Part 3: Is the ‘upgrade voucher’ with the new Lloyds Avios Rewards card of any value?

I am dedicating all three posts today to explaining the key features of the new Lloyds Avios Rewards credit cards.  Part 1 is an overview and Part 2 looks at the ‘no foreign exchange fee’ benefit.  This part looks at the small print concerning the ‘upgrade’ voucher.

Apart from the ‘no foreign exchange fees’ benefit, the other radical innovation with the Lloyds Avios Rewards cards is the ‘upgrade voucher’.

Here is a summary of how it works:

You receive an upgrade voucher when you spend £7,000 on the £24 Lloyds Avios Rewards cards or £5,000 on the Lloyds Premier Avios Rewards cards

Spending on both the Amex and the MasterCard counts towards the voucher

You can only earn one voucher per year

The flight which is upgraded must be in the name of the cardholder – this could be an issue if you hope to combine it with a BA Amex 2-4-1 for a family of three.  Perhaps you should get the Lloyds card in your partners name?

You can only upgrade a British Airways flight booked with Avios (on avios.com, not ba.com) and not a flight booked with cash

You can upgrade an Avios ticket which has already been booked, but only as long as it was booked at avios.com (this last bit is guesswork on my part)

You will need to pay any additional taxes – Air Passenger Duty and BA fuel surcharges are higher for non-economy bookings

The voucher is valid for 12 months from the date of issue.  It is not clear if the outbound flight needs to be taken by this date, or if you simply need to book.

This is what the voucher does:

It allows you to upgrade either one return Avios flight or two one-way Avios flights by one class.

It is valid for either:

Euro Traveller to Club Europe

World Traveller to World Traveller Plus

World Traveller Plus to Club World

You cannot use it to upgrade a redemption from Club World to First Class.

Some aspects of the small print have not been spelled out yet.  This is what we don’t yet know:

Must there be Avios reward availability in the class into which you want to upgrade?  I assume yes.

However, these upgrades appear MORE restrictive.  For a start, you cannot upgrade any flights from London City Airport.  Will some flights not be upgradable even if Avios reward seats are available in the higher class?

Will you need to have Avios reward availability in BOTH classes?  ie will there need to be award space in World Traveller Plus, even if your booking upgrades automatically into a Club World reward seat?  If so (and this is likely to be the case) then it will be tricky to redeem.  How often do you see award space in World Traveller Plus and Club World on the same flight?

I imagine that only existing flights booked via avios.com will be available for upgrade.  If you have booked via ba.com I think you will be stuffed if you try to upgrade an existing Avios booking.

It is not clear if the upgrade voucher is returned if you cancel or change your booking.  The 2-4-1 voucher on the old style Lloyds Avios cards was cancelled if you cancelled your flight.

It is not clear if you can combine the 2-4-1 voucher that comes with the Premier card and the upgrade voucher.  Can you, for instance, book 2 economy flights to Marrakech for the Avios of one and also upgrade one of the legs to Club Europe?

The real winners with these vouchers, I think, will be solo travellers.  It allows one person to effectively book a Club World redemption for the price of a World Traveller Plus redemption.  This would save 25,000 Avios points on a flight to Los Angeles, for example.  The British Airways Amex 2-4-1 voucher, whilst a fantastic tool, isn’t of much interest if you travel by yourself.

For couples travelling together, it is trickier to use but not impossible.  There will be snags, however.  A couple could book separately – one person booking in Club World, the other into World Traveller Plus but instantly upgrading.  However, you would then be on separate tickets which means you may be seated separately.

Alternatively, you could book 2 x one way tickets in each direction, and upgrade one leg.  This could be an issue on long-haul flights, where the fuel surcharge on booking 2 x one ways is often substantially higher than booking a return.  This is especially true of flights to the USA.

Remember too that the upgraded flight must be in the name of the cardholder, so think about whether the Lloyds Avios Rewards card should be taken out in your name or your partners name.

The devil will be in the detail with these vouchers, though, and until people start to try to use them we probably won’t know exactly what restrictions are in place.

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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.