Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

Lots of Aer Lingus business class Avios seats to the US have appeared – with low taxes

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US award notification site Thrifty Traveller has posted about the appearance of a lot of Aer Lingus business class reward availability to the United States from Dublin.

As you can now use ‘new style’ American Express 2-4-1 companion vouchers on Aer Lingus, and you can use those vouchers for a flight departing outside the UK, this is a good low tax redemption option.

I will eat humble pie for being rude about the lack of Aer Lingus business class reward availability in recent articles!

Booking Aer Lingus business class with Avios

As there is no easy way of showing availability across the weeks (you can use United Airlines but this isn’t always a perfect match with what ba.com offers) I randomly took the 10th of the month between Dublin and Boston.

There were seats on 10th March, 10th April, 10th May …. you get the idea.

Availability is also meant to be better than usual to New York JFK and Toronto. You may get lucky on other routes too.

What are the taxes and charges from Dublin?

Dublin to Boston is 100,0000 Avios + £298.30 for one person from Dublin. Using a 2-4-1 companion voucher would make it 100,000 Avios + just under £600 for a couple. You need to add the cost of getting to and from Dublin of course.

IMPORTANT: If you are NOT using a 2-4-1 voucher then do not book on ba.com. Use the avios.com portal instead, where taxes will be £50 per person lower. This article explains how to move your Avios to avios.com.

Remember that you clear US customs and immigration in Dublin, as I explained in this article. You land at a domestic gate in the US and walk straight out of the airport.

We desperately need SeatSpy to add coverage for Aer Lingus and Iberia to allow us to maximise the value of our American Express 2-4-1 companion vouchers by easily showing when Aer Lingus has reward seats.

Our latest review of Aer Lingus A330 business class is here. Our latest review of Aer Lingus ‘single aisle’ A321LR business class is here. The seats are the same on both aircraft – it is just the layout which differs.

You can see a full list of Aer Lingus routes to the United States in this article.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2025)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

Barclaycard Avios Plus card

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios card

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

Get 5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £15,000 Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

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The Platinum Card from American Express

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Run your own business?

We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, and the standard card is FREE. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.

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There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

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There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

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American Express Business Gold

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Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.

Category

Aer Lingus and AerClub

Comments (59)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • John says:
    18 Jan18 January 08:47

    They seem to be loading t+120 days ?

  • James says:
    18 Jan18 January 09:20

    Maybe I’m missing something. You don’t say what search engine you used. BA. United. Aer Lingua?

  • Lev441 says:
    18 Jan18 January 09:38

    Is it any cheaper to book it via executive club on the phone like it used to be? Or has that loophole been closed?

  • ND says:
    18 Jan18 January 10:07

    What am I doing wrong? No matter how I search, the results only return BA options. When I search DUB to LAX or SFO it only gives me flights via Heathrow (I’ve tried Jun/Jul/Aug) and I can’t get direct Aer Lingus flights to show. I’m searching for business class return, I’m correctly logged into my BA account and I have my companion voucher box ticked.

    • Rob says:
      18 Jan18 January 10:11

      Nothing. As I said in the article, there is normally zero Aer Lingus business class availability. That’s why I did this article – it’s a miracle that a pile has appeared to Boston, New York etc. It looks like their generosity doesn’t extend to the West Coast.

      Of course, if you have an old 241 pre 9/21 it will never work.

      • ND says:
        20 Jan20 January 12:11

        Thanks Rob. I have a couple of the newer vouchers so it should work. I’ll just keep trying and playing with dates 🤞🏻

  • John Munn says:
    18 Jan18 January 10:11

    Just my luck that these are released when I don’t yet have my 2-4-1 and I don’t have the required Avios yet! Hopefully there’ll be continuing availability if they are releasing T-120 days. Hoping to do DUB-BOS this year

  • Jake says:
    18 Jan18 January 10:36

    DUB-MCO pricing as 180,000 avios + £591 using a Premium 2-4-1 in Business… I thought DUB-MCO was 62,500 each way so should be 125k… am I missing something?

    • SammyJ says:
      19 Jan19 January 12:04

      Is that a direct flight with Aer Lingus? I couldn’t find any availability on any dates to MCO, so you’re doing better than me!

      • Jake says:
        20 Jan20 January 13:24

        Direct out of Dublin, depart April ret May. Booked them anyway, guess this is just down to recent devaluation!

  • Trevor says:
    18 Jan18 January 11:08

    Usually i’d be booking this like right now, but the cost of visiting America has sky rocketed since the pandemic. Hotel rooms and car hire are now around twice 2019 prices, not helped by the poor £ exchange rate. After 2 visits in 2022 this year its Europe for holidays – paying £24 for 4 ice cream cones was the last straw.

    Great though if you have ways of keeping overheads down when in USA – visiting family.

    • Rob says:
      18 Jan18 January 11:12

      Pretty sure I paid almost £10 for an ice cream in Dubai in October (pegged to the $ of course), same for a (waiter served) coffee in the resort.

      • Trevor says:
        18 Jan18 January 11:53

        I was thinking of Dubai until I read your articles on how expensive it is when you get there. I just don’t like having to have think twice when buying holiday treats like ice cream.

        I read HfP everyday as it provides so much helpful travel info. Spent avios on RFS to Cyprus for family trip in school summer holidays and getting 3p value per avios thanks to reading HfP.

    • JDB says:
      18 Jan18 January 12:06

      The US was already terrible value pre-covid, particularly at top end hotels, and especially those with a bit of charm or wow factor. Eating out well (and I’m not talking Michelin level) and drinking decent but not remarkable wine is so extortionate and more importantly such terrible value as to make it quite unenjoyable. My wife enjoys a massage and it helps her back, but at say $100+ and a tip she’s not interested as a matter of principle. You also have to navigate the tipping minefield and remember that whatever price anything says it’s ++.

      Having visited Mexico, Argentina and South Africa in 2022 one is getting so much better everything at a fraction of the price (including one hour massages at respectively $12, $15 and $25). We’re about to go back to Argentina, then Australia where good hotels which are £1000+ in the US are more like £250 and the special ones half the price.

      • Londonsteve says:
        18 Jan18 January 15:59

        It makes one wonder what’s going to happen to the US tourist industry when even visitors from the UK find it intolerably expensive. Imagine how a holidaymaker from Spain must feel. Just who are all these tourists paying these prices? Is it the enormous domestic market propping things up?

        • Rob says:
          18 Jan18 January 16:12

          Er, they couldn’t care less. The £ has collapsed against the $ and the € – less so € vs $. I was at a Michael O’Leary Ryanair press conference yesterday – he said he expects a holiday shift by UK visitors from the US to Europe (which benefits him) but no similar shifts in countries in Europe where Ryanair has a base.

          • Scott says:
            18 Jan18 January 18:30

            £1=€1.14, same as it was 5 years ago, same as it was 10 years ago.

            Even against the dollar, the current $1.20 ish was seen as far back as Oct 16, so the current level is now ‘normal’ rather than ‘new normal’

        • RussellH says:
          18 Jan18 January 16:12

          I think that the US market (in almost anything) has always been driven by domestic demand. Non US residents are just the icing on the cake.

    • Numpty says:
      18 Jan18 January 12:34

      and if going to the states dont forget to add on the tip, 20% is expected these days, even fast food places have a tip option, and expect 10%!

      • Jim Lovejoy says:
        19 Jan19 January 04:42

        Fast food places may expect 10%, but they’ll normally get 0%.
        Ok, some that actually do a the work while you’re there, think subway and Taco del Mar might get 5-10% but McDonalds, Burger King KFC and the like will get 0%.

        • Londonsteve says:
          19 Jan19 January 16:34

          If I had to go on a self funded trip to the US, what with poor exchange rates, 20% tipping and astronomical prices, I think I’d go on a fast food safari instead and hang the consequences for my waistline for the week. When in Rome (GA, USA)…….

    • AviosNovice says:
      18 Jan18 January 18:05

      As someone who splits their time between the UK & US (but earns in £s), I can reassure you that you’re right. It’s debilitatingly expensive in the US now. Even not eating out, supermarket prices are obscene. 7 quid for 12 eggs, and they’re the mass-produced ones. Shocking. I could list many more items.
      If I wasn’t obliged to spend time here, I wouldn’t. Just on the cost basis.

  • DavidB says:
    18 Jan18 January 11:48

    Did a search on the AS site for your April 10th date. I could get an award in business for 60K and $52. Considering I’m an AS Gold elite, I earn 100% mileage bonus so I’d just need to earn 30K RDMs for enough miles to redeem. Not to mention saving hundreds of dollars over using my Avios (I’m also ExecClub Gold). Curiously the same flight does not show up at all using AA AAdvantage miles, only connections through LHR on BA or AA.

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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