The Best New Travel Rewards Card on the Block: Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite Mastercard
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Sometimes, you really need a good travel credit card. One that's on your side. One that has your back. The Barclaycard Arrival Plus® World Elite Mastercard® is a great new credit card for a number of reasons. Let's dig into the Arrival Plus and see if it's the right card for you and your family!
Why We Love This Card
- 70,000 bonus miles offer
- 2x miles for all purchases
How This Card Works
The Arrival Plus World Elite card awards two miles per dollar spent on every purchase you make with the card. You don't have to wonder which purchase categories earn the most miles. This card takes out all the dirty work and makes it super simple, giving you 2 miles on every dollar you spend. You earn unlimited miles that don't expire as long as your account is open, active and in good standing.
Bonus offer: The Arrival Plus World Elite card awards 70,000 bonus miles after spending $5,000 in the first 90 days. This is a great bonus which can be worth a $700 travel statement credit!
Cash back and gift card redemptions start at 5,000 miles for $25, which is half the value of a travel credit toward travel purchases. If you redeem your miles for travel credit, you can redeem at 10,000 miles for a $100 in statement credit against travel purchases made in the last 120 days. As an added bonus, you automatically receive a redemption bonus of 5% of the miles every time you redeem.
Other Benefits
Mastercard World Elite Concierge. Get access to the Mastercard World Elite Concierge, which includes a 24/7 travel card concierge service that will help you take care of all your travel needs.
Pros
Valuable bonus. If you plan on making a large travel purchase right away, you have an opportunity with the bonus to earn 70,000 miles which can be worth $700 in travel purchases. Even with the annual fee (that is waived the first year) this is one of the higher-valued sign-up bonuses offered with travel rewards credit cards. (See also: Best Credit Cards with Cash Back Sign-Up Bonuses)
Easy earning and redeeming. One of the best advantages of this card is there are no specific purchase categories and you don't have to worry about signing up for rotating quarterly categories in order to earn the most miles on your purchases. Every purchase you make with this card earns a flat rate of two miles per dollar spent. Plus, you can easily redeem the miles you earn for a wide variety of types of travel purchases. (See also: Credit Cards with the Best Travel Redemption Value)
Redemption bonus. Each time you redeem your miles you automatically receive 5% back as a bonus just for earning and redeeming miles. This boosts the value of your miles a little bit further and can help you to rack up miles for your next redemption faster.
No foreign transaction fee. Many travel rewards credit cards carry foreign transaction fees as much as 3% on any purchase made outside of the United States. For those who frequently travel abroad, it's important to have a rewards card that doesn't charge this fee. (See also: Best Cards Without Foreign Transaction Fees)
Cons
Annual fee. Because of the $89 annual fee you need to make sure you can earn and redeem enough miles to make the fee worth it. If you aren't sure you can use the card enough to help cover the annual fee, you should consider other travel rewards cards with either lower or no annual fees. (See also: 5 Best Cards without Annual Fees)
Best for travel purchases. You get the best redemption value when you redeem for statement credit against travel purchases at one mile being worth a full cent. Although the 5% redemption bonus helps when you redeem, if you redeem for cash back statement credits or gift cards at 5,000 points for $25, the value of your miles is only approximately half a cent per mile. If you don't make travel purchases to redeem your miles for, you'll lose a significant amount of value redeeming with the other options. (See also: Best Credit Cards for Travel Purchases)
Who These Cards Are Best For
This card awards every purchase you make with the card with miles you can redeem for a broad range of travel purchases. It's best for those who frequently travel with various brands, rather than those who might be loyal to a particular airline or hotel. It's also ideal if you need a travel rewards card for foreign purchases because there is no foreign transaction fee.
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