Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

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

40,000 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.

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.

Comments (35)

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

  • Simon says:

    Looks like there isn’t a sign up bonus for applying for the Avios credit cards now!

    • Rob says:

      Yes, I literally just noticed 5 minutes ago. The old promo ended yesterday and I was planning a post for tomorrow on the new one!

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

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