Refer-a-friend bonus launched for the free Lloyds TSB Duo Avios credit card

Lloyds TSB has launched a referral bonus for the Lloyds TSB Duo Avios credit card pack. This comprises an American Express card (earning 1 Avios per £1) and a MasterCard (earning a shocking 0.2 Avios points per £1!).

Initially running for only a few weeks, until April 3rd, Lloyds will give you 4,000 Avios for every friend you recommend for the cards.

The good news is that the basic Duo Avios cards carry no annual fee.

The slightly less good news is that current sign-up bonus is a bit of a dogs dinner. Yes, you receive a voucher for 18,000 Avios. However:

You need to spend £500 each month for the first three months on the American Express card to receive the voucher. This may mean juggling your spending and watching statement dates carefully to ensure you charge enough. Note that MasterCard spend does not count.

The voucher can ONLY be redeemed in conjunction with a booking of 1 night or more in a hotel booked via the Avios hotel booking service. This means that (for a chain property) you would not receive points or status benefits.

The voucher must be redeemed in one transaction and no ‘change’ is given!

If you cancel your trip, the voucher is cancelled and is not available for re-use.

For some people, none of this will be a problem. If you take a lot of short breaks and stay in hotels then it is great. 18,000 Avios would cover two tickets to, say, Amsterdam in Economy. All you would then need to do is book the hotel.

If, however, you tend to stay with friends or in hostels when travelling, or redeem hotel loyalty points, then the offer is unlikely to be of much use.

Fundamentally, Lloyds is also asking you to rip off your friends! Quidco is currently offering £20 cashback for a direct application for the card. If you persuade your friend to sign up, they would be missing out on £20 at the expense of you earning 4,000 Avios. You could pay them £20 for the privilege, of course, which would be an OK deal for both sides.

You can learn more about the Lloyds TSB Duo Avios cards here.

The refer-a-friend bonus can be found here. You can refer someone for the free Duo cards even if you only have the Premier Duo Avios card yourself.

I have not found a link for a bonus on the Lloyds TSB Premier Duo Avios card so far …. anyone?

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2024)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and click here to apply.

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus.

There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.