The Lloyds Choice Rewards credit card is being closed to existing cardholders

Lloyds Bank announced last week that its existing ‘two pack’ Lloyds Duo Avios and Lloyds Avios Rewards cards are being closed.  You can read about that here and here.

Lloyds is also closing the Lloyds Choice Rewards credit card.

This was an interesting hybrid card.  It was a half-hearted attempt to create a card along the lines of American Express Membership Rewards.  You earn points on your spending which could be transferred to Avios BUT could also be used for High Street shopping vouchers and a range of other rewards.

The earning rate if you transferred to Avios was poor, however, which is why very few Head for Points readers took one out.

It is no surprise that the card is closing because it was another ‘two pack’ product which included an American Express element.  What IS a surprise is that Lloyds Choice Rewards cardholders are being moved to the Lloyds Avios Rewards credit card.

This seems odd to me.  If Lloyds Choice Rewards cardholders were serious about earning Avios, they would have taken out a Lloyds Avios Rewards card in the first place!  If I were Lloyds I would have moved them to a generic card with no rewards, or at least given them the option.  What will happen now is that a lot of people who have no interest in Avios will start earning them, with many of the points presumably doomed to expire unused.

If you have a Choice Rewards card, you have four months from the day you receive your letter from Lloyds to spend your points balance.  Any unused points will be foreited in return for a cash payment.

You can find out more on the Lloyds website here.

(Want to earn more miles and points from credit cards?  Click here to visit our dedicated airline and hotel travel credit cards page or use the ‘Credit Cards Update’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.)