The Aer Lingus Visa Signature® Credit Card is worth considering if you’re a frequent Aer Lingus flyer, your credit score is 700 or higher, and you don’t mind booking airfare or hotel reservations directly through the airline or hotel. Even though it has a $95 annual fee, getting this card can pay off if you’re able to earn lots of bonus rewards. Direct bookings are the only way to earn ongoing bonus rewards on purchases, though. You also have to avoid interest charges for this card to be worthwhile.  

What I Like About the Aer Lingus Visa Signature® Credit Card

Big initial bonus

You can earn 75,000 Avios after spending $5,000 in the first 3 months. Based on our research, are worth approximately $1,552.5 in Aer Lingus airfare. So, if you’re going to spend enough to qualify anyway, why not get a free flight out of it?

This isn’t the only big bonus available right now, however. You can compare this offer to our editors’ picks for the best credit card bonuses to see for yourself. 
 

2-3X points with eligible airlines & hotels

You will get 3 points / $1 spent directly through Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia, or LEVEL, and 2 points / $1 spent directly through hotels. These are fairly limited bonus categories, but they can provide a lot of value – even more than cards offering 2% to 3% cash back. 
 

Companion ticket offer

The perk itself is great – you can get an economy ticket for a companion each year, without even paying taxes and fees. The eligibility requirement is a bit of a bummer, though. You need to charge $30,000 in purchases to the card in a year to qualify. Plus, the companion ticket is only good for 12 months, and it only works for flights between the U.S. and Ireland. 
 

$5,000+ credit limit

The exact limit you receive depends on your overall creditworthiness when you apply, particularly your credit history, income, and debt. But you at least have a high floor to work with. Many other cards have much lower minimum credit limits. 
 

Priority boarding

If you fly from the U.S. to Ireland on Aer Lingus, you’ll get priority boarding thanks to this card. That applies to both legs of your trip, both going and coming back. It’s just too bad the benefit doesn’t apply to all flights with affiliated airlines. 
 

Solid secondary benefits

The Aer Lingus Visa Signature Card gives you access to insurance for baggage delays, lost luggage, and damaged or stolen purchases, along with extended warranty protection. Most credit cards do not have all of these perks.  

What I Don’t Like About the Aer Lingus Visa Signature® Credit Card

$95 annual fee 

This is several times higher than average for a credit card offer right now, according to our research. It can still be worth paying, as long as you use the card regularly, but you should definitely factor it into your decision when you’re comparing options. 
 

High interest rate

If you get the Aer Lingus Visa Signature Card, make sure to always pay the monthly bill in full by the due date. If you do that, interest charges won’t apply. If you don’t, expensive finance charges will quickly overtake your rewards earnings. 
 

Most types of purchases yield relatively little in rewards

Unless you’re booking travel directly with an eligible airline or a hotel, you get just 1 point / $1 spent with this card. One Avios is worth around 2.07 cents, so this earning rate is only about average for a rewards card. 

Requires good credit or better

You’ll likely need a credit score of 700 or higher to have a good chance of being approved for the Aer Lingus Visa Signature® Credit Card. This type of credit requirement is common among airline credit cards, but it still leaves people with lower scores grounded. 

You can get your free credit score right here on WalletHub to get a better sense of your chances. You can also compare our editors’ picks for the best rewards cards by credit level to see if you find a better fit.