The Aer Lingus Avios cut-off moves to 6 days from 60 days following our coverage

Yesterday we told you how Aer Lingus had quietly brought in a 60 day rule for Avios bookings.

The contact centre had confirmed in writing what Avios collectors had been noticing for a couple of weeks – that all availability, on all routes, seemed to have dried up near to the point of departure.

After we published our article yesterday, it all came back! Well, nearly all. It seems that a six day rule is now in place instead.

Here is the screenshot I published yesterday showing zero Avios availability on 6th January (60 days away) – or indeed any day earlier than 6th January – between London Heathrow and Dublin:

On 7th January – 61 days in advance, at the time I took the screenshots – you were rolling in reward seats:

Aer Lingus now seems to have changed its mind

Things have changed following our article.

Take a look at what is now available on 6th January, compared to the top screenshot above:

Lots and lots of Aer Lingus seats are now bookable.

However, you still can’t book for immediate travel. I am typing this on Thursday 9th, and the first day that is bookable is Wednesday 15th:

It’s not perfect, but it’s definitely an improvement.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (January 2024)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital On Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus.

There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.