The Best Ways to Fly to Ireland with Points and Miles

Situated west of Great Britain, Ireland is an island in western Europe with its capital located in Dublin. The country is home to delicious Guinness beer and incredible medieval castles. Ireland is nicknamed “Emerald Isle” due to its green landscape that’s evident in any picture you see of the country.

Ireland has 2 major airports that you can fly into from the U.S.: Dublin Airport (DUB) in northwest Ireland and Shannon Airport (SNN) in southwest Ireland. You also have the option to connect at these airports and then onto one of the regional airports in the country.

Best Programs to Use to Book Flights

What makes booking award flights to Ireland great is that you have tons of options. Not only can you fly nonstop from the U.S., but you also have the option to connect through Europe.

Oneworld, SkyTeam, and Star Alliance partner airlines all fly to Ireland from the U.S. In addition, you have airlines outside of the major alliances that will help you get there.

As you review each flight option, note that the award pricing shown is for round-trip flights. Some award programs allow you to book one-way flights, which will provide even more flexibility. With that said, let’s dive in!

Air Canada Aeroplan

Aeroplan offers solid redemption pricing on both Economy and Business class flights to Europe. Better yet, you can add stopovers in other European cities for no extra mileage cost.

Air Canada, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, LOT Polish, Lufthansa, SAS, Singapore Airlines, Swiss Air Lines, TAP Portugal, Turkish Airlines, and United Airlines offer flights between the U.S. and Europe. When you’re ready to book a flight, here are a couple of examples of flights that you can book to Dublin (DUB):

• Newark (EWR) – Dublin (DUB) for 140,000 Aeroplan points round-trip in United Airlines business class
• Chicago (ORD) – Lisbon (LIS) – Dublin (DUB) for 80,000 Aeroplan points round-trip in TAP Portugal economy
• Washington (IAD) – Dublin (DUB) for 140,000 Aeroplan points round-trip in United Airlines business class

With enough Aeroplan points in your account, you’ll want to follow these steps to book your flight:

1. Search for flights on United Airlines.
2. Confirm the same availability on Aeroplan.
3. Book the award flight online.
4. Pay the taxes and fees.

Earning Aeroplan Points

It’s relatively easy to earn Aeroplan points since the program is an Amex airline partner, along with Chase Ultimate Rewards, Capital One, and Marriott Bonvoy. Aeroplan also has a co-branded credit card that allows you to earn Aeroplan points with your spend.

If you’re looking to transfer points from American Express, Capital One, and/or Marriott, the transfer times and transfer ratios will be different. Amex, Capital One, and Chase points transfer instantly at a 1:1 ratio and Marriott point transfers take 7 days at a 3:1 ratio.

With Marriott, you’ll receive a 5,000-mile bonus with every 60,000 points that you transfer.

You can also opt to acquire the co-branded Chase Aeroplan^® Credit Card, which earns 3x points per dollar spent on dining, groceries, and Air Canada, as well as 1x point per $1 spent everywhere else.

Aer Lingus AerClub

Aer Lingus is likely the first program many travelers think to use to book flights to Ireland. The good news is that during off-peak dates, the AerClub program offers competitive award prices, particularly for those who want to fly economy.

The Aer Lingus airline currency Avios is the same currency used by British Airways, Qatar Airways, and Iberia. For flights between the U.S. and Ireland, you’ll want to book Aer Lingus flights on the Avios website.

Hot Tip: Book award flights during off-peak dates in the Aer Lingus award calendar, occurring during most of January, February, March, May, September, October, and November. 

With your travel dates picked out, consider booking these Aer Lingus flights:

• Boston (BOS) – Dublin (DUB) for 26,000 Avios on Aer Lingus economy
• New York (JFK) – Shannon (SNN) for 100,000 Avios on Aer Lingus business class
• Chicago (ORD) – Dublin (DUB) for 100,000 Avios on Aer Lingus business class

The process to book Aer Lingus is straightforward:

1. Search for flights on the Avios website.
2. Book the award flight online.
3. Pay the taxes and fees.

Earning Aer Lingus Avios (Miles)

Aer Lingus makes it easy to earn Avios because the airline partners with American Express and Chase where points both transfer instantly at a 1:1 ratio. You can also earn Avios by putting your spend on an Aer Lingus credit card or you can even combine your Avios from your British Airways, Qatar Airways, and Iberia loyalty accounts.

Bottom Line: Aer Lingus offers one of the cheapest ways to fly between the U.S. and Ireland in economy. 

ANA Mileage Club

Another Star Alliance program to keep your eye on is ANA Mileage Club. ANA has several high-value award flights that you can book including flights between the U.S. and Europe.

The 2 main drawbacks when using ANA miles is that ANA partner flights must be booked round-trip and fuel surcharges are passed on. With that said, there’s plenty of upside if you know which airline partner flights to book.

Hot Tip: It’s best to use United to search for Star Alliance award flights first. From there, it’ll be easier to search the ANA website with the award flights that you found on United. 

Below are a couple of options to consider when you have the required number of Mileage Club miles in your ANA account:

• Washington (IAD) – Dublin (DUB) for 55,000 ANA miles in United business class
• Houston (IAH) – Manchester (MAN) for 55,000 ANA miles in Singapore Airlines economy
• Denver (DEN) – Newark (EWR) – Shannon (SNN) for 88,000 ANA in United business class

With the Singapore Airlines flight to Manchester, we recommend a couple of options to get all the way to Ireland. You can book a cheap cash flight between Manchester and Dublin or use 4,000 Avios to fly one-way during off-peak dates in Aer Lingus or British Airways economy.

For those of you with enough ANA miles, follow these steps to book your next award flight:

1. Search for flights on United.
2. Confirm the same availability on ANA.
3. Book the flight online.
4. Pay the taxes and fees.

Earning ANA Miles

ANA partners with American Express and Marriott Bonvoy, so the easiest way to earn ANA miles is to transfer your points from these programs to ANA. Unlike many airline programs, ANA doesn’t offer co-branded credit cards for the U.S. market.

If you have enough American Express and/or Marriott points to book a flight, the Amex point transfers take 2-3 days at a 1:1 ratio and Marriott point transfers take 7 days at a 3:1 ratio. With that said, below are the American Express credit cards that we recommend considering:

Recommended American Express Cards (Personal)

Business owner? See our list of the best Amex business credit cards.

Bottom Line: If you’re looking to book one-way Star Alliance award flights, Aeroplan and United Airlines will provide you with this option. 

Asiana Airlines Asiana Club

Our third Star Alliance program to cover is Asiana Airlines Asiana Club. Asiana Airlines is based in South Korea and has an award program that typically doesn’t receive much coverage. That’s unfortunate because the program has a ton of value.

It’s important to note that a phone call is required to book Star Alliance partner airline flights. In addition, you’ll need to use the United website to search for flights as the Asiana website doesn’t allow you to search for Star Alliance flights.

Hot Tip: Asiana Airlines flights can be booked online but all Star Alliance partner flights require that you call Asiana to book the flight. 

If using Asiana miles makes sense for you, here’s a couple of Star Alliance flight options:

• Newark (EWR) – Lisbon (LIS) – Dublin (DUB) for 50,000 Asiana miles in TAP Portugal business class
• Chicago (ORD) – Dublin (DUB) for 80,000 Asiana miles in United business class
• San Francisco (SFO) – Zurich (ZRH) – Shannon (SNN) in Swiss business class

Booking flights with Asiana isn’t the easiest, so use the steps below to help in the process:

1. Search for flight award availability on United.
2. Write down all the flight information.
3. Call Asiana Airlines at 800-227-4262 between 8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. PST on Monday-Friday.
4. Book the flight over the phone.
5. Pay the taxes and fees over the phone.

Earning Asiana Miles

Asiana Airlines only partners with Marriott Bonvoy so it can be challenging to earn Asiana Airlines miles. Point transfers take 10 days at a ratio of 3:1. Separately, you’ll receive a 5,000-mile bonus when transferring 60,000 Marriott points.

Here are the Marriott credit cards that we recommend:

British Airways Executive Club

British Airways Executive Club is a program many U.S. travelers are familiar with due to the ability to book American Airlines flights. British Airways uses a distance-based award chart and prices award flights on a segment basis. This means that connecting flights require additional miles. For flights between the U.S. and Ireland, you’ll want to fly American and Iberia due to the fuel surcharges when flying British Airways.

One of the main drawbacks of using the British Airways website is that it shows phantom American Airlines award space. Based on a recent experience, 15 American Airlines seats were shown on the British Airways website yet only 1 seat was available to be booked.

Hot Tip: British Airways is one of the best search engines to use for Oneworld award flights. Another option is to use the Qantas website. 

When you’re ready to make a trip to Ireland, consider flying one of these routes:

• Charlotte (CLT) – Dublin (DUB) for 41,500 British Airways Avios in American Airlines economy
• Philadelphia (PHL) – Shannon (SNN) for 41,500 British Airways Avios in American Airlines economy
• Chicago (ORD) – Dublin (DUB) for 41,500 British Airways Avios in American Airlines economy

Booking flights with British Airways is pretty simple:

1. Search for award availability on British Airways.
2. Book the flight online.
3. Pay the taxes and fees.

Earning British Airways Avios

It’s easy to earn British Airways Avios because the airline has partnerships with American Express, Chase, Capital One, and Marriott Bonvoy. In addition, British Airways has a co-branded credit card that earns Avios (miles) directly with your spend.

For those looking to transfer Amex, Capital One, or Chase points, the points transfer instantly at a 1:1 ratio. Marriott point transfers take 24 hours at a 3:1 ratio. With every 60,000 Marriott points transferred, you’ll receive a 5,000-mile bonus.

If you’re looking to earn Chase points, consider applying for these credit cards that we recommend:

Recommended Chase Cards (Personal)

Business owner? See our list of the best Chase business cards.

Bottom Line: We recommend calling British Airways before transferring points to book an American Airlines flight. It’s widely known that the award flights shown on British Airways do not match what is available to be booked. 

Etihad Guest

Etihad is our first award program that’s not in a major airline alliance. With Etihad, you’re booking flights on its partner airlines that span the major airline alliances.

One of the main drawbacks of Etihad is that partner airline flights can’t be booked online. Fortunately, the Etihad agents are competent and will help you book flights over the phone.

Hot Tip: Etihad doesn’t allow you to book partner airline flights on its website. You’ll need to call Etihad Guest to book these flights. 

Note in the first example below you’ll need to book another flight between Brussels and Dublin as Brussels Airlines doesn’t fly between the 2 cities. The taxes and fees to fly Brussels Airlines are also substantially more expensive.

• Washington, D.C. (IAD) – Brussels (BRU) for 88,000 Etihad miles in Brussels business class
• Philadelphia (PHL) – Dublin (DUB) for 40,000 Etihad miles in American Airlines economy
• Charlotte (CLT) – Dublin (DUB) for 100,000 Etihad miles in American Airlines business class

With the Brussels Airlines flight to Brussels, we recommend a cheap miles or points flight continuing on to Ireland.

Depending on the partner that you fly, the process to book flights will differ. Below are the steps we recommend:

1. Search for American Airlines flights on British Airways.
2. Search for Brussels Airlines flights on United.
3. Write down all of the flight details.
4. Call Etihad at 877-690-0767 to confirm award availability.
5. Book the flight over the phone.
6. Pay the taxes and fees over the phone.

Earning Etihad Guest Miles

Earning Etihad Guest miles is easy because the airline partners with American Express, Capital One, Citi, and Marriott Bonvoy. When points are earned in these programs, you can transfer them directly to Etihad to book an award flight.

If you decide to transfer points, keep these transfer ratios and transfer times in mind: American Express points transfer instantly at a 1:1 ratio, Capital One point transfers take 36 hours at 1:1 ratio, Citi point transfers take 6 days at a 1:1 ratio, and Marriott point transfers take 5 days at a 3:1 ratio.

Unfortunately, Etihad doesn’t have credit cards for the U.S. market, so earning points in these programs will be one of the easiest ways to obtain Etihad Guest miles.

For those of you wanting to earn Capital One Miles, here are the credit cards that we like:

Bottom Line: Using Etihad miles allows you to fly American Airlines at cheaper rates than you’d otherwise pay using your American Airlines miles. 

Iberia Avios

Iberia is our second Oneworld airline member that you can use for flights to Europe. U.S. travelers are likely familiar with Iberia because you can use Iberia Avios (miles) to book American Airlines award flights.

One of the main drawbacks with Iberia is that American Airlines flights must be booked round-trip. However, for this redemption you’re flying Iberia so you have the option to book one-way flights if needed.

Hot Tip: British Airways and Iberia offer ways for you to book American Airlines award flights. With British Airways, you have more flexibility because you can book a one-way American Airlines flight. 

When weighing the fuel surcharges, award pricing, and routing, we recommend flying Iberia during its off-peak award dates.

• Boston (BOS) – Madrid (MAD) – Dublin (DUB) for 42,500 Iberia Avios in Iberia economy
• Chicago (ORD) – Madrid (MAD) – Dublin (DUB) for 85,000 Iberia Avios in Iberia business class
• Miami (MIA) – Madrid (MAD) – Dublin (DUB) for 85,000 Iberia Avios in Iberia business class

If you’re ready to book a flight, these steps will help make the process easier:

1. Search for Iberia flights on Iberia.
2. Book the award flight online.
3. Pay the taxes and fees.

Earning Iberia Avios (Miles)

You’ll have no problem earning Iberia Avios because the airline has partnerships with American Express, Chase, and Marriott Bonvoy. The points earned in these programs can be transferred directly to Iberia.

Transfer times and transfer ratios are always important to keep in mind as they will be different depending on the program that you use: American Express point transfers take 2 days at a 1:1 ratio, Chase points transfer instantly at a 1:1 ratio, and Marriott point transfers take 24-36 hours at a 3:1 ratio. With every 60,000 Marriott points that you transfer, you’ll receive a 5,000-mile bonus.

Another way to earn Iberia Avios is by putting your spend on its co-branded Chase credit card. By combining the Avios earned from its credit card with the transferable points from Amex, Chase, and Marriott, you’ll be well on your way to your next award flight.

Bottom Line: U.S. travelers should always consider flying Iberia to Europe during off-peak dates. Iberia offers one of the cheapest options for both economy and business class. 

Japan Airlines Mileage Bank

Yet another Oneworld member with award flight options to Ireland is Japan Airlines. What’s great about Japan Airlines is that you can fly to Ireland at competitive rates with low taxes and fees.

The main downside of using Japan Airlines miles to book these flights is that the miles are hard to earn. However, if you can find an avenue to earn them, you will unlock serious value.

Hot Tip: Japan Airlines uses a distance-based award chart. We recommend using Great Circle Mapper to calculate and confirm the distance of your flight before searching for award flights. 

American Airlines, British Airways, and Iberia are the airline partners with flights that you can book. We recommend flights like the ones below to reduce the taxes and fees you’ll see when flying British Airways:

• Philadelphia (PHL) – Shannon (SNN) for 80,000 Japan Airlines miles in American Airlines business class
• New York (JFK) – Madrid (MAD) – Dublin (DUB) for 50,000 Japan Airlines miles in Iberia economy
• Dallas (DFW) – Charlotte (CLT) – Dublin (DUB) for 85,000 Japan Airlines miles in American Airlines business class

The steps below will likely be helpful when you’re ready to book an award flight:

1. Search for flights on British Airways.
2. Confirm the same award availability on Japan Airlines.
3. Book the award flight online.
4. Pay the taxes and fees.

Earning Japan Airlines Miles

Earning Japan Airlines miles is tough because the airline only has 1 partnership with Marriott Bonvoy. In addition, the U.S. market does not have access to co-branded Japan Airlines credit cards.

If you do have Marriott points and want to transfer them to Japan Airlines, the transfer time takes 2 days at a 3:1 ratio. Also, with every 60,000 Marriott points that you transfer, you’ll receive a 5,000-mile transfer bonus.

Bottom Line: Japan Airlines offers a great option to book Oneworld flights to Europe. The issue many have is earning enough Japan Airlines miles to book an award flight. 

Korean Air SKYPASS

For those of you looking to leverage the SkyTeam alliance, Korean Air is an interesting option. The South Korea-based airline has competitive rates to fly in both economy and business class to Ireland.

You’ll be using a zone-based award chart when flying SkyTeam airline partners. This means that it’ll cost the same number of miles to fly between the U.S. and Ireland, no matter the departing U.S. city.

Hot Tip: We recommend starting your award search on Air France, Delta, and KLM for SkyTeam award flights. 

Below are a couple of SkyTeam options when you have enough miles in your SKYPASS account:

• New York (JFK) – Shannon (SNN) for 50,000 Korean Air miles in Delta economy
• Detroit (DTW) – Paris (CDG) – Dublin (DUB) for 80,000 Korean Air miles in Air France business class
• Atlanta (ATL) – Dublin (DUB) for 80,000 Korean Air miles in Delta business class

With Korean Air, the process to book award flights is as follows:

1. Search for SkyTeam flights on Air France, Delta, or KLM.
2. Write down all of your flight information.
3. Confirm the same availability on Korean Air’s website or call Korean Air 800-438-5000 to confirm availability.
4. Book the flight online or over the phone.
5. Pay for taxes and fees.

Earning Korean Air SKYPASS Miles

Like Japan Airlines, Korean Air has only 1 transferable partner and that’s Marriott Bonvoy. What’s different about Korean Air is that U.S. residents can earn Korean Air miles from a co-branded Korean Air credit card.

For those of you looking to transfer Marriott points, the transfer ratio is 3:1 and points take 7 days to transfer.

Bottom Line: Korean Air will be one of your best SkyTeam options. We also recommend checking Air France, Delta, and KLM to see how many miles each airline program requires for your flight. 

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

Our last non-alliance airline to mention is Virgin Atlantic. Like Etihad, Virgin Atlantic has partnerships with individual airlines. Not all of the award rates are competitive, but flights to Europe are ones that you should consider.

For flights to Ireland, the airline partner you’ll fly is Delta. You’ll want to focus on the nonstop Delta flights as any connections require additional Virgin Points.

Hot Tip: You may not be able to book all Delta flights on Virgin Atlantic. If you’re not able to book the flight, the process to book over the phone is easy. 

With Delta flights to Ireland, here are a couple of interesting flights to book:

• Boston (BOS) – Dublin (DUB) for 100,000 Virgin Points in Delta business class
• New York (JFK) – Shannon (SNN) for 60,000 Virgin Points in Delta economy
• Atlanta (ATL) – Dublin (DUB) for 100,000 Virgin Points in Delta business class

If your Delta destination shows up on Virgin Atlantic:

1. Search for Delta on Virgin Atlantic.
2. Book the flight online.
3. Pay the taxes and fees.

If your destination doesn’t show up on Virgin Atlantic:

1. Search for Delta on Air France, Delta, or KLM.
2. Write down your flight information.
3. Call Virgin Atlantic at 800-365-9500 to book the flight.
4. Pay the taxes and fees.

Earning Virgin Points

You’ll have no problem earning Virgin Points because the airline partners with American Express, Chase, Citi, and Marriott Bonvoy. You can transfer points in these programs directly to Virgin Atlantic.

If you do have transferable points, here are the transfer ratios and transfer times: Amex point transfers take 1-2 days at a 1:1 ratio, Chase points transfer instantly at a 1:1 ratio, Citi point transfers take 2 days at a 1:1 ratio, and Marriott point transfers take 1 day at a 3:1 ratio. You’ll receive 5,000 bonus miles when transferring 60,000 Marriott points.

Another way to earn Virgin Points is by spending on its co-branded credit cards. A combination of its credit cards and transferable points will ensure you have plenty of miles for your next flight to Ireland.

See our article on the best Citi credit cards if you’re looking to earn Citi ThankYou Points.

Bottom Line: Air New Zealand, ANA, and Delta are some of the top Virgin Atlantic airline partners that will help you to receive value with your Virgin Points. 

Final Thoughts

Ireland is a great place to visit, particularly during the U.S. summer months. Not only is the country beautiful, but its location makes it easy to travel to Europe via a quick flight.

To ensure you have plenty of miles for your next trip to Ireland, check out the transferable point programs in American Express, Capital One, Chase, Citi, and Marriott Bonvoy. The points earned in these programs will help you to continually unlock value.

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