The avios.com website is closing – what happens to Aer Lingus reward bookings?

It looks like changes are on the way for anyone looking to book Aer Lingus Avios redemptions from an Aer Lingus AerClub account.

The avios.com platform is being retired, it seems, with reward seat booking finally being available at aerlingus.com.

A quick bit of background

Due to IT limitations, members of Aer Lingus AerClub have had an over-complex time when booking Avios redemptions.

If you log in at aerlingus.com, you can use Avios for a discount on any Aer Lingus cash flight. Unlike the equivalent ba.com functionality, you can pay 100% of the cost with Avios – including the taxes and charges element.

If you want to book a ‘standard’ redemption – priced off the Aer Lingus redemption chart, which is very similar to the BA Avios chart – you needed to book at avios.com. This was also the only way to use Avios in AerClub to book British Airways or Iberia flights.

This seems to be changing

The following message now shows at avios.com (click to expand):

You cannot use Avios to book Aer Lingus reward flights at avios.com at present.

What you can do, of course, is move your Avios to a British Airways Executive Club account via ‘Combine My Avios’ and book Aer Lingus redemptions at ba.com. Since last year, there is no difference in taxes and charges between the two booking platforms.

What happens next?

avios.com says:

The way you book Reward Flights for AerClub is being improved, enabling you to book Reward Flights through AerLingus.com instead of Avios.com. These changes will happen shortly.

In theory, the Aer Lingus website will become more like the British Airways site, allowing you to book reward seats directly.

This should hopefully stop the current problem of Aer Lingus reward tickets being issued by British Airways (with ticket numbers starting 125-) which meant they could not be managed online.

You can see the holding message at avios.com here. We’ll let you know when the new Aer Lingus reward booking functionality is up and running.

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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:

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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