Aer Lingus Visa Signature Card Review 2023

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Opening the Aer Lingus Visa Signature® Card could be a good choice if you want to kick start your stash of Avios frequent flyer points. It’s offering a welcome bonus of 75,000 Avios after you spend $5,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening, with a $95 annual fee.

Aer Lingus Visa Signature Card Review: Is It the Best Credit Card for You?

Avios is the loyalty program currency of several airlines, including Aer Lingus, British Airways, and Iberia. While the Avios you’ll earn from the Aer Lingus Visa Signature® Card card will get credited to your Aer Lingus account, you won’t be restricted to redeeming only on Aer Lingus flights.

That’s because you can transfer Aer Lingus Avios to your British Airways or Iberia frequent flyer accounts. It’s then possible to redeem them for award flights on Oneworld alliance members, including American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, and Cathay Pacific.

Aside from the welcome bonus offer, cardholders earn 3 Avios per dollar spent on travel booked directly with Aer Lingus, Iberia, British Airways, and LEVEL. You’ll also be rewarded with 2x Avios on hotel stays, and 1 Avios per dollar on all other purchases.

The Aer Lingus Visa Signature® Card also comes with an economy Companion Ticket after you spend $30,000 or more in a calendar year. Not only that, but when flying with Aer Lingus you’ll be eligible for priority boarding on all flights to and from the US. 

Oneworld’s network of airlines, including American Airlines, British Airways, and Alaska Airlines, spans the entire globe, making your Aer Lingus Avios a valuable currency indeed. However, it’s worth noting that while Aer Lingus’ rewards currency is Avios, it is not actually part of the Oneworld alliance.

Together with the British Airways Visa Signature® Card and Iberia Visa Signature® Card, the Aer Lingus Visa Signature® Card is one of three Avios-earning airline credit cards from Chase. Each card earns Avios in its respective airline rewards program — but no matter which card you have, the Avios you earn are transferable between Aer Lingus AerClub, British Airways Executive Club, and Iberia Plus.

Those who would prefer more flexibility or who don’t fly Aer Lingus often might consider a Chase card that earns Chase Ultimate Rewards® points, such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or Chase Sapphire Reserve®. The rewards and benefits differ slightly, but you can transfer the points you earn at a 1:1 ratio to Chase’s airline and hotel partners, which include Aer Lingus, Iberia, and British Airways.

We’re focused here on the rewards and perks that come with each card. These cards won’t be worth it if you’re paying interest or late fees. When using a credit card, it’s important to pay your balance in full each month, make payments on time, and only spend what you can afford to pay.

Aer Lingus Credit Card Rewards

Aer Lingus Credit Card bonus

The welcome bonus offer on the Aer Lingus Visa Signature® Card is 75,000 Avios after you spend $5,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening. While that’s not the biggest bonus it’s ever offered — it was recently as high as 100,000 Avios after meeting a much higher minimum spending requirement — it’s still a valuable offer.

According to Insider’s points and miles valuations, Avios points are worth an average of 1.3 cents each, making this bonus worth around $975 in flights.

How to earn points with the Aer Lingus Credit Card

The earning structure on the card is fairly simple. Cardholders earn:

• 3x Avios points on flights booked directly with British Airways, Aer Lingus, Iberia, and LEVEL
• 2x Avios points on hotel accommodations booked directly with the hotel, including hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts, and inns (bookings made through travel agencies, discount travel sites, vacation clubs, tour operators, or as part of a package offered by merchants such as cruise lines and railways don’t qualify, nor doe buying hotel points)
• 1 Avios point per dollar on other purchases

Avios earned in each billing cycle will automatically transfer into your Aer Lingus AerClub account. It’s then up to you whether you’d prefer to spend them directly from your AerClub account or transfer them over into either your British Airways or Iberia accounts, depending on where you personally find they’ll bring you the most value.

How to use points from the Aer Lingus Card 

It’s easy to redeem your Avios directly through the Aer Lingus website. Once you’ve logged into your Aer Lingus AerClub account, you redeem your Avios for award flights on Aer Lingus, British Airways, or Iberia. You can also use “Pay With Avios” to cover the entire cost of a flight or use them as partial payment to reduce the amount paid in cash.

You can also upgrade eligible flights from economy to business class as well as use your Avios to pay for hotel stays, car rentals, and activities and experiences. 

You can also transfer your Avios from your Aer Lingus account to both British Airways and Iberia’s loyalty programs, giving you more flexibility when it comes to redeeming your points. 

If you don’t already have a British Airways Executive Club account, it’s quick and easy to set one up. Once you’re logged in, and you’ve transferred over your Avios from your AerClub account, you’ll be able to redeem through British Airways’ website. 

Using the British Airways Executive Club is often considered one of the best ways to redeem Avios as it shows the reward availability for most other Oneworld airline members and British Airways-operated flights. For example, short-haul domestic US flights with American Airlines booked with Avios through ba.com start at as little as 9,000 Avios one-way. This can be significantly less than what you’d pay when using American Airlines AAdvantage miles through aa.com.

Similarly, there are sweet spots to be found when spending your Avios via Iberia Plus. This is because Iberia’s award prices are also distance-based, rather than regional. This means that you can book round-trips to places in the Caribbean with American Airlines from just 11,000 Avios in economy class. Another example would be American Airlines in business class, this time round-trip from Miami to destinations like Bogotá, Columbia for just 46,000 Iberia Avios.

Redeeming Avios on flights with other Oneworld member airlines often means that surcharges (the fees you pay on top of the Avios) are not as high as when redeeming Avios on British Airways flights.

Aer Lingus Avios expire after 36 months of account inactivity, but even if you don’t have travel plans any time soon, earning Avios by spending on the Aer Lingus Visa Signature® Card will mean that your Avios are safe from expiration.

Aer Lingus Credit Card Signature Benefits and Features

The Aer Lingus Visa Signature® Card comes with perks you can use when you fly Aer Lingus, as well as other travel and shopping benefits.

Economy companion ticket

A companion ticket is one of the most valuable travel perks there is. To earn an Aer Lingus Companion Ticket, cardmembers must spend $30,000 in a single calendar year.

Why’s it so great? Well, it enables the user to purchase a flight for two people while paying for just one. Putting that into figures: You and a companion of your choice could fly to Dublin, Ireland for the price of a single ticket. Your companion flies with you for no cost, plus you’ll only pay taxes and fees for a single passenger. 

The Companion Ticket is only valid on Aer Lingus-operated flights in economy originating in and returning to the US or directly between the US and UK. Once you earn it, you must use it within 12 months, and only one voucher will be awarded in any given 12-month period.

Priority boarding

Aer Lingus Visa Signature® Card cardholders will be eligible for priority boarding on all Aer Lingus-operated flights between the US and Ireland or directly from the UK to the US, subject to availability. This also applies even when traveling on an economy ticket. 

To make sure you’re granted priority boarding, simply show your valid credit card at the gate before boarding. Passengers traveling with the Aer Lingus Visa Signature® Card owner will also be eligible for priority boarding.

Baggage protection

If your baggage gets delayed or lost the Aer Lingus Visa Signature® Card has you covered. If you arrive at your destination and your baggage is delayed by over six hours, you are eligible for up $100 per day for three days to buy clothing and toiletry essentials. 

If your baggage is lost or damaged by the airline, then you and any immediate family member are entitled to up to $3,000 per passenger.

Purchase protection and extended warranty

The Aer Lingus Visa Signature® Card provides both purchase protection and extended warranty coverage. Cardholders benefit from 120 days of coverage against damage or theft on new purchases of up to $500 per claim and $50,000 per account.

When you use your card to pay for a qualifying item, you’re eligible for an additional year on US manufacturer warranties of three years or less.

DoorDash DashPass

The card offers a complimentary DashPass membership, which gets you waived delivery fees and reduced service fees on eligible orders with DoorDash and Caviar. To take advantage of the benefit, you’ll need to activate it by December 31, 2024.

Gopuff credits

Cardholders receive $10 per month in Gopuff credits when they add their card as the default payment method in the Gopuff app. Gopuff is a rapid-delivery service that offers products like snacks, alcohol, and cleaning supplies.

You’ll receive the credit in your card account after you make a qualifying purchase with Gopuff. There’s a $3.95 delivery fee and minimum order amount of $10.

Aer Lingus Credit Card Annual Fee and Other Costs

The Aer Lingus Visa Signature® Card charges a $95 annual fee, which is in line with similar airline credit cards. 

Spending abroad can sometimes incur annoying extra fees that make your trip more expensive than it should be. That is not the case with the Aer Lingus Visa Signature® Card. Rest assured that whether you’re spending in dollars, euros, pounds, or yen, you won’t be charged any surprise foreign transaction fees. 

If you carry a balance on the card, be aware there’s a 20.74% – 27.74% Variable APR. And, as with most other credit cards, there are fees for other situations, including:

• Balance transfer fees
• Cash advance fees
• Late payment fees
• Returned payment fees

How the Aer Lingus Visa Signature Card Compares

Aer Lingus Visa Signature vs other airline cards

Aer Lingus Visa Signature vs other travel rewards credit cards

Aer Lingus Credit Card Frequently Asked Questions

Methodology: How we reviewed the Aer Lingus Visa Signature Card

Insider’s credit card experts reviewed the Aer Lingus Visa Signature® Card relative to competing airline and travel rewards credit cards that charge a similar annual fee. Some of the factors we considered include: 

• Ease of use — Is the card’s earning and redeeming structure easy to understand, and are there lots of ways to use rewards?
• Earning potential — Does the welcome bonus offer have a similar value to those of competing cards? Are the card’s bonus categories useful, and do any have a spending cap?
• Fees — Annual fees are typical on airline credit cards, but are there benefits or savings that offset it?
• Benefits — Does the card come with travel and other perks that can save you money or make your journey more comfortable? Travelers especially value cards that offer travel insurance so we look at these benefits closely.

For more on our methodology, read about how we rate credit cards at Insider.

Daniel Ross

Freelance Writer

Daniel Ross is a freelance writer specializing in travel, personal finance, credit card rewards, and loyalty programs. After working in the aviation industry for five years, he spent two years at The Points Guy covering everything from the hottest deals and breaking news to in-depth travel features and points and miles explainers.
Daniel has a master’s degree in Air Transport Management from the University of Loughborough in the UK. As a budding linguist, he is fluent in French, Spanish, and Portuguese and has basic to conversational knowledge in Catalan, Dutch, German, and Greek.

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Angela Fung

Marketing Compliance Manager

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