Originally Posted by
flame
So far, I have not received any email or snailmail from Aer Lingus about the change to Aerclub. I called today and was told my account did not migrate over and to apply manually online for a new account number. I am loathe to do this as my missing points will most likely disappear and feel my years of loyalty will not be seen
Presumably you had heard about the change, though, or seen it on the website. I would not have allowed things to go like this, and would have been pro-active, or at least enquired when passing through the lounge so often.
If you didn't get any notification about Aer Club prior to this, then it was a little naive to think that you would hear anything now or receive any new cards, etc.
Originally Posted by
flame
Aer Lingus now flies to more airports in Europe with NO lounge access and I guess this will not improve.
It will definitely improve. When Aer Lingus rejoins oneworld, a whole new range of lounge options will be opened up (though not to Aer Club silvers).
Originally Posted by
flame
At this stage, I have no idea how many avios will be awarded for any given flight, how to maintain any sort of status or progress.
It's a straightforward qualification model. See the
Tiers & Benefits page which explains how many tier credits you earn on an Aer Lingus flight and how many tier credits are required for each level of the programme.
They also express the qualification targets in terms of the number of "Saver" (for shorthaul) or "Low" (for transatlantic) flights required for each level. (Though do watch out that the very cheapest fare classes, as noted in the tier credit table, only earn half the usual number of credits - so 7.5 for shorthaul, 25 for transatlantic. Where they show the number of flights required for each level, they also indicate that the double is required if always travelling in these cheapest economy classes).
Originally Posted by
flame
Coupled with all the other airline FF programme changes introduced recently, is there any point any more of being loyal to any carrier ..... unless you are on expenses all the time when you travel, I guess not
Blind loyalty - i.e. going out of your way, or paying more than you need - is not, and never was, worthwhile.
Perhaps in the past you would always only consider booking Aer Lingus because of Gold Circle - but even then, that was probably not the best idea. If the change to Aer Club gives you pause for thought, then something good will have come of it - you are "woken up" to the fact that staying with one carrier may NOT be the best strategy.
When you break free from the shackles of your "loyalty", and consider the *best* option for each trip you need - whether that means cheapest, best flight times, quickest journey, closest airport/most direct route, etc - then that is good. The "blind" loyalty should be a thing of the past.
However, if it's likely that you are still going to end up flying at least occasionally on Aer Lingus, then it would be stupid not to collect Avios/tier credits for those flights.
When Aer Lingus rejoins oneworld, the programme should be better/make more sense (i.e. the current restriction on earning tier credits on Aer Lingus only, and the restriction to earning Avios on EI, BA and IB only, will be lifted).
And you can probably pick up a handy dose of Avios with some transactions you may have to make anyway, so why not take the Avios that are on offer?
Be wise. Play the game to your advantage. Just don't think that this means you have to fly Aer Lingus all the time.