Although not available to new customers, the Avios Rewards Mastercard will replace the current Duo Avios American Express and Mastercard for existing customers in early 2019.
Long-time Avios Duo customers were able to collect Avios currency through purchases on their Mastercard and American Express credit cards. Despite using two different cards, purchases were charged to the same account so customers only received one bill and one Avios statement. Avios points could then be exchanged for flights, hotels, car hire, experiences and upgrades.
What’s changing with Avios Duo credit cards?
The American Express and Avios changes in recent months will have a big impact on Lloyds Avios Duo customers’ rewards and the new Avios Rewards Mastercard will give fewer rewards points.
Instead of two credit cards, Avios Duo customers will be issued just one Mastercard
New PIN for your new Avios Rewards Mastercard
No credit card issued on the American Express network
Earn rate is less than the American Express card, but better than the Mastercard
What’s the Avios earn rate on the new Avios Rewards Mastercard?
Lloyds Avios Rewards customers will earn significantly fewer Avios points than with their Avios Duo American Express card. For example, an Avios Duo customer could have earned 100 Avios if they spent £100 on their American Express card or 20 Avios if they spent £100 on their Mastercard. If they spend £100 on their new Avios Rewards Mastercard, they will receive 40 Avios.
By using the Avios Rewards Mastercard instead of the old Avios Duo American Express card, they are losing out on 60 Avios per £100 spent.
On the flip side, Avios Duo customers who regularly used their Mastercard rather than their American Express will find their earn rate doubled.
Duo Avios Mastercard earn rate
Duo Avios American Express earn rate
New Avios Rewards Mastercard earn rate
Avios on spending
1 Avios for every £5 spent
5 Avios for every £5 spent
2 Avios for every £5 spent
Avios on foreign spending
2 Avios for every £5 spent
10 Avios for every £5 spent
4 Avios for every £5 spent
Avios on balance transfers
1,500 Avios for every £1,000 transferred
1,500 Avios for every £1,000 transferred
2 Avios for every £5 transferred (You’ll get 400 Avios for £1,000)
What’s staying the same?
While Avios Duo customers will be getting a new card, there are some elements of their account which will stay the same.
Interest rate
No annual fee
Credit card terms and conditions
Foreign transaction fees
Your existing Avios Duo credit card balance will be transferred to the new card
Extra Avios for Club Lloyds customers
If you have had a Club Lloyds bank account for six months or more, you will earn extra Avios for balance transfers and eligible spending.
1 additional Avios for every £10 spent
2 additional Avios for every £10 spent in a foreign currency
1 additional Avios for every £10 balance transferred
What happens to my Avios account and points?
Avios closed its Avios Travel Rewards Programme in 2018, although Avios as a currency still exists. Old Avios accounts have been moved over to the British Airways Executive Club.
In future, any Avios customers earn through their credit cards or frequent flyer memberships will be added to their British Airways Executive Club account.
Avios points can be redeemed through the British Airways website, rather than the Avios.com website.
Why is American Express no longer offered with Lloyds credit cards?
The American Express card network has ended its licensing agreement that allows banks in the EEA to issue their cards. In future, you can only open American Express cards in the UK directly through American Express.
Pros and cons of new Avios Rewards Mastercard
Pros
More Avios earned on Mastercard purchases and foreign transactions
Only one card to carry instead of two
No annual fee
Cons
Fewer Avios earned than American Express purchases and foreign transactions
Fewer Avios earned on balance transfers
Need to change existing credit card direct debits to new card number
Foreign transaction fees
Can I earn more Avios elsewhere?
These changes to the Lloyds Avios credit card may make many customers decide to change their credit card to a more lucrative rewards program.
The British Airways American Express credit card has an earn rate of 1 Avios per £1 spent, compared to the Avios Rewards rate of 1 Avios per £2.50 spent. Alternatively, you could earn 0.75 Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles for every £1 spent on a Virgin Atlantic credit card.
Frequently asked questions
Keep using your Avios Duo credit cards until you receive your new Avios Rewards Mastercard and PIN in the post. Once you have your new Mastercard, destroy your old Avios Duo cards.
No. However, Lloyds may change its mind in future about offering the Avios Rewards Mastercard to new customers.
By logging in to the British Airways website.
We show offers we can track - that's not every product on the market...yet. Unless we've said otherwise, products are in no particular order. The terms "best", "top", "cheap" (and variations of these) aren't ratings, though we always explain what's great about a product when we highlight it. This is subject to our terms of use. When you make major financial decisions, consider getting independent financial advice. Always consider your own circumstances when you compare products so you get what's right for you. Most of the data in Finder's comparison tables has the source: Moneyfacts Group PLC. In other cases, Finder has sourced data directly from providers.
Chris Lilly is Head of publishing at finder.com. He's a specialist in personal finance, from day-to-day banking to investing to borrowing, and is passionate about helping UK consumers make informed decisions about their money. In his spare time Chris likes forcing his kids to exercise more. See full bio
Chris's expertise
Chris has written 602 Finder guides across topics including:
Use our calculator to find out how long it would take to clear your credit card balance by making the minimum required payments vs paying a fixed amount each month.
The Yonder credit card has launched in the UK, using open banking to create a personalised picture of your spending habits to help you get the most out of your credit card.
Buy now and pay interest later with a 0% purchase credit card. Compare current offers with 0% p.a. on purchases.
12 Responses
BarbaraApril 2, 2019
Will my avios earned on my new master card automatically be transferred to my ba.com American Express account and shown on my statement?
Finder
JoshuaApril 4, 2019Finder
Hi Barbara,
Thanks for getting in touch with Finder. I hope all is well with you. 😃
Yes, your points should automatically be transferred in full to British Airways Executive Club. After the change, you should also see your points shown on your statement. You can continue to earn and spend your points with Avios until the change is over. Afterward, you can spend and earn in the same way with the BA rewards scheme.
I hope this helps. Should you have further questions, please don’t hesitate to reach us out again.
Have a wonderful day!
Cheers,
Joshua
How likely would you be to recommend Finder to a friend or colleague?
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Very UnlikelyExtremely Likely
Required
Thank you for your feedback.
Our goal is to create the best possible product, and your thoughts, ideas and suggestions play a major role in helping us identify opportunities to improve.
Advertiser disclosure
Finder.com is an independent comparison platform and information service that aims to provide you with the tools you need to make better decisions. While we are independent, the offers that appear on this site are from companies from which Finder receives compensation. We may receive compensation from our partners for placement of their products or services. We may also receive compensation if you click on certain links posted on our site. While compensation arrangements may affect the order, position or placement of product information, it doesn't influence our assessment of those products. Please don't interpret the order in which products appear on our Site as any endorsement or recommendation from us. Finder compares a wide range of products, providers and services but we don't provide information on all available products, providers or services. Please appreciate that there may be other options available to you than the products, providers or services covered by our service.
We update our data regularly, but information can change between updates. Confirm details with the provider you're interested in before making a decision.
Will my avios earned on my new master card automatically be transferred to my ba.com American Express account and shown on my statement?
Hi Barbara,
Thanks for getting in touch with Finder. I hope all is well with you. 😃
Yes, your points should automatically be transferred in full to British Airways Executive Club. After the change, you should also see your points shown on your statement. You can continue to earn and spend your points with Avios until the change is over. Afterward, you can spend and earn in the same way with the BA rewards scheme.
I hope this helps. Should you have further questions, please don’t hesitate to reach us out again.
Have a wonderful day!
Cheers,
Joshua