LloydsTSB airmiles duo

toasterman

Hi everyone,
I've recently found out my LloydsTSB Visa card is being cancelled, and I have to reply and tell them whether I want the Airmiles Duo two-card system (one Amex and one Mastercard), or whether I just want the one Mastercard, and no airmiles.

The selling point of the Duo seems to be that you get airmiles, although you get the most through Amex. Aside from the hassle of having to carry two cards, is there anything else I'm missing?
Hidden fees or whatnot? I can't see anything.
I know at one point Ltsb were going to charge people an annual fee if they didn't use their cards (I currently fall into this category). Not sure if they are still doing/considering this.

The deal they've offered me with the airmiles..
You get 1 airmile for every £10 on the Amex, or 1 for every £50 on the Mastercard.
The return seems quite poor to me. To get 300 airmiles, you have to spend £15,000 on the Mastercard.
You would have to spend £3,000 on the Amex to go that distance, but not having an Amex card - can someone let me know.. does Amex still have the problem it used to, of not being accepted in a lot of places?

I hardly use the card at all at the moment, because I get 1% cashback from Egg, and 4% on a positive balance, and I'm living well within my means at the moment...a part of me thinks I could just scrap it totally.. but its nice to have an emergency fund "just in case".

jonesMUFCforever

Platinum Mastercard has a 0% balance transfer deal for 12 months with a 3% fee.

toasterman

Thanks for the info ejones.
I don't have an outstanding negative balance at the moment though. I'm in the black.

CannyJock

Yup, Amex isn't accepted in some places. Most larger chains are okay.

Reason is that Amex charges a higher fee to the retailers, think it's an extra 1% but been a while since I had to deal with that side of things. They also take their time paying the retailer the money so it sits in their account.

That's why they offer cash-back deals, air miles etc.

The Duo card has a second Mastercard which is basically just there as a backup for situations when the Amex isn't accepted. Like you say, the rewards on it aren't great.

I get a regular stream of business expenses, roughly £3,000 a month that I pay with using my Amex card. I've been debating whether a decent cash-back card would be better for a while, but at the moment I'm looking to see what I can do to maximise the airmiles and use up the miles gained so far.

There's no catch with it, but there'll be some debate on whether cash-back card would be better. Anyone got any thoughts?

dag_2

Thanks for that, I now have an Airmiles Duo account as well. I was recently guided through the very brief application formalities as a result of going to a branch to deposit a small Christmas present cheque from a relative.

My income is far less than the £15000 that The Fool says you need for the account. But then again, seeing as my current account is with Lloyds TSB, perhaps they have considered the housing benefit payments I used to receive as part of my "income".

But I also have an Egg Money card. I haven't actually got around to phoning up to confirm receipt and activate the Airmiles Duo cards yet.

UK007BullDog

What is the point of collecting Airmiles if you are not an avid flyer? I guess cards are good for people who can clock up air miles quite quickly and have a use for them as well.

But its like with those accounts dressed up with "benefits". Are you ever going to use all those benefits? Are they really worth the money? And if you follow some of the postings you can see the amount of hassle people go through with their point collecting cards to ensure they will get their points, being forced to use certain shops and outlets, even though if you are a really savvy money saver you could get cheaper elsewhere. All those using Shell CC's to get points and then having to chase use a normal card and get a Morrison points collection card and fill up at Morrisons. You actually get instant points and eventually a £5 voucher to use in Morrisons. No chasing, no hassle and you can give you partner and kids one too if they have cars or leave the points card in the car and whoever fills up takes it along.

I know so many people including myself with all those point collecting cards etc. And some we hardly ever claim on and then the points or the system gets pulled and we are forced to use up the points for something we dont really need.

Personally I would want a card with a very low interest rate and no sales gimmicks. But thats just me.

toasterman

It doesn't seem like a great system. According to https://www.airmiles.co.uk, you need 1500 miles to go to Barcelona and back from the UK.

If I put in Bristol start, Barcelona destination, I don't get the option to pay airmiles anyway - only cash.
Nor with flying to Venice, nor with flying to Berlin.
Maybe you can't use airmiles flying from Bristol. It's a little unclear.

Either way, London Heathrow to Barcelona is 750 miles (another 750 to come back).
According to Martin's flight checker, you can get London Stansted to Barcelona (there's no flights for that destination from Stansted on Airmiles' website) for £50 each way inc taxes.

To earn 1500 airmiles at the top Amex rate of £10 per mile, would mean spending £15,000.
£15,000 if you were getting 1% cashback, would get you £150, so you'd be £50 better off...and you can spend it on anything you want - not just flights.
Barcelona and back on the Mastercard would require you to buy goods to the value of £75,000. It's rubbish really. It's not going to earn me as much as Egg money does.

jonesMUFCforever

Look at the Airmiles site.
You do not have to use miles to purchase flights.

There are many more options than that.

Captain_Frugal_2

This has to be one of the worst deals around - eventually got my 1500 airmiles the other day (albeit they were in the form of a voucher, not 'normal' airmiles) and tried to book a flight from Manchester to Paris. Would seem straight forward except all flights are only available via either Heathrow or Gatwick.... and at a cost of £223 for additional baggage handling fees etc!!!! - Why do they have to be via Gatwick........ There are direct flights from Manchester to Paris CDG all day long!!! - This is one big con........... don't even bother folks..............:mad:

lavendergirl

you can use airmiles to purchase trips on Eurostar, and hotel accommodation also plus many other items.

hostertlady

so is it worth bothering having one?? i haven't actually activated mine yet. i was quite suprised to receive the two cards, thought i would get just one- what a faff!!!!!!