Start here: Aer Lingus AerClub — join, earn Avios and Tier Credits, keep your Avios and reach a tier

Step 1: What AerClub is and who it suits

You will learn: what AerClub is, which parties the contract is between, and which travellers the programme is built around.

AerClub is the loyalty programme called AerClub operated by Aer Lingus, and the terms set out the contractual relationship between Aer Lingus, AGL and each individual member [1]. AGL, a member of International Airlines Group, owns and manages the Avios currency [1]. Title to and property in all Avios remains with AGL at all times and never passes to the member [1]. Tier means one of the four membership tiers of Green, Silver, Platinum or Concierge, as determined by the Tier Credits earned in a single Qualification Period [1].

Aer Lingus may terminate AerClub, using reasonable endeavours to give at least six months' notice except on insolvency, and may modify or withdraw services, change the currency used by AerClub, and vary the terms themselves, with members deemed to accept changes if they carry on quoting their membership number afterwards [1]. To the extent permissible by local law, the terms are governed by Irish law, and Aer Lingus and each member submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the Irish courts [1]. On who it suits: Avios are earned on eligible Aer Lingus flights and on selected AerClub Airline Partners, and Tier Credits come from eligible Sectors, so the programme is built around flying Aer Lingus and its AerClub Airline Partners [1].

Go deeper: Start here: airline miles for how mileage currencies work generally, Start here: British Airways Club and Start here: Iberia Club for the two neighbouring programmes that also use Avios.

Step 2: How to join

You will learn: who is allowed an account, how to apply, and what makes a membership active rather than dormant.

Individuals aged 18 or over may apply, and membership is not available to anyone under 18 [1]. Membership is not open to companies, partnerships, unincorporated associations or similar entities [1]. Applications are made online at aerlingus.com/aerclub, eligibility is determined by the applicant's country of residence, and Aer Lingus may refuse membership to any applicant [1].

Accepted applicants are given a membership number and digital membership, and multiple membership by one person is not permitted: duplicate accounts and duplicate Avios are cancelled [1]. Membership begins on the date the account is activated by confirming the email address, and using the account afterwards means agreeing to the terms [1]. Aer Lingus and AGL reserve the right to send certain information only to active members, and an active member is one who has earned or redeemed Avios within the previous 12-month period [1]. Digital membership is personal to the member, only the named member may use it, and it is not transferable in any circumstances [1].

Go deeper: Aer Lingus AerClub programme hub for the programme's pages grouped by task.

Step 3: How earning works

You will learn: what Avios and Tier Credits are earned from, and what you must do at booking for anything to be credited.

Only individual members are eligible to earn Avios, and each member must give their full name, matching exactly the name and spelling on their passport, together with their membership number, in order to collect from Aer Lingus or Service Partners [1]. No Avios are earned if the name on the booking does not match the account or if the information given is incomplete [1]. On Aer Lingus flights, Avios are earned only after the Sector has been flown and are awarded on the basis of fare spend, excluding taxes, fees and charges and any ancillary retail spend unless included as part of a targeted promotion [1]. On selected AerClub Airline Partners, Avios are calculated on distance flown between the ticketed points of origin and departure and on fare class [1]. Avios can be earned only once per Sector per member, are credited only to the member who flew, and a travelling companion earns only if they are also a member with their number on the booking [1]. Apart from special promotions, Aer Lingus does not permit earning Avios where the member is earning credits in another loyalty programme for the same services [1]. With Service Partners, Avios are earned by quoting the membership number when entering into the transaction, and in some cases enrolling in the partner's own programme and converting; where a member must choose between Avios and the partner's credits, the choice cannot be reversed later [1].

Allow up to ninety working days for Avios to be credited [1]. Avios not tracked automatically may be credited later at Aer Lingus' discretion, if the member was registered with AerClub at the time of travel; the clause gives both a six-month and a three-month limit for such claims, and a new member may claim for eligible Aer Lingus flights taken up to three months before their membership began [1]; in a dispute about entitlement, proof of travel may be required and claims must be lodged within six months of the date of travel [1]. They are credited only to the member who travelled, members should allow up to six weeks for Tier Credits from eligible Aer Lingus flights and longer for AerClub Airline Partners, claims may be made within three months of the date of travel (six months where entitlement is disputed), and a new member may not claim Tier Credits for flights taken before their membership began [1]. No Tier Credits are awarded on redemption flights, on agency, industry or airline employee discount tickets, on infant fares, or on the upgrade element of an airport or bid upgrade, only the original booking element counting [1].

Go deeper: How to earn miles for the general mechanics of crediting flights, and Avios earning without flying for ground earning.

Step 4: How to use Avios

You will learn: who you redeem with, what can be had, and the transfer ban that applies to Avios.

Avios cannot be redeemed until Aer Lingus has recorded them in the member's AerClub account [1]. Avios may be redeemed for Rewards provided by Aer Lingus and Service Partners, and Avios are redeemed with AGL: the methods available to redeem and to access Rewards are set out in the AGL Conditions of Use – Using Rewards [1]. Rewards may vary depending on the country in which the member is resident [1]. That document sits outside this course, so award prices and the redemption steps are not described here; the programme's own pages at aerlingus.com/aerclub are the place to start [1].

Except as otherwise provided by Aer Lingus and/or the AGL Conditions of Use, Avios are not transferable from person to person, to another member's account, statement to statement or digital membership to digital membership, and cannot be bequeathed or transferred by operation of law [1]. Any purported purchase, sale, transfer, unauthorised use or bartering of Avios issued or awarded to another person is void and constitutes a fundamental breach of the contract between Aer Lingus, AGL and the member [1]. Risk associated with Avios, for example theft or unauthorised or fraudulent redemption, passes to the member as soon as the Avios are recorded on the account [1]. No Avios and no Tier Credits are awarded on redemption flights booked using Avios [1].

Go deeper: How to book Aer Lingus AerClub awards for the booking side, How to redeem miles for the general process, Transferring Avios between British Airways, Iberia and Aer Lingus for moving Avios between programmes, and the award vs cash calculator for comparing an award with a cash fare.

Step 5: Keeping your Avios and reaching a tier

You will learn: the two clocks that govern an AerClub account and the extra requirement that sits on top of Tier Credits.

Keeping Avios: if a member has not earned, redeemed or purchased Avios for 36 consecutive months, all Avios earned up to that date expire and the membership terminates automatically [1]. Combining Avios transactions does not constitute earning, redeeming, purchasing or transferring Avios for this purpose [1]. A member may terminate membership at any time, and any such termination results in a loss of all Avios [1].

Tiers: the membership tier is determined by the amount of Tier Credits earned in the AerClub Qualification Period, which begins on 01 April and ends on 31 March, and tier status is reviewed on 31 March each year before Tier Credits reset to zero on 01 April [1]. The stipulated number of Tier Credits required is notified to members via the AerClub website [1]. In addition to that number, a member must travel on a minimum of two Sectors operated and ticketed by Aer Lingus for each tier level during the Qualification Period; for Platinum, for example, at least four such Sectors [1]. A member who advances to a new tier keeps it for the remainder of the current Qualification Period and for the whole of the next one (if a higher tier is reached meanwhile, the same periods run for that tier), and Aer Lingus may downgrade a tier where the required Tier Credits or Sectors were not earned [1]. Members with Silver, Platinum or Concierge status may apply for an extension of status because of maternity or adoptive leave or serious illness, subject to evidence, a maximum of two approved applications in a five-year period, and Aer Lingus' discretion; members who received complimentary status are not eligible [1]. Lounge access is available only to Silver, Platinum and Concierge digital membership card holders and a companion where applicable, the lounges available vary by tier, access is subject to availability, and the digital membership must be presented with an Aer Lingus boarding card [1].

Go deeper: the status tool for tracking a tier year, the mileage expiry calculator for the 36-month clock, and Upgrading Aer Lingus with Avios for the upgrade route on an existing booking.

Step 6: Your first concrete action

You will learn: the five things to do in your first months so that nothing is lost by default.

1. Apply at aerlingus.com/aerclub and activate the account by confirming your email address, because membership begins on the date of activation [1].
2. Put your full passport name and your membership number on every booking, since incomplete or mismatched details can mean nothing is credited [1].
3. After each trip, check Avios and Tier Credits in your account and claim anything missing within the time limits set by the terms [1].
4. Earn, redeem or purchase Avios at least once every 36 months, otherwise all Avios expire and membership terminates [1].
5. Read the AerClub Terms and Conditions before relying on a tier or a redemption, because the terms and the services they describe can change [1].

Once the account is open, continue with the earning and redemption guides linked in Steps 3 and 4 before booking anything.

Next: read the Aer Lingus AerClub programme hub for the full set of pages on this programme.