Lloyds extends 0% periods on Avios credit cards

Lloyds Bank has extended the interest-free purchase and balance transfer periods on its Avios credit cards.

The Avios Rewards MasterCard and Avios Premier Rewards MasterCard now boast 16-month 0% periods on purchases and 18-month 0% periods on balance transfers.

Here are both cards at a glance:

On top of the interest-free perks, you’re free of transaction fees when you spend abroad. They usually stand at 2.95%. You'll be entitled to a flight upgrade if you spend over £7,000 a year. For the first six months you can collect double Avios on all eligible spending on the American Express too.

The annual fee on the Lloyds Bank Avios Rewards card is a manageable £24, but with the Premier card is jumps to a hefty £140, so it’s really only worth going for if you do an awful lot of travelling.

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How it compares

To give you an idea of how the market is looking at the moment, here’s a round-up of some of the best air mile credit cards around. Bear in mind that some will offer two cards on one account where you’ll earn more Avios on American Express than the accompanying MasterCard or Visa.

Virgin Atlantic White Credit Card Account

With the White card you can earn 3,000 bonus Flying Club Miles on your first purchase within 90 days of the account opening. You’ll also receive 7,000 bonus miles if you apply before 31st October and spend at least £1,000 in the first 90 days.

From there, you can earn one mile for every £1 spent on American Express or one mile for every £2 spent on MasterCard. The card comes with a six-month 0% balance transfer period, but really if you're looking for a rewards card the balance transfer offer should not be a big consideration.

What's more, there's no annual fee. The White Card has a representative APR of 17.9%.

Virgin Atlantic Black Credit Card Account 

The Black card is very similar to the Lloyds Premier MasterCard in that it has an annual fee of £140 and a somewhat steep 52% representative APR. But with a more expensive card comes the opportunity to earn more points.

You’ll receive 18,500 bonus Flying Club miles on your first purchase within 90 days of the account opening. And like its sister card, you’ll get a bonus if you apply before the 31st of this month - an additional 6,500 points. All you have to do is spend £2,000 in the same 90 day period. It also offers 0% interest on balance transfers for the first six months.

British Airways American Express Credit Card 

The British Airways American Express has the lowest representative APR of all the cards at 15.9%.

Like TSB, you can get a Companion Voucher, allowing a loved one to fly with you on the same flight and in the same cabin. In this case you need to spend £20,000 within a year to earn the voucher. You can also earn a bonus 3,000 Avios, so long as you spend £500 in the first three months. 

After that you get one Avios for every £1 you spend.

British Airways American Express Premium Plus 

A Companion Voucher each when you spend £10,000 within a year and automatic enrolment to the British Airways Executive Club is available when you take out a Premium Plus card. You’ll also get 1.5 Avios for virtually every £1 spent. It has the heaviest annual fee of all though, at a whopping £150.

The Premium Plus comes with a representative APR of 56.4%.

TSB Avios Credit Card Account 

Spend £15,000 in any one year on your TSB Avios card and you earn a Companion Ticket for a loved one in the same flight and the same cabin. You can also collect double Avios on your eligible spend abroad. You’ll get 0% on balance transfers for the first six months for balances transferred within the first 90 days. 

You get one Avios for every £1 spent on the American Express and for every £5 on the MasterCard.

MBNA Etihad Guest Credit Card Account 

From Abu Dhabi’s national airline, Etihad, this is great if you’re a big spender. You could earn 20,000 Etihad Guest Miles when you spend £4,000 on card purchases within the first 180 days of you card opening. Though not quite up to the 16 months offered on Lloyds, a 12 month 0% period on purchases is none too shabby.

You get 1.5 Guest miles for every £1 spent on the American Express and every £2 spent on the MasterCard.

Emirates Skyward

With the Emirates Skywards you get 5,000 bonus Skyward Miles when you make a card purchase within 90 days of your account opening. You then receive one Mile for every £1 you spend on the American Express card from MBNA, or two Miles for every pound spend directly with Emirates on the same card. For the Visa, it's a case of doubling the spend: one Skyward Mile for every £2 spent on the Visa or two Miles when spent directly with Emirates .

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