How to get Flights and Upgrades with Avios Points
Combining my two favourite pastimes, travel and shopping – I’ve got all you need to know about getting free flights and upgrade with Avios points!
I’ve been collecting Avios for over 10 years, and I think I was one of the first to join Aer Club, so I like to think I’m an expert at getting flights and upgrades with Avios. I’ve used my points to upgrade flights to Orlando and Chicago and often paid for flights with Avios too. But, what might surprise you is most of my points have been accrued by flying!
Avios are a reward currency that are used by many airlines including Aer Lingus, British Airways and Qatar Airways, as well as various hotel websites and high street stores, and getting free flights or upgrades is something we can all do, even those who don’t travel often.
When you collect Avios points you can use them to get flights and upgrades, with any of their partner airlines. Some of you may have already joined Aer Club, the Aer Lingus frequent flyer program, and may have collected Avios points already, but did you know you could collect them in other outlets too?
It costs from 37,000 Avios to upgrade to business class to New York with Aer Lingus For most of us flying business class to the USA was a pipe dream, but with Avios it is now attainable.
Oliver Bonas, Fields Jewellers, Harvey Nichols and The Merrion Hotel are just some of the Irish suppliers that have all joined the Avios reward programme. Once you register your debit or credit card online, you can collect Avios points with every purchase! Note you must be logged in to Aer Club to register.
It doesn’t end there… AerClub have an eStore!
When I say this is going to change the way we shop, I really mean it! You can also get rewards for on-line purchases in hundreds of high street stores, hotel websites and Apple! Right now Look Fantastic are giving 10 Avios points for every €1 spent, Arnotts and Brown Thomas are giving 8 Avios per €1, and travel website Booking.com are giving 6 Avios per €1.
Once you are an AerClub member you can access the AerClub eStore with the same log in and password. Simply click on your favourite stores and shop online in the usual way. It won’t cost you any more to shop this way but your purchases will be tracked, and your Avios account will be topped up with points!
So how many points do I need for a flight, I hear you say….
There are so many variations, depending on when and where you travel, but currently 8,000 Avios points will get you a return flight to Paris. For 17,000 Avios you can have a return flight to the Canary Islands, and if you can save 26,000 you can have a return flight to New York. Note these are based on off peak travel and exclude taxes and charges. For full list of fights click here, and date bands for peak and off peak season click here.
This may sound a lot, but I accumulated 40,000 points in just one year! With the exception of three flights to Spain, all of my points were accumulated by shopping. Avios regularly have promotions on to make it even easier to collect points. Suddenly a business class upgrade to New York is possible…
How to sign up.
If you are already an AerClub member, your existing log in and password will suffice. Collect Avios by logging in with your AerClub details and clicking through to the eStore. For those who have not yet joined, you can join AerClub here. Why not download the free Avios app too, it will allow you book flights on the go, check your Avios balance and find out where to collect.
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