Originally Posted by
mneylon
I've had the Aer Lingus credit card for about a year and a half and I am rather frustrated with the supposed benefits beyond the Avios.
I've got status with Aer Lingus so fast track and lounge access aren't of any value to me, but I can see why they would be to others.
The free flights are an absolute nightmare to book and I can never find any available options to even try to book - plus the booking process is a hot mess.
So that means the only "benefit" left is the Avios.
At this stage is there much difference between using the Aer Lingus card vs one of the paid Revolut ones that gives "rev points"?
Just looking at the avios/Rev Points earning rates, the premium Revolut is €8.99/month which gives standard rates of 1 point/€4 spend debit cards, or 1.5points/€4 spend on a CC.
The BOI credit card at €6.5/month gives 1 point/€4 on regular spend and 1 point/€1 on EI spend.
So for standard rates its a trade off on maybe how much you fly with EI and also how much spend you put through Revolut in general. The big caveat here is the regular but changeable offers for bonus rev points on EI spend which can be just as or more generous (but not necessarily a permanent fixture), if you assume they are then revolut seems the way to go.
Another thing to consider is that you are not earning avios with revolut but rev points, which currently transfer at 1:1 however this is in no way a guaranteed transfer rate either. Nominally as rev points are a flexible point they have more value as they can be transferred to lots of programs but Revolut are a new player here so don't have the history in the market that you can trust their transfer rates etc.
Also the I think its a 12 month agreement to sign up to revolut premium plans (not sure what the break fee might be...). BOI had a survey out recently teasing the possibility of changing the card to a higher avios earning rate (and cutting the other benefits either completely or partially) so if you switch and then BOI increae the rate you may not have a free break from Revolut to switch back if that rate suddenly becomes more attractive.