American Airlines and Aer Lingus have been partners for more than three years now, but one critical ingredient has been missing: Booking Aer Lingus flights with American miles – or vice versa. That has finally changed, and it's a big win for U.S. travelers … especially those in smaller towns.
In a move first flagged by One Mile at a Time, you can now redeem American AAdvantage miles to fly Aer Lingus to Dublin and beyond, with award rates starting at 57,500 miles and $5.60 in taxes and fees for a one-way business class flight to Europe. You should also be able to redeem Aer Lingus Avios for American flights (both domestically and abroad) – but as of publication, we're only seeing airports that Aer Lingus serves in the list of search options.
Additionally, I'm not yet seeing any economy class redemptions on Aer Lingus available through AA. If (and when) those seats do open up, they'll likely price out at 22,500 each way. That's what American charges for transatlantic flights on partner British Airways, albeit with much more modest taxes and fees.
Is flying from the U.S. to Europe for slightly less than 60,000 miles in business class the deal of the century? Not exactly. In fact, you can book these same Aer Lingus flights through Alaska's Atmos Rewards program for as few as 45,000 points each way.
But AA offers a trio of co-branded credit cards and miles can now even be transferred 1:1 from Citi, making them far easier for many to earn. But the real value of this new option is just how versatile it is, whether you live in a city with nonstop Aer Lingus service or would need to make a connection to get to Dublin.
Related reading: How to Quickly Earn AA Miles … & Why You Should
Let's take a look at a couple of examples to see how this works in practice.
Here's a simple nonstop from Minneapolis-Saint Paul (MSP) to Dublin (DUB), bookable for 57,500 AAdvantage miles and $5.60 in taxes and fees.
But what makes this news really exciting is that American's partner award chart sets prices for these Aer Lingus based on regions: In American's eyes, a nonstop flight from Minneapolis to Ireland is the same as a one-stop flight from North Dakota to Dublin … or a two-stop flight from a smaller city to Dublin and then onward to Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG).
With this new partnership, you can add a connection (from airports big and small) on either side of the pond for the same, 57,500-mile rate. Take this flight from Sioux Falls, South Dakota (FSD) to Dublin, for example. You can add a segment on AA – in first class, no less – flying from a tiny regional airport like Sioux Falls to Chicago-O'Hare (ORD), and then connect onward to Dublin for the same price of 57,500 miles and $5.60 in taxes and fees.
It works on the other side of the Atlantic, too. Say you want to go to Paris. You could fly the nonstop, from Minneapolis to Dublin on Aer Lingus, and then connect onward to France for the same 57,500-mile price tag and just a bit more in taxes and fees.
The one potential hitch with adding these segments to your search is that you need to find award availability – on those American Airlines-operated flights here in the States or with Aer Lingus across the pond. The more connections you try to include, the trickier that can get. Fortunately, American's handy monthlong award search calendar is invaluable for pinpointing dates where you can make it all work.
Another perk of this partnership is that the same 57,500-mile rate holds true even for longer routes, such as Los Angeles (LAX) to Dublin. Here you'll see the 10-plus-hour business class flight going for the same price of 57,5000 AAdvantage miles each way.
That's saving you 5,000 miles – and more than $160 in taxes and fees – compared to what Aer Lingus charges for the exact same flight when redeeming its own Avios. With Aer Lingus and many other carriers, longer flights will cost you miles. But for American AAdvantage miles, it's still just a flight from the U.S. to Europe.
Aer Lingus business class might not the flashiest business class seat you'll find flying across the pond. But where other airlines struggle even with some of the basics, Aer Lingus does it all – and does it all well. There's a comfortable seat (and an almost unbelievably spacious one, if you can grab one of the carrier's coveted throne seats), charming service, and good food, too.
With prices like this – and added connections on either side of the pond – I'm already scheming up plans for my next trip to Europe.
Read more: 5 Things I Loved Flying Aer Lingus Business Class (& 2 I Didn’t)
Bottom Line
You can now redeem American AAdvantage miles for Aer Lingus flights to Dublin and beyond, with business class awards starting at 57,500 miles and just $5.60 one way – including free connections on either side of the Atlantic.
While not the absolute cheapest option for crossing the pond in business class, the ease of earning AA miles and the ability to add domestic or European connections at no extra cost make this a solid new way to get to Europe in comfort.
Featured image courtesy of Aer Lingus
