In a recent promotion, Qatar Airways launched an Avios sale offering a bonus of up to 40% on Avios purchases completed by the end of 1 February. However, it seems there is a better deal available if you are prepared to buy Avios today. Aer Lingus has been running its own Avios sale, which ends today, and offers a bonus of up to 50%.
When comparing the two sales, Qatar Airways will give you an 80,000 Avios bonus when you purchase 200,000 Avios, while Aer Lingus will give you 100,000 bonus Avios. In the Aer Lingus sale, 300,000 Avios (including the bonus) can be purchased at a cost of £3,539, making each Avios sold for £0.0118. This makes the Aer Lingus sale approximately 6% cheaper than the Qatar Airways sale.
It is important to note that Avios can be transferred for free between various programs. This means if you need Avios to spend with British Airways, for example, you can move them from your Aer Club account to your BA Executive Club account without paying a fee.
The key terms of the Aer Lingus sale include the offer being available until 23:59 (GMT) on Monday, 29th January 2024. During this time, eligible participants will receive a 50% extra Avios bonus when they buy or gift Avios. The bonus Avios will not count towards the annual limit of 200,000 Avios. The purchaser can buy a maximum of 200,000 Avios in any one calendar year.
Avios can only be bought in specified amounts, starting at a minimum of 2,000 Avios. The purchaser will be able to spend Avios when they appear as credited in the purchaser’s AerClub account. It is important to be aware that there may be a delay of up to 3 working days in the Avios being credited to the account.
To participate in the sale, Avios can only be bought on AerLingus.com using the Buy and Gift Avios application found on the AerClub page. The transaction currency will be pre-determined based on the registered country of the AerClub account. The purchaser must have at least one Avios in their AerClub account to buy Avios, and if the purchaser has a balance of zero Avios, they will need to have collected or redeemed Avios in the past 36 months in order to buy Avios.
If you decide to purchase Avios in this sale, it is important to consider what the Avios will be used for and when they will be used. The best use of Avios is often on short-haul flights within Europe or within low-tax regions elsewhere in the world. They can also be used on Aer Lingus and Iberia Business Class flights, as both airlines charge considerably lower fees for Avios bookings than British Airways.
Another important factor to consider is that Avios held in an Aer Club account can be transferred to the British Airways Executive Club, Qatar Airways Privilege Club, or Iberia Plus, and they can be transferred back again as well.
To determine if the Aer Lingus sale is a good deal, it is recommended to check the availability of awards on the desired routes, price up the reward flights based on the cost of the Avios you plan to buy, and compare that to the actual cash fare and the price you would normally be willing to pay for the booking. If the cost of booking the reward flight is cheaper than the cash fare and at least as low as your normal price range, then buying Avios in this sale should be beneficial.
Overall, at £0.0118 per Avios, the Aer Lingus sale offers a decent deal. It is important to do your due diligence and run the numbers to ensure that you are coming out ahead.