Lloyds Ultra credit card review: earn 1% cashback

Could this be your new favourite cashback card?

Lloyds Bank has released a brand new credit card, the Ultra, offering cashback on spending at home and abroad – with no exchange fees. Here’s our analysis, plus how it could be good news for those with a Barclaycard Rewards card.

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What is the Lloyds Ultra credit card?

This new credit card from Lloyds earns cashback on spending with no annual fee. The APR is pretty low, at 12.9%, but it’s still best practice to clear the balance in full to avoid interest being added to what you owe.

How does Lloyds Ultra cashback work?

For the first year you’ll be able to earn 1% back, making it one of the highest paying cashback cards with no fee available. After this it’s down to 0.25%. That might not sound so good, but again, it’s pretty competitive for free credit cards.

Unlike competing debit cashback offerings from Trading 212 and Chase, there’s no cap on how much you can earn each month. You can ean the money on spending by both you and up to three additional card holders.

The cashback will keep getting added to your statement each month as long as you make at least the minimum repayments – though of course if you don’t clear the full amount when billed you’ll be charged interest which will wipe out the cashback.

However you won’t be able to access the cashback until each January, when it’ll be paid as credit to your credit card account.

Using the card abroad

Where the Lloyds Ultra also stands out as a cashback card is that it’s fee free to use overseas. You also won’t be charged any extra fees for withdrawing cash, though interest will accrue if you don’t clear that balance.

This is a handy feature as it’s useful to have a fee free cashback credit card on holidays rather than rely on your debit card. That’s because there could be times where you need to use a card to ring fence a set amount, such as car hire or hotel incidentals. Sometimes a credit card is required, or if they do allow debit cards it’ll come straight out of your account until it’s refunded – which isn’t always that fast.

There might be better cards to use for the bulk of your holiday spending, but having a card like this as a back up at the least will be useful

Lloyds Ultra vs other cashback cards

The 1% cashback for the first year is a very decent return without any restrictions.

My top cashback card right now is the debit card from Trading 212. Though the rate is set at 0.5%, it regularly offers an increased rate of 1.5%. It’s also free to use overseas. However it has a £15 cap each month, so you’re only earning on the first £1,000 spent each month at the higher cashback rate.

So after £1,000 of spending, you’d need to look elsewhere, and I think the Lloyds Ultra is a good option since you will earn 1% fee free and have no monthly cap.

The other alternative top paying credit card is the American Express Nectar, offering two Nectar points per £1 spent, which is effectively 1% back too. That’s free in the first year, but comes with a £30 fee afterwards. Plus this card isn’t fee free overseas, so for the first year, the Lloyds Ultra has the edge.

In the second year, the Lloyds Ultra also matches the rate provided by the Barclaycard Rewards, the card which has been our top pick until now for overseas credit card use.

You can read about other options in our guide to the best cashback and reward credit cards.

Is the Lloyds Ultra any good?

Yep, this card straight away becomes one of our top picks. The generous rate in the first year is a good enough reason to consider it, but factor in that it now matches our best credit card for overseas spending after that and it’s one to add to your wallet.

What is means for Barclaycard Rewards card holders

For a long time now, the Barclaycard Rewards credit card has been one of our top picks for overseas spending. Though it might not be my first card – I’ll use an alternative if I can get a better rate – it has been a staple in my wallet as a backup card or for things like car hire.

The problem is, if you have the Barclaycard Rewards you can’t have another type of Barclaycard too. Which rules customers out of the Amazon Barclaycard Rewards or the Avios Barclaycard. Both of these have perks, from free Amazon credit on application and 2% back on events like Prime Day, through to large Avios bonuses and upgrade vouchers for British Airways flights.

I’ve been reluctant to give up the Rewards for one of these, but with the introduction of the Lloyds Ultra I get the same benefits, and also open up opportunities from alternative Barclaycards.

One note here though if you are thinking of switching your Barclaycard. Though you can often swap the card in your Barclaycard account, you won’t get the same welcome offers.

So if you want the better promotions you’ll need to close the existing card and your account down to reapply. And this has two consequences. First, if you’ve had your Barclaycard for a long time, you’ll see a hit to your credit report. And second, you might have to wait before you can apply for the new card. In most cases you need to have not had any Barclaycard in six months to be eligible for a new card. That countdown begins from when the card is closed, not when you ask for that to happen.

Lloyds Ultra credit card summary & apply

Lloyds customer reviews

Customers have rated Lloyds 3.76/5 over at our sister site, Smart Money People.