Why the Lloyds Avios credit card ‘refer a friend’ service is a joke

Four weeks ago I wrote about the new refer-a-friend offer that Lloyds was offering on the Lloyds Avios Rewards credit card.

This was a decent deal.  You could refer someone for the card and they would receive 4,500 Avios points for signing up.  Given that there is usually no bonus on this card, it was a good incentive.

You, as the person making the referral, would also receive 4,500 Avios.

It was all very nice.  Apart from the fact that the Avios website was well and truly broken.

I tried to make a number of referrals over a number of days.  Only once did I ever receive the email.  Feedback from other Head for Points readers confirmed it.

I don’t know how difficult it is to write a piece of software that sends an email to an address you type into a box but I am guessing it does not require a PhD …..

And then, last Thursday afternoon, I received a massive flow of emails into my inbox.  Someone had unblocked the pipe and all of the emails I had triggered over the previous three weeks suddenly appeared.

I thought it was fixed.  Not that this helped much, since the people who were interested had already got fed up with waiting.

On Friday, I was asked for another referral.  I triggered an email but nothing arrived.  Nothing on Saturday either.  Or Sunday.  Finally, at 5pm on Monday, it arrived.  Just three days after being requested.

Until Lloyds / AGL can hire a 12-year old who is capable of writing a bit of computer code to automatically send an email, I would give the refer-a-friend scheme a miss.  You are just opening yourself up to hours of grief.

---

Want to earn more points from credit cards? – April 2024 update

If you are looking to apply for a new credit card, here are our top recommendations based on the current 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:

You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here. Here are the best of the other deals currently available.

Earning miles and points from small business cards

If you are a sole trader or run a small company, you may also want to check out these offers:

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.

For a non-American Express option, we also recommend the Barclaycard Select Cashback card for sole traders and small businesses. It is FREE and you receive 1% cashback on your spending.