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

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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.

Want to earn more points from credit cards? – April 2024 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:

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

5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review

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.

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

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 a huge range of valuable benefits – for a fee Read our full review

Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard

15,000 bonus points and 1.5 points for every £1 you spend Read our full review

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:

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.

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

American Express Business Platinum

40,000 points sign-up bonus and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review

Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa

Huge 30,000 points bonus until 12th May 2024 Read our full review

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.

Barclaycard Select Cashback Business Credit Card

1% cashback uncapped* on all your business spending (T&C apply) Read our full review

Category

British Airways and Avios

Comments (147)

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

  • Graham Walsh says:
    5 Oct5 October 11:14

    I can just see another mail coming out saying it was an IT error. Here’s 100 Avios for the inconvenience.

  • Ben says:
    5 Oct5 October 11:25

    I have 2 now!

  • Geoff says:
    5 Oct5 October 11:33

    I have one, which had already seen, but I think it might be the normal spend/annual cycle – although I can’t remember my card anniversary (is there any way to check?)

    I haven’t had a letter yet so maybe I’ll get another one for my short year to come?

  • Joanne R says:
    5 Oct5 October 11:38

    I signed up for Lloyds Avios rewards card earlier this year. I received a voucher in June when I’d reached £7k spend, and have just received another voucher last week (haven’t spent an additional £7k in the meantime)

    Per the letter received from Lloyds, my avios Amex card was supposed to be phasing out end September – is the extra voucher given when you’re phased out of the current scheme? Could explain why some have vouchers, and some don’t?

  • Nik says:
    5 Oct5 October 11:39

    I got another voucher earlier this week, with an email saying that it was because I had spent £7k on my card. I had already earned one earlier this year, and I assumed I had hit £14k, so they gave me a second voucher (which is not part of the terms). They did the same last year though.

  • Gerry says:
    5 Oct5 October 12:50

    Thanks Rob for reminding me to check
    my Avios account.
    Just returned from long booked trip using upgrade voucher and received email from Lloyd’s this week re new voucher. Only checked this morning to find I also have voucher that I have to use by end of this month.
    Now to do some research ……..

  • Edward Clifton-Brown says:
    5 Oct5 October 13:29

    I have not received a letter saying my card is being phased out, and nor have I received a second voucher. I wonder whether the two are connected.

    • Bill says:
      5 Oct5 October 21:21

      I’m starting to think this too. No letter, no second voucher hete

    • mr dee says:
      5 Oct5 October 23:13

      No letter and nobody telling me I need to phone up to use the voucher, then tried to use it and had to phone up and the guy was shocked I tried to use it online, even though this is how it was always done!

    • Lisa says:
      8 Oct8 October 16:46

      I’ve not had a letter but I have had the 2nd voucher…

  • mike says:
    5 Oct5 October 13:38

    Spoke to Avios and they said “It has been picked up that a number of vouchers have been issued in error and it is being worked through to remediate the issue as soon as possible”

    Get booking, if you have one.

    • meta says:
      5 Oct5 October 14:08

      And thanks to everyone who put it on a public forum.I have said it yesterday. Some thing are best left unsaid…

      • Just asking says:
        5 Oct5 October 15:03

        immoral? essentially theft?

        • meta says:
          5 Oct5 October 15:30

          Just as much as carrier imposed charges are also immoral…

        • mr dee says:
          5 Oct5 October 16:23

          Your not taking anything from them they are are just not charging you extra, when the whole system is immoral its pointless to make these statements

      • mr dee says:
        5 Oct5 October 16:23

        Yes or worst yet phone them and tell them!

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