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Can you re-apply for the Lloyds Avios card via TSB and get a second sign-up bonus?

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Assuming that their advertising campaign has worked, UK readers will be in no doubt that Lloyds Bank has split off 600 of its branches to form a new bank, TSB (albeit using a brand that Lloyds acquired some years ago).

Since November 2011, Lloyds TSB, as it was, has been the issuer of the official avios.com credit card.  They were also the issuer of the Air Miles credit card for a period, since winning the contract from NatWest.

I had assumed that the ‘new’ Lloyds Bank would become the issuer of the Avios credit cards. 

It seems I was wrong, as you can see from this picture:

TSB Avios cards

Now, the small print says:

“The TSB Avios American Express Card is issued and administered by TSB pursuant to a licence from American Express”

And TSB, legally, is not part of Lloyds Bank anymore.  It actually uses the banking licence of the old Bank of Scotland (now Lloyds TSB Scotland).  Lloyds Bank uses a different banking licence.

This is important because the Avios credit cards have a strict ‘one sign-up bonus EVER’ rule.  However, is the TSB card actually a ‘new’ card?  It is issued by TSB, not Lloyds.  Can you therefore get another sign-up bonus by applying for this card, if you have already had and cancelled the Lloyds version?

The answer, of course, is “we don’t know”.  However, I am tempted to apply for one as an experiment and see what happens.  The alternative is to wait until TSB is sold off next year, although by then I get a feeling that they will not be offering the Avios cards any longer.

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (October 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 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 card

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

Get 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

30,000 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 £15,000 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

50,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large 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

10,000 points bonus – plus an extra 500 points for our readers Read our full review

There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business

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: Until 22nd October 2024, the bonus on American Express Business Platinum is increased to up to 80,000 Membership Rewards points, worth 80,000 Avios. You will receive 8 points per £1 spent for the first three months, on up to £10,000 of spending. Click here to read our full card review. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 22nd October 2024, the bonus on American Express Business Gold is increased to up to 40,000 Membership Rewards points, worth 40,000 Avios. You will receive 4 points per £1 spent for the first three months, on up to £10,000 of spending. The card is FREE for your first year. Click here to read our full card review. Click here to apply.

American Express Business Platinum

Up to 80,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

Get up to 40,000 points as a sign-up offer 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.

Category

British Airways and Avios

Comments (35)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Sideysid says:
    10 Sep10 September 10:45

    I have only had 2 dealings with Lloyds in the past and I have only been declined twice in my life on accounts and cards – both with Lloyds. This was once for a student account when I was at university, (quite some time ago – I won’t say how long…) in which they declined me – understandable I suppose.

    I have too applied for the Lloyds Duo for the avios bonus and was once again declined, despite having a flawless credit report and have a decent earning household. On closer examination, (playing around with MSE’s credit card checker) it maybe due to a recent move earlier in year, eithier that or they just don’t like me.

    But seeing the increasing number of complaints I see here and other forums, I suspect that was a blessing in disguise. Their CS seems to need re-training from the ground up and will this change with TSB? Unlikely. So for this reason and your ridiculous rules for hitting targets Mr Lloyds, I’m out…(even if you didn’t want me anyway)

  • Phillip says:
    10 Sep10 September 11:59

    Apologies if I am missing the obvious but for those who already have the LTSB cards, will they be automatically moved over to the TSB version or will they have to re-apply while the existing cards are turned into some sort of basic Lloyds Bank Card? Because I feel this might make a difference to what sort of bonuses might be offered. If people have to re-apply, they may not bring out any particularly lucrative bonuses to start with. If on the other hand existing cardholders get moved over then any new promotions might be lucrative in order to attract new customers?

    • Rob says:
      10 Sep10 September 13:15

      Good question. Not sure anyone knows. If you have a Lloyds or TSB other account then that may influence it, otherwise I would imagine Lloyds keeps them all.

  • sandgrounder says:
    10 Sep10 September 13:27

    OT, for those who have the paid card, when did Lloyds charge the annual fee? I was expecting it to show up on the first statement, but after three months I have still not been charged.

  • Dave says:
    10 Sep10 September 14:14

    Lloyds TSB Scotland actually had no connection to Bank of Scotland.

    Lloyds TSB Scotland was originally TSB Bank Scotland PLC, as the pre-merger TSB had a separate company to TSB in England and Wales.

    So the route was:
    TSB Bank Scotland PLC -> Lloyds TSB Scotland PLC -> TSB Bank PLC (which was originally the name for the England and Wales division).

  • Sam says:
    10 Sep10 September 16:46

    Ref: Phillip

    Those with Avios Credit Cards from Lloyds TSB who are being moved to TSB (like me) will automatically have them changed to TSB Avios Cards according to a letter I received.

    Which made me wonder if I should cancel them before my account become a TSB account, and then apply for a TSB Avios card (with Avios bonus).

  • Alex says:
    10 Sep10 September 18:56

    Ref Sam and Phillip.
    I’ve got the Lloyds TSB Avios Duo credit cards and I also have a current account and kids savings account. They all used to be on the one Lloyds TSB website but now all the accounts are on the new TSB website with the exception of Avios credit cards which now only shows on Lloyds TSB website. The log in details for both sites are the same as is the layout. Only difference is name and colour.

  • Clive J says:
    10 Sep10 September 20:30

    I don’t have a Lloyds Duo card but am considering applying for a TSB version. After reading their adverts in the papers this week I am absolutely convinced there won’t be any problems and their customer service will be impeccable 😉

  • Matt says:
    10 Sep10 September 22:55

    I don’t understand how Lloyds customer service for current accounts is generally good yet for credit cards is so shockingly bad.

    I also think they don’t like high earners or those that pay in full as a rule, I think they may reject potential applicants over profitability more than other providers.

    TSB will just use Lloyds IT, credit scoring and systems for the forseeable future so will be Lloyds by another name

    • John says:
      11 Sep11 September 08:09

      In my experience, Lloyds CS is horrible for current accounts too. I only have their accounts as they are giving me 4% interest (soon to reduce to 3%, but still the best available)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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