In mid-October, Aer Lingus revealed that they would rebrand their loyalty program as AerClub, though they didn't provide further details of the new program at the time. This followed the announcement earlier in the year whereby Aer Lingus would be taken over by IAG, the parent company of British Airways and Iberia. Aer Lingus has…
Continue reading: Aer Lingus’ New Revenue Based Program, AerClub
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Ben,
What's your objection to revenue based rewards? Shouldn't someone who spends $480 to fly from ERW to CVG on a Monday morning earn more points than someone who spends $128 to fly from ERW to MCO midday Wednesday?
Problem is that sooner or latter there is good chance the airline will also go revenue based on their award chart and you will lose all value when redeeming?
I'm curious about the four tier vis-a-vis a presumed future OneWorld return. Is Green simply intended to be base, with silver=ruby, platinum=sapphire, concierge=emerald?
Problem is that sooner or latter there is good chance the airline will also go revenue based on their award chart and you will lose all value when redeeming?
No reason to do so when they control award availability. Ben mentioned that Cathay releases first class seats close to departure once they are fairly certain they won't be able to sell them for cash. With revenue based awards they would have to heavily discount the first class tickets close to departure or send those seats out empty.
Ok, am I the only one who thinks this is a test run for BA and IB? Same Avios points currency? Can a change at the bigger boys be far behind?
@joshuk
I imagine green will be base tier same way blue is base tier of BAEC.
Looks like it will be revenue based for Avios collection but possibly not for tier points collection.
Thanks Ben - will be interested to see if EI will be fully integrated into the IAG group so that we can use Avios gained through IB and BA and redeem on EI. I understand that a membership of OW may not be on the cards, but would be good to partner fully with other members of IAG.
Aer Lingus is the perfect testing grounds for other products BA and IB may want to introduce in the future. It is not surprising to see Aer Lingus using the opportunity to convert into a revenue based frequent flyer program (similar to ones from JetBlue and Virgin America). Though this type of program does not encourage MRs.
Given that Lucky mentions the exact same thing in his post, I think it's a safe bet that you're not the only one. Given that there are 7 billion people on this planet, chances aren't very good that this is some puzzle only you've managed to figure out.
Do you think my top level status: Elite, for Gold Circle Club will become "Concierge" or "Platinum"?
@Bob - Sorry bro, FWIW I didn't see the last comment by Lucky. However, don't let that diminish in any way from your condescending and snarky, smart ass scriblings. Maybe get up on the other side of the bed next time?
With the revenue based program you'll get at least some points for short-haul flights in economy. Gold Circle excluded most economy booking classes (and some in business) from earning points. If was flying Aer Lingus short-haul more than 50 times over the last few years, without earning a single point.
I'm curious what they will do with people like me, who have both BA's gold tier, and are on the gold circle scheme (though at a much lower level)
@John: If experience is any indication, the person spending $480 to fly from ERW to CVG on a Monday morning won't earn anything more, but the person spending $128 to fly from ERW to MCO midday Wednesday will earn substantially less.
What happened to my old aer lingus points lost years ago when they turned into a budget airline? Can I have them re credited now to my avios account please? I did pay for them after all in my ticket price