Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World MasterCard® Review

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Frequent travelers looking to cash in rewards for their travel purchases may want to check out the Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard®. This card offers great miles, which can be easily redeemed for travel statement credits. It also has a great bonus offer going on right now, making it even more enticing for new cardholders.

Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World MasterCard® Basics

This is a card geared for travelers, especially those who don’t want to mess with bonus or rotating categories. Unlike many travel credit cards, it doesn’t give you extra rewards for travel-related purchases. Instead, it simply lets you use the rewards you earn on everyday purchases towards travel-related expenses.

So, how does it work? Well, with this card, you get 2 miles for every $1 spent on any purchase. There are no expirations or caps. You can then redeem those miles for credits towards qualifying travel purchases made on your card within the past 120 days.

Your miles can also be used for a generic cash back statement credit or gift cards, but their redemption value plummets when used in this way. You can redeem miles for statement credits and gift cards starting with 5, 000 miles for $25. Or you can redeem 10, 000 miles for $100 toward a qualifying travel purchase. Essentially, miles are worth twice as much when redeemed for travel-related purchases.

Luckily, Barclaycard defines “travel” pretty broadly. As long as the merchant in question is using the right code, you can redeem your points at full value for purchases from airlines, hotels and motels, timeshares, campgrounds, car rental agencies, cruise lines, travel agencies, discount travel sites, trains, buses, taxis, limousines, and ferries.

To summarize: Spend on the card. Get 2 miles for every $1 spent. Make travel-related purchases. Cash in your miles for credit on those travel-related purchases.

Bonus Miles

When you spend at least $3, 000 on this card in the first 90 days after opening, you’ll get 40, 000 bonus miles. That’s enough for a $400 travel statement credit. Plus, when you redeem your miles for travel-related purchases, you’ll get 5% miles back to use on your next purchase.

In other words, when you cash in those 40, 000 bonus miles, you’ll get 2, 000 bonus miles back to use towards your next travel redemption. This makes it easier to keep a bank of miles going continuously, which you can use each time you travel.

Other Fees and Benefits

This card comes with an $89 annual fee, which is waived the first year. It carries additional benefits, including:

  • 0% Introductory APR: This introductory APR applies to any balance transfers made within 45 days of account opening. You’ll pay no APR on these balance transfers for 12 months. Balance transfers carry a fee of 3% or $5, whichever is greater.
  • Chip Technology: Keep your purchase more secure at terminals around the world with chip technology.
  • Free FICO® Score: Log into your Barclaycard account, and you can get access to your current FICO score for free. You’ll also get email alerts when your FICO® score changes.
  • MasterCard® World Elite Services: This concierge service gives you personal assistance with travel-related needs, and offers access to luxury travel benefits.
  • No Foreign Transaction Fees: A must-have any time you travel internationally, this card offers no foreign transaction fees on any purchases made while you’re in another country.
  • Travel Accident and Trip Cancellation Insurance: This service will reimburse any nonrefundable fees if your trip is interrupted or cancelled for a covered reason, and if your tickets were purchased with your Barclaycard Arrival Plus™.

Who is it for?

The Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard® is for those with great credit and frequent travel plans. While it doesn’t offer 5+ miles per $1 spent, like some cards, it also doesn’t have caps or category restrictions to worry about. The 2X miles back rewards on all purchases make it easy to rack up rewards without thinking about it. And the redemption process lets you shop for the best travel deal while making the most of the rewards that you have earned.

If your goal is to squeeze the most rewards out of every single purchase, this card may not be for you. Or it may be your go-to backup card when making purchases that fall outside of other cards’ bonus categories. But if you’re looking for a no-brainer way to earn rewards that you can easily redeem for any type of travel, the Arrival Plus may be the card you need.

This card’s balance transfer offer shouldn’t be ignored, either. If you’re working your way out of credit card debt, a year-long 0% introductory APR offer is great. Especially since this card also offers great rewards on purchases, which you can use while you’re getting out of debt or after you’ve paid off the transferred balance.

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