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Originally Posted by themadzins
Thanks so much for that information!!!
I will start with the airlines and then onto the credit cards for the miles.
I do not have an exact date for the trip yet but its looking like late spring, probably late April/early May 2013. For now I need 2 tickets although we are going to be a party of 8 or 9 people but I do not think everyone would want to do what I am attempting to do! As far as class of service, I would LOVE first class but free tickets is the goal even if it is economy class. We primarily use AMEX SPG for every day spending. We average about $2000 monthly spending and pay off monthly. Our credit is 700+.
We are looking to fly to Dublin or Shannon from either JFK, EWR, or PHL (all depending on cost). In addition, I really do not have much miles with any particular airline currently.
I really appreciate the quick response and thank you for the information!!
As noted by another poster, the best deal from NYC to Ireland -- assuming that you can find award seats -- is redeeming BA Avios for travel on Aer Lingus. Coach costs 20K Avios each way; Business Class costs 40K each way. Taxes and fees should run about $125/person for a roundtrip in either class of service.
There are a lot of ways of getting BA Avios. You can convert Starwood points to Avios; you can earn Avios directly with the Chase/BA Visa card, but the annual fee is not waived; you can earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points on a Chase Sapphire Preferred card (first-year annual fee waived), and then convert those points to Avios on a 1:1 basis; you can earn Amex Membership Rewards points on certain Amex cards, and convert the MR points to Avios on a 1:1 basis (although there are occasionally transfer bonuses of as much as 50% on such transfers); and, of course, you can earn Avios by actually
flying on BA or its partner carriers, including AA and AS.
If you and your spouse are both credit worthy, I would suggest that both of you apply for the Chase Sapphire preferred card. The current sign-up bonus is 40,000 U.R. points after $3,000 in spend, although some FT posts that the spend requirement for the bonus is only $2,000 if you apply for the card at a Chase branch.
Aer Lingus offers JFK-DUB nonstops year-round; JFK-SNN service is seasonal, and might not be offered when you wish to travel. And, of course, there is always the possibility that you will accrue lots of points and miles, but then find that there is no award-seat availability on your desired dates of travel. But that, unfortunately, is the nature of the frequent-flyer game.
Good luck!