Has a 2nd Lloyds Avios Rewards upgrade voucher appeared in your Avios account?

I’ve had numerous emails from readers in recent days who have found a new upgrade voucher appearing in their avios.com account courtesy of their Lloyds Avios Rewards credit card.  

If you didn’t get an email telling you it was there, it is worth checking anyway.  It will say:

Lloyds Bank Avios Rewards Upgrade Voucher
Valid from 29/09/2018
Expiry date 31/10/2019

It isn’t clear what is happening here, but it is a widespread situation.  My best guess is that this is part of the process of closing down the current cards.

Or, of course, it could be a mistake.

Lloyds was struggling to find a sensible plan which would allow them to close the cards.  They are being forcibly replaced with ‘next generation’ Mastercard-only Lloyds Avios Rewards credit cards which are substantially different from what you have now.

The new Lloyds Avios Rewards Mastercard will offer:

No annual fee

0.4 Avios per £1 you spend in the UK

0.8 Avios per £1 you spend outside the UK

0.4 Avios per £1 transferred on a balance transfer (this is a new benefit – Lloyds Duo Avios cardholders used to get Avios on balance transfers but Lloyds Avios Rewards cardholders did not)

….. plus an extra 25% bonus for Club Lloyds current account holders.

The bad news is:

There will no longer be a generous Amex card option

Overseas spending is no longer free – you will pay 2.99% on FX spend

There will no longer be an upgrade voucher

Because most cardholders will have their old card closed part-way through their membership year, it would be unfair to stop them getting a final upgrade voucher.

Lloyds may have decided that the cleanest thing to do is to give every cardholder their current year voucher.  It may also be a gesture towards Avios Rewards cardholders who are annoyed by the loss of 0% FX fees and the voucher.

Perhaps you should spend it quickly, though, just in case it is an error.

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Want to earn more points from credit cards? – September 2023 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.

SPECIAL OFFER: The sign-up bonus on the Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard is doubled to 30,000 Virgin Points if you apply by 2nd October. You receive 15,000 Virgin Points with your first purchase and a further 15,000 points if you spend £3,000 within 90 days. Apply here.

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:

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.