Aer Lingus Visa Signature® Credit Card
- Best for: Travelers who fly Aer Lingus between the U.S. and Ireland and can charge $30,000 a year
- What Sets It Apart: Economy companion ticket with no taxes or fees after $30,000 in purchases in a calendar year; priority boarding on Aer Lingus flights between the U.S. and Ireland
- Cost: $95 annual fee; no foreign transaction fee; 19.49% to 27.99% variable interest rate
- Features: 75,000 bonus Avios after $5,000 in purchases in 3 months; 3 Avios per $1 on flights bought directly from Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia, and LEVEL; 2 Avios per $1 on hotels booked directly; 1 Avios per $1 elsewhere; 2,500 Avios each account anniversary
- Pros: Welcome bonus worth about $900 at NerdWallet’s 1.2-cent Avios value; companion seat with no taxes or fees; instant one-for-one transfers to British Airways Club
- Cons: Companion ticket needs $30,000 in purchases a year; no free checked bags or lounge access; no Aer Lingus elite status from card spending
Get the Aer Lingus Visa Signature if you fly Aer Lingus between the U.S. and Ireland and can charge $30,000 a year on it, enough to earn a companion seat with no taxes or fees. If you can’t, a card with transferable points, which move to several airline programs, gives you more ways to use what you earn.
Chase issues the $95-a-year card, which earns Avios, the points Aer Lingus shares with British Airways and Iberia. It earns them at the same rates as Chase’s British Airways Visa Signature, but this card’s companion ticket and priority boarding work only on Aer Lingus flights between the U.S. and Ireland, not on onward flights.
Key Features
- 75,000 bonus Avios after $5,000 in purchases in your first 3 months
- 3 Avios per $1 on flights bought directly from Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia, and LEVEL; 2 per $1 on hotel stays booked directly with the hotel; 1 per $1 on everything else
- 2,500 bonus Avios each account anniversary
- An economy companion ticket each calendar year you charge $30,000 in purchases
- $95 annual fee, no foreign transaction fee, and a variable interest rate of 19.49% to 27.99%
Pros
- A welcome bonus worth about $900 at NerdWallet’s value of 1.2 cents per Avios, which it based on British Airways economy fares
- No taxes or fees on the companion’s ticket
- Priority boarding for you and authorized users on Aer Lingus flights between the U.S. and Ireland
- Instant one-for-one Avios transfers between Aer Lingus’s AerClub program and British Airways Club, once both accounts are 30 days old and linked at Avios.com
Cons
- Companion ticket requires $30,000 in purchases in a calendar year and your own paid economy round trip between the U.S. and Ireland, booked by email at least 30 days ahead
- No free checked bags or lounge access
- No credit toward AerClub elite status from card spending
- Only 1 Avios per $1 on everyday purchases
The card pays off for travelers who fly Aer Lingus to Ireland every year and can charge $30,000 a year on it, since each companion ticket must be flown within 12 months of being issued. If that isn’t you, the $95-a-year Chase Sapphire Preferred earns points you can move to AerClub or nine other airline programs when a trip comes up.
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