Lloyds Bank has launched two new Avios air mile credit cards as well as a new reward credit card.
The Avios Rewards and the Premier Avios Rewards can earn Avios points on everyday spends. These will replace the Duo and Premier Duo credit cards previously on offer with Lloyds when it was linked to TSB. If you hold one of those older cards you can choose to move over as the new deals offer 25% more Avios.
Meanwhile the Choice Rewards card will offer a range of rewards in exchange for Choice points that you get in return for your spending. However you can turn these into Avious as well.
The Avios scheme allows members to spend points they amass on a variety of things including flights and flight upgrades as well as days out, experiences, travel insurance and car hire.
So let’s take a look at how you can build up your Avios with the latest credit cards from Lloyds Bank.
Avios Rewards
Let’s start with the Avios Rewards Credit Card.
Account holders will get two credit cards to earn Avios with; one American Express card and one MasterCard.
You can collect 1.25 Avios for every £1 spent on the American Express and 1.25 Avios for every £5 spent on the MasterCard.
For the first six months you can collect double Avios with your American Express card, on spending of up to £2,500 a month. So you have the potential to earn 37,500 Avios in half a year - that's enough for a one-way flight to practically anywhere on the globe.
Plus when you spend £7,000 within a year you can get a flight upgrade voucher, meaning you can travel in style. And there are no foreign transaction fees when you use the card abroad.
As well as racking up Avios the card also offers 0% on balance transfers and purchases for 13 months. You will have to pay a 3% fee to transfer a balance, but you can earn 1.25 Avios for every £5 you choose to move over from a single provider.
This card comes with an annual fee of £24 and a representative APR of 22.7%.
Premier Avios Rewards
You can earn even more Avios with the Premier Avios Rewards card.
Again account holders will get two credit cards to earn Avios with; one American Express card and one MasterCard.
You can collect 1.5 Avios for every £1 spent on the American Express and 1.5 Avios for every £5 spent on the MasterCard.
[SPOTLIGHT]And once again, for the first six months you can collect double Avios with your American Express card on spending of up to £2,500 a month. So you have the potential to earn a whopping 45,000 Avios in half a year, which is enough for a return flight to New York.
If you spend £5,000 in 12 months you will get a flight upgrade voucher. And if you manage to spend £12,000 in one year you can get a Companion Ticket valid for 12 months. And you won't have to worry about foreign transaction fees when you use the card abroad.
The Avios Rewards Premier also comes with 0% on purchases and balance transfers for 13 months. Again there is a 3% fee on balance transfers, but you get 1.5 Avios for every £5 you move onto the card from a single provider.
However, this card comes with a fee of £140 and a whopping 50.8% APR which will kick in after the introductory period.
Choice Rewards
If you don't want to be tied directly to the Avios rewards scheme, then you might prefer to go for the Choice Rewards card.
It’s a general rewards credit card where you earn Choice points to spend on a range of things including shopping vouchers, cashback and magazine subscriptions, as well as Avios.
Again account holders will get one American Express card and one MasterCard.
You can earn 10 Choice points for every £1 spent on the American Express card and 10 points for every £5 spent on the MasterCard. For the first six months you get double Choice points when you spend on the American Express card on spending of up to £2,500 a month. So you have the potential to earn 300,000 Choice points in six months.
You can get 10 Avios per Choice point. If you spent the 300,000 Choice points built up over six months and converted them into Avios you would get 30,000 Avios, enough for two return flights to many European destinations.
Like the rest of the new rewards range from Lloyds Bank you get 0% on balance transfers and purchases for 13 months with a 3% fee for the balance transfers. But with this card you get 10 Choice points for every £5 balance you bring across from a single provider.
The Choice Rewards card comes with an annual fee of £24 and an APR of 22.7%.
What your Avios points get
So what will racking up all these Avios get you?
With the Avios scheme you can use your points on a variety of things like days out, experiences and car hire, but most like to use them for flights and holidays.
In the table below you can see how the points could convert.
|
Avios |
Example reward |
|
4,500 |
Traditional afternoon tea for two. |
|
5,000 |
Elite stadium tour (one adult and one child). |
|
5,700 |
English Heritage senior annual membership. |
|
7,000 |
West End theatre ticket (silver) to see a huge selection of shows including The Woman in Black, Billy Elliot and We Will Rock You. |
|
9,000 + airline taxes, fees and Carrier charges (or 9,000 + £35pp if it's a Reward Flight Saver) |
A return flight to destinations like Nice, Amsterdam, Prague and Berlin. |
|
15,000 + airline taxes, fees and Carrier charges (or 15,000 + £35pp if it's a Reward Flight Saver) |
A return flight to destinations like Barcelona, Rome and Venice. |
The new range of Lloyds credit cards can help you build up Avios using your everyday spending, but you can bulk up your points balance in other ways. Read How to boost your Avios points for more.
Other air mile and reward cards
If the new range from Lloyds doesn’t take your fancy there are plenty of other air mile and reward cards to go for.
With the British Airways American Express Credit Card you can also rack up Avios. You can now bag 9,000 Avios when you spend £1,000 in the first three months with the account. You earn one Avios for every £1 you spend with the card. If you manage to spend £20,000 in one year you’ll get a complimentary Companion Voucher. The card comes with no annual fee and a representative APR of 15.9%.
If you’re not that interested in the Avios reward scheme you can try the Virgin Atlantic White Card, which offers the chance to rack up Flying Club Miles. You can earn one Flying Club Mile for £1 spent on the American Express and one Flying Club Mile for every £2 spent with the VISA card. As an introductory offer you will get 3,000 miles with your first card purchase. This card comes with a 17.9% APR.
If you want a more varied range of rewards you could try the Barclaycard Freedom Rewards Visa. You get one point for every £1 spent at home and abroad with the chance to earn more when you spend on petrol, at supermarkets and at selected partners. If you spend £300 within the first three months you can get 10,500 bonus points, which is worth £30 in rewards. Points can be used with over 70 retail partners including Amazon and Marks & Spencer. This card has an 18.9% APR.
The NatWest and RBS Your Points credit cards also offer rewards in a wide selection of places. You can earn one point per £1 spent anywhere, with the chance to earn double points for the first nine months with the card. To start you off you will get 2,500 points added to your account as a welcome bonus. Both these cards have a 16.9% APR.