Still having trouble getting Lloyds to award your credit card sign-up Avios?
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To summarise, the recent promotion involved spending £500 per month on your card for the first three months. You would then receive a 20,000 Avios bonus.
However, Lloyds was arbitrarily defining ‘month’ based on the date you were accepted for the card, which was NOT the date you applies and NOT the statement month. The best bit is that it was impossible to find out, even if you called them, what dates they were working to.
I was just contacted by another reader who had been refused his 20,000 Avios, despite spending over £500 in each of his first 3 statement periods. He then took his complaint to the ombudsman.
These facts came out during the subsequent discussions with Lloyds, who assigned a manager to liaise with the HFP reader:
Lloyds admitted that this promotion was ‘ill-thought out’ and ‘badly enacted’
‘Heads are rolling’ within Lloyds over the implementation of this promotion
The outcome of the ombudsmans intervention was:
Full receipt of the 20,000 Avios points
“Not insubstantial” financial compensation on top
So, if you have not received your 20,000 Avios points from the Lloyds Premier Duo credit cards promotion, I strongly suggest that you escalate your complaint.
Send a final complaint letter to Lloyds, warning them that you will escalate the complaint if it is not resolved within x weeks. After that point, file your complaint. Contact details for the ombudsman are in the literature that Lloyds sent you with your card.
My understanding is that Lloyds is fined £500 as soon as the ombudsman receives your letter – this covers the cost of the service – and they are then obliged to act.
How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (March 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:
Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard
Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review
Barclaycard Avios Mastercard
5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review
There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:
British Airways American Express Premium Plus
25,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review
British Airways American Express
5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £12,000 Read our full review
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.
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review
The Platinum Card from American Express
40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a fee Read our full review
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.
Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa
Get a 10,000 points bonus plus an extra 500 points for our readers Read our full review
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.
British Airways Accelerating Business American Express
30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review
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.
SPECIAL OFFER: You receive a huge 120,000 Membership Rewards points if you apply for American Express Business Platinum by 9th April 2024. You receive 80,000 points for spending £12,000 within 90 days and a further 40,000 points if you retain the card for 14 months. Click here to apply.
SPECIAL OFFER: You receive 60,000 Membership Rewards points if you apply for American Express Business Gold by 9th April 2024. Remember that the card is FREE for the first year. You receive 40,000 points for spending £6,000 within 90 days and a further 20,000 points if you retain the card for 14 months. Click here to apply.
American Express Business Platinum
Crazy 120,000 points bonus (to 9th April) and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review
American Express Business Gold
Huge 60,000 points sign-up bonus (until 9th April) and free for a year Read our full review
Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.
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