Aer Lingus Visa Signature Card Review: 75k Bonus Offer!

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Over the past few months, airlines have been increasing bonuses, adding perks, and even rebranding some of their offers to boost their lineup of co-brand cards. How many of them offer the opportunity to earn 75,000 bonus miles? The answer: not many.

However, the Aer Lingus Visa Signature® Card gives you the opportunity to earn 75,000 Avios. New Aer Lingus Visa Signature® Card cardholders can earn 75,000 Avios after spending $5,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening.

Here are some other features and perks that come with the Aer Lingus Visa Signature Card.

Key Facts About the Aer Lingus Visa Signature Card

We’ll cover the benefits of the Aer Lingus Visa Signature® Card in more detail, but let’s hit the high points first:

• $95 annual fee
• No foreign transaction fee
• Priority boarding for you and authorized users on Aer Lingus flights departing from and returning to the US from Ireland
• Opportunity to earn an Economy Companion Ticket that is good for 12 months
• Contactless payment technology

The $95 annual fee will be charged with the first billing statement.

Earn 75,000 Bonus Aer Lingus Avios

New Aer Lingus Visa Signature® Card cardholders can earn 75,000 Avios after spending $5,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening.

Earn Up to 3 Avios on Select Purchases

Aer Lingus Visa Signature® Card cardholders earn an unlimited 3 Avios per $1 spent with the following airlines:

• Aer Lingus
• British Airways
• Iberia
• LEVEL

Cardholders also earn unlimited 2 Avios per $1 spent on hotel accommodations purchased directly with the hotel.

All remaining purchases will earn an unlimited 1 Avios per $1 spent.

Economy Companion Ticket

After spending $30,000 in a calendar year on your Aer Lingus Visa Signature Card, you will receive a Commercial Companion Ticket that is good for the next 12 months on travel between the United States and Ireland. This ticket is only good for an economy class ticket when you buy your own ticket with cash, and you only have to pay the fees and taxes on the award ticket.

This benefit isn’t as lavish as the Southwest Companion Pass, but it can still outweigh the $95 annual fee if this is your primary travel card.

Priority Boarding

Primary cardholders and authorized users are eligible for priority boarding status on Aer Lingus operated flights departing from the United States and returning to the United States from Ireland, subject to availability.

Additional Aer Lingus Card Benefits

The Aer Lingus Visa Signature® Card is a Visa Signature card.

Some of the additional benefits you’ll enjoy include:

• Exclusive benefits at the Visa Signature Luxury Hotel Collection
• Limited time offers to enjoy unique events and experiences
• Rental car collision damage waiver protection

Each card offers its own unique benefits. For the Aer Lingus Visa Signature® Card, you get to enjoy priority boarding and the opportunity to earn a complimentary companion ticket.

Redeeming Aer Lingus Avios

Earning up to 100,000 Avios doesn’t happen every day. Being able to redeem your Avios earned with the Aer Lingus Visa Signature® Card is an important factor to consider.

Also, Aer Lingus is a 1:1 Chase Ultimate Rewards travel partner. If you own the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or Chase Sapphire Reserve®, you can transfer your Ultimate Rewards points on a 1:1 basis to Aer Lingus to book some of the best award flights listed below.

Fly to Ireland for 13,000 Avios

Aer Lingus flies to Ireland, so the best award route is flying from the Eastern United States and Canada to Ireland. In the off-peak season, a one-way business class flight costs 50,000 Avios and an economy seat costs 13,000 Avios from Dublin to these cities and vice versa:

• Boston
• Chicago
• Hartford
• Minneapolis
• Newark
• New York
• Philadelphia
• Toronto,
• Washington

Travelers can also fly from Shannon to Boston and New York for the same off-peak fares.

During the peak season, you’ll pay either 60,000 Avios or 20,000 Avios each way.

Fly to Ireland from the Western United States for 16,250 Avios

If at all possible, you should try to fly from one of the airports listed above to redeem the fewest Avios possible. When this isn’t the case, you need can still fly for the following Avios in business and economy:

• Economy Class: 16,250 off-peak or 25,000 in peak season
• Business Class: 62,500 off-peak or 75,000 in peak season

The current airports in Aer Lingus’s Zone 6 include:

• Orlando
• Miami
• Los Angeles
• San Francisco
• Seattle

These flights are available to and from Dublin.

Short Haul European Flights for 4,000 Avios

Once you get to Ireland, you can book short-haul flights to England and western Europe for 4,000 Avios in the off-peak season. With these low redemption costs, Aer Lingus is one of the most affordable ways to cross the Atlantic and jet around Europe once you finally arrive!

Book an Avios Partner Flight

You can also book a partner flight to get to some of the destinations that Aer Lingus doesn’t go to. Know that you can spend your Avios on reward flights with Aer Lingus and our AerClub airline partners.

Pros

• Earn Avios on Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia, AND LEVEL purchases
• Up to 100,000 Avios sign-up bonus
• Get an Economy Companion Ticket after spending $30,000 a year

Cons

• No free checked bags
• The companion ticket is only valid when you buy an economy seat

Summary

The Aer Lingus Visa Signature® Card is a good option if you are looking for one of the cheapest ways to fly from the U.S. to Europe. It can be a good primary card if Aer Lingus is your go-to airline or a secondary airline card to complement your Chase Sapphire card. And if you can earn up to 100,000 point Avios bonus, the pot gets even sweeter for the first year of ownership!

75,000 Avios Bonus Offer: Aer Lingus Visa Signature® Card