhaps this was all a demand placed on AL by uncle Willie when he finally got his hands on it, but either way, the AerClub model is certainly not designed to attract new custom, but rather drive existing custom away.

Of course they have their token publicity stunts like this new card which offers little to no real world benefit, or the Kildare Village offer, but what’s the point of giving out Avios if they are of extremely low value, and in most cases pointless to use as they actually make a fare more expensive!!

Nijmegen · 29-01-2019 11:11am

blackwhite wrote: »

I thought there was some light at the end of that tunnel when they introduced the two "priority" queues in Dublin and Heathrow - 1 for AerClub followed by 1 for "purchased" priority.

But of course they just refuse to enforce it (much like half of the outstation airports ignore enforcing priority boarding altogether)

The state of "Priority Boarding" in general. Probably my favorite thing about flying in the US is the enforced boarding groups on many airlines. Physically segregated lines and bolshie gate staff, quite consistently enforced. Means even when you're flying down the back, your status can assure you easy boarding. I'd say if they want to get serious on this "Gateway to Europe" thing they'll need to sort that out, as it's the type of point that business travelers, the review bloggers, etc, will pick up on when they transfer to the short haul product.

cson · 29-01-2019 4:31pm

To anyone complaining; I think you need to realise the low base you're coming from here - up until about 2 years ago (at a push) credit/debit card rewards were a virtual unknown in Ireland. At least you've got something now, albeit its utility is poor - better to get 1 Avios per 4 EUR than nothing.

It may serve to spur some competition if it works out - take a look at the latest AA earnings call, their co-brand cards from Barclays and Citi contributed more to the bottom line than mainstream revenue.

vectorvictor · 29-01-2019 7:17pm

cson wrote: »

To anyone complaining; I think you need to realise the low base you're coming from here - up until about 2 years ago (at a push) credit/debit card rewards were a virtual unknown in Ireland. At least you've got something now, albeit its utility is poor - better to get 1 Avios per 4 EUR than nothing.

For €96 per year it's not better than nothing though , it's effectively paying for nothing.

L1011 · 29-01-2019 7:56pm

You get middling multi trip family travel insurance which costs about that anyway. However you get it cheaper on the Platinum card already

You would need to make sure the flight vouchers get used for suitable value really

Van.Bosch · 29-01-2019 8:07pm

L1011 wrote: »

You get middling multi trip family travel insurance which costs about that anyway. However you get it cheaper on the Platinum card already

You would need to make sure the flight vouchers get used for suitable value really

Yeah, agreed. If you pay approx 100 a year for family travel insurance, then this is a net win. Albeit a very minor win. Even if you put all your spending on the CC the amount of Avios won’t knock you over.

cson · 30-01-2019 12:05am

vectorvictor wrote: »

For €96 per year it's not better than nothing though , it's effectively paying for nothing.

What's better out there?

Lets say you put 20k on it = 5k Avios which at 1.5cpp = 75 EUR
2 Lounge Passes = 60 EUR
2 Fast Track Passes = 12 EUR
2 Flights = 60 EUR (Lets be conservative)
Travel Insurance = 30 EUR (Its a poor plan tbf)

I make that 235 EUR of value for 96 EUR fee, even if we discount the benefits by 50% you're still out ahead, albeit marginally.

It's a really ****e state of affairs compared to the US, but it is better than nothing.

AndyBoBandy · 30-01-2019 8:42am

This is all assuming the folks who go for it are not status members of AerClub and don’t already have lounge/FastTrack/Priority boarding anyway.

Is it not really defeating itself in that it’s aimed at folk who most likely already have half of the benefits the card provides?

cson · 30-01-2019 5:28pm

AndyBoBandy wrote: »

This is all assuming the folks who go for it are not status members of AerClub and don’t already have lounge/FastTrack/Priority boarding anyway.

Is it not really defeating itself in that it’s aimed at folk who most likely already have half of the benefits the card provides?

I would see it as more of a play towards the millennial generation and their fondness for travel (witness even EI pointing toward their new livery allowing wingtip instagrams!).

There's big room for an aspirational metal card like the Chase Sapphire Reserve or Amex Platinum amongst that demographic imo.

billy few mates · 30-01-2019 5:54pm

It's almost as useless as the loyalty scheme itself...

Out of curiosity is there anyone on here that would actually consider applying for one of these..?

Van.Bosch · 30-01-2019 8:31pm

billy few mates wrote: »

It's almost as useless as the loyalty scheme itself...

Out of curiosity is there anyone on here that would actually consider applying for one of these..?

Maybe, my annual travel insurance is 109 for the family. If this policy is as good, then for 96 Euro a year it’s the same cost so anything else would be a bonus. Need to read the details of the policy though.

If it is similar/better I will, if not then absolutely not.

PaulKK · 30-01-2019 8:58pm

cson wrote: »

What's better out there?

Lets say you put 20k on it = 5k Avios which at 1.5cpp = 75 EUR
2 Lounge Passes = 60 EUR
2 Fast Track Passes = 12 EUR
2 Flights = 60 EUR (Lets be conservative)
Travel Insurance = 30 EUR (Its a poor plan tbf)

I make that 235 EUR of value for 96 EUR fee, even if we discount the benefits by 50% you're still out ahead, albeit marginally.

It's a really ****e state of affairs compared to the US, but it is better than nothing.

If you are spending 20k on it, you are probably already at least silver and getting the lounge and fast track for free.

Really that travel insurance is useless also so it's basically worthless since you would need proper coverage.

Better than nothing yes, but I can't see people flocking to it. You are better off using your SuperValu account and MasterCard for the groceries to build avios.

Reminds me of the revolut metal card, pointless.

L1011 · 30-01-2019 9:03pm

As I said earlier on the thread I push well over 20k over my BOI credit card and I'm not Silver. Limited business travel off the island; was mostly on Cityjet - still won't be enough for Silver even now that's EI - and circumstance has meant that most of my leisure travel has been on KL and affiliates in the past few years. Don't have status with them either!

SB Morer · 01-02-2019 4:51pm

billy few mates wrote: »

It's almost as useless as the loyalty scheme itself...

Out of curiosity is there anyone on here that would actually consider applying for one of these..?

I would strongly consider getting one when my travel insurance expires. I'd have to re-check the benefits, but I don't think they are any better on my current policy (which cost €80 for 2 of us) and which doesn't have winter sports cover. Everthing else is a bonus. I spend well over €20K a year on my card but don't do any business travel outside Ireland and so am nowhere near having status with Aer Lingus. Therefore the 'free' flights, lounge passes and fast-track security would be welcome.

As others have commented the Avios earning rate isn't fantastic, but it is the only option on the Irish market.

For those saying Avios are worthless, you really need to widen your view on what you can do with them. I'm planning to book a One World Multi-Carrier Award Ticket for Business Class travel to Japan on Cathay Pacific and JAL and should end up saving thousands of euros.

Also, although my inital gripe re this card was the lack of sign-up bonus and earnings when compared to the US Aer Lingus Credit Card from Chase Bank, it's unfair to compare it to an non-EU issued card, given the EU's cap on interchange fees.

However - it is entirely fair to compare this card to cards issued in other EU countries, such as:

France -
Basic British Airways Visa Card: Annual Fee €24, 0.8 Avios per €1 spent (but double Avios on BA, Aer Lingus, Iberia and Level), Signup Bonus 6,000 Avios. Additional Benefits: 10% discount on BA flights.

France -
Premium British Airways Visa Card: Annual Fee €96, 1 Avios per €1 spent (but triple Avios on BA, Aer Lingus, Iberia and Level), Signup Bonus 10,000 Avios. Additional Benefits: 10% discount on BA flights.

Italy -
Basic British Airways Visa Card: Annual Fee €49, 1 Avios per €1 spent (but double Avios on BA, Aer Lingus, Iberia and Level), Signup Bonus 4,000 Avios. Additional Benefits: 10% discount on BA flights.

Spain -
Iberia Icon Visa Card: Annual Fee: €90 (waived in year 1), 0.5 Avios per €1 spent, Signup Bonus: 9,000 Avios. Additional Benefits: Oneworld Ruby Status - so priority boarding on all OW flights, Business Class check-in, 25% bonus Avios on flights. The card also gets you a 10% discount on all Iberia flights and Preferred Plus status with Avis (=free car rental upgrades).

Basically, Irish customers are being asked to pay the same fees as the French BA Premium Card or the Iberia Icon Card, but get substantially lower benefits and Avios earning rates, but do get travel insurance. It is especially insulting that French or Italian BA credit card holders get 2 Avios on Aer Lingus bookings, when Irish Aer Lingus card holders get only 1 Avios per euro.

Aer Lingus really could, and should have done better. But then again they know they have no competition, what other options are there on the Irish market?

Yamanoto · 02-02-2019 1:56pm

The process of claiming your 'free' flights reads like a promo offer from the Irish Daily Mirror.

Log in to the Aer Credit Card portal. Click on the My Fares tab to complete the 2 Free Return Fares request form. Given travel restrictions we’ve outlined above, make sure you have a few preferred dates to suggest when completing the request form. Once you complete the form, you will receive a call back from an Aer Lingus representative within 24 hours (excluding weekends and bank holidays).”

Nijmegen · 03-02-2019 11:19am

Yamanoto wrote: »

The process of claiming your 'free' flights reads like a promo offer from the Irish Daily Mirror.

Ah that’s BS. So you fill in a form and it goes to someone in head office to see what they can do for you. What use is that? No proper integration into IT systems shows it up as being a bit Mickey Mouse.

Thanks above for the comparison of European offers. That really does show it up. 4:1 vs 1:1 or near enough on point earnings is extremely disappointing, and the 10% discount on BA flights is actually really interesting if you are a frequent flyer.

Noxegon · 03-02-2019 5:12pm

Yamanoto wrote: »

The process of claiming your 'free' flights reads like a promo offer from the Irish Daily Mirror.

...and it's enough to say that life is too short for me to even consider this card.

>20K/year and bucket loads of EI flights each year, but no trans-atlantics so no status.

jesus_thats_gre · 04-02-2019 8:40pm

Noxegon wrote: »

...and it's enough to say that life is too short for me to even consider this card.

>20K/year and bucket loads of EI flights each year, but no trans-atlantics so no status.

100% ain't worth **** unless you are used to.... shall spare the group. I put 30k a year through by BOI card but 90% of my flights are booked by a travel agents. Circa 10k a year in Avios isn't going to motivate me to do anything. And I value Avios quite highly.

thebiglad · 13-02-2019 9:39am

Can anyone access their Aerclub this morning - since yesterday evening I cannot get in and wonder if it my profile or an Aerclub issue.

Includes just trying to log into my account when booking a flight too.

AndyBoBandy · 13-02-2019 9:41am

Same here, stuck on the 'One Moment Please' and the spinning wheel

rio1 · 13-02-2019 9:53am

I can’t access mine either, thought it was something I’d done.

thebiglad · 13-02-2019 10:07am

Happy its not just me - you hear so many horror stories of Aer Club IT!

Stark · 13-02-2019 11:14am

Wouldn't surprised me if their IT integration consisted of someone printing off stuff at a computer in one end of the building and typing it into a computer at the other end of the building.

CaptainSkidmark · 13-02-2019 4:16pm

thebiglad wrote: »

Can anyone access their Aerclub this morning - since yesterday evening I cannot get in and wonder if it my profile or an Aerclub issue.

Includes just trying to log into my account when booking a flight too.

Im getting the spinning wheel since yesterday!

Arthur Daley · 13-02-2019 4:42pm

Yeah it takes a while for flights to appear and frequently needs you to log out and back in again to refresh your points. Can't log in for last day or so, like others. It is a dog of a system

billy few mates · 13-02-2019 6:17pm

thebiglad wrote: »

Can anyone access their Aerclub this morning - since yesterday evening I cannot get in and wonder if it my profile or an Aerclub issue.

Includes just trying to log into my account when booking a flight too.

I haven't tried to log into mine since November 2017 when I decided I had better things to do than try and chase down missing points after every other flight.
In other news I seem to have no difficulty logging into my AF/KLM flying blue and LH/SR miles and more accounts...

thebiglad · 13-02-2019 9:38pm

Working now - thankfully all points still present:P

CaptainSkidmark · 14-02-2019 8:22pm

Arthur Daley wrote: »

Yeah it takes a while for flights to appear and frequently needs you to log out and back in again to refresh your points. Can't log in for last day or so, like others. It is a dog of a system

It takes me 7 days to get tier credits and avios!

rio1 · 14-02-2019 8:44pm

CaptainSkidmark wrote: »

It takes me 7 days to get tier credits and avios!

Is that for return flights to Dublin too? I find them to be terrible. Can take weeks and then still have to fill in form and follow up. Flights out of Dublin are usually between 5 and 7 days.

thebiglad · 14-02-2019 8:45pm

Mine are posting recently, consistently at 5 days - I prefer this to the old 3 days to ??? range. Haven't needed to submit a missing flights form in a while now.

rio1 · 14-02-2019 8:54pm

thebiglad wrote: »

Mine are posting recently, consistently at 5 days - I prefer this to the old 3 days to ??? range. Haven't needed to submit a missing flights form in a while now.

I thought they had got better, but I have two flights back to Dublin from mid January haven’t got Avios or Tier Credits for yet.

banchang · 15-02-2019 6:04pm

cson wrote: »

What's better out there?

Lets say you put 20k on it = 5k Avios which at 1.5cpp = 75 EUR
2 Lounge Passes = 60 EUR
2 Fast Track Passes = 12 EUR
2 Flights = 60 EUR (Lets be conservative)
Travel Insurance = 30 EUR (Its a poor plan tbf)

I make that 235 EUR of value for 96 EUR fee, even if we discount the benefits by 50% you're still out ahead, albeit marginally.

It's a really ****e state of affairs compared to the US, but it is better than nothing.

How does the Govt duty work - is there an ideal time to transfer to reduce cost ?

SB Morer · 18-02-2019 5:54pm

banchang wrote: »

How does the Govt duty work - is there an ideal time to transfer to reduce cost ?

You will never escape paying the duty, regardless of when you open or close an account.
https://www.revenue.ie/en/property/stamp-duty/other-stamp-duty/financial-cards/credit-cards-charge-cards.aspx

L1011 · 18-02-2019 6:09pm

SB Morer wrote: »

You will never escape paying the duty, regardless of when you open or close an account.
https://www.revenue.ie/en/property/stamp-duty/other-stamp-duty/financial-cards/credit-cards-charge-cards.aspx

I think they meant how to avoid paying it twice if changing supplier, which the linked document does cover

New_home_2018 · 24-02-2019 3:38pm

How many tier points do you get per flight. Does it work on price? Travelling a lot to continent for work this year

Stark · 24-02-2019 3:50pm

It depends on the fare class

rio1 · 24-02-2019 3:55pm

All Europe is the same regardless of distance, just depends on fare class, saver fares 7.5, regular 15, plus 25 and advantage 50.

All explained here: https://www.aerlingus.com/aerclub/using-aerclub/tiers-and-benefits/#/tab-0-green

AndyBoBandy · 24-02-2019 4:44pm

If your a self booker and always check a bag into the hold, book the plus fare for the extra €30-€40 and guarantee yourself the 25 tier credits for each flight.

CaptainSkidmark · 24-02-2019 6:54pm

rio1 wrote: »

Is that for return flights to Dublin too? I find them to be terrible. Can take weeks and then still have to fill in form and follow up. Flights out of Dublin are usually between 5 and 7 days.

I haven't flown from Dublin in a few years!

Noxegon · 24-02-2019 9:07pm

AndyBoBandy wrote: »

If your a self booker and always check a bag into the hold, book the plus fare for the extra €30-€40 and guarantee yourself the 25 tier credits for each flight.

Unless something dramatic has changed the only way to guarantee tier credits is to check that they’ve been given to you and chase them repeatedly when they haven’t.

goingnowhere · 25-02-2019 8:06am

7 flights so far in 2019, every single one posted exactly 4 days later, avios 5 days.

Only problem in last 4 months was a goof up at Dusseldorf where the ground agents messed things up and EI's records said I was not on the plane at all! Took some discussion with EI to prove otherwise...

AndyBoBandy · 25-02-2019 8:40am

Noxegon wrote: »

Unless something dramatic has changed the only way to guarantee tier credits is to check that they’ve been given to you and chase them repeatedly when they haven’t.

Bar 1 or 2 delays in early 2017, all tier credits posted for me after 3/4 days (about 900 tier credits)

Arbie · 26-02-2019 2:20am

Just noticed missing United miles from Lufthansa coded flights from a few weeks back. Went on United website, typed in a few details, and the miles were in my account in seconds. I couldn't believe how easy it was.

Aer Lingus, by comparison... still waiting for miles on EI flights from May 2018, Sept 2018, Dec 2018...

billy few mates · 26-02-2019 5:26am

Arbie wrote: »

Just noticed missing United miles from Lufthansa coded flights from a few weeks back. Went on United website, typed in a few details, and the miles were in my account in seconds. I couldn't believe how easy it was.

Aer Lingus, by comparison... still waiting for miles on EI flights from May 2018, Sept 2018, Dec 2018...

That was part of the problem I had claiming missing points, there was no acknowledgment of your correspondence or their mistake, so for people doing a lot of flights trying to claim random missing flights it was a real pain. You submit the missing points claim, they might credit you the points but they wouldn't acknowledge it. I would often only be able to tell I'd been credited by checking my Avios and even then there seemed no logical reason why some of the flights had since been credited but others not. I used to email to try and get this resolved but nine times out of ten they went unanswered.
By comparison if you claim for missing points on KLM/AF flying blue you get them instantly as soon as you enter the flight details, there is no technical reason why AerClub couldn't do the same so you have to assume it's because they don't want to.

Aerlingus AerClub/Avios

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