Still having trouble getting Lloyds to award your credit card sign-up Avios?

Back in July, I published this long article about the problems that Head for Points readers have had getting Lloyds Bank to give them the credit card sign-up bonus they were due.

To summarise, the recent promotion involved spending £500 per month on your card for the first three months.  You would then receive a 20,000 Avios bonus.  

However, Lloyds was arbitrarily defining ‘month’ based on the date you were accepted for the card, which was NOT the date you applies and NOT the statement month.  The best bit is that it was impossible to find out, even if you called them, what dates they were working to.

I was just contacted by another reader who had been refused his 20,000 Avios, despite spending over £500 in each of his first 3 statement periods.  He then took his complaint to the ombudsman.

These facts came out during the subsequent discussions with Lloyds, who assigned a manager to liaise with the HFP reader:

Lloyds admitted that this promotion was ‘ill-thought out’ and ‘badly enacted’

‘Heads are rolling’ within Lloyds over the implementation of this promotion

The outcome of the ombudsmans intervention was:

Full receipt of the 20,000 Avios points

“Not insubstantial” financial compensation on top

So, if you have not received your 20,000 Avios points from the Lloyds Premier Duo credit cards promotion, I strongly suggest that you escalate your complaint.

Send a final complaint letter to Lloyds, warning them that you will escalate the complaint if it is not resolved within x weeks.  After that point, file your complaint.  Contact details for the ombudsman are in the literature that Lloyds sent you with your card.

My understanding is that Lloyds is fined £500 as soon as the ombudsman receives your letter – this covers the cost of the service – and they are then obliged to act.

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (December 2021)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up, no annual fee and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending ….. Read our full review

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the UK’s most valuable credit card perk – the 2-4-1 companion voucher Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points, such as:

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital On Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios:

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa

The most generous Avios Visa or Mastercard for a limited company Read our full review

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus:

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

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.

(Want to earn more Avios?  Click here to visit our home page for our latest articles on earning and spending your Avios points and click here to see how to earn more Avios this month from offers and promotions.)