Review: Barclaycard Arrival World MasterCard – No Annual Fee

This review comes from Logan Abbott. Logan is the editor of the credit cards section of MyRatePlan.com.

Earlier this year, I reviewed the Barclaycard Arrival World MasterCard. It offers cardholders 2 points for every dollar spent on purchases, but at a price: an annual fee of $89.

Barclaycard actually offers another version of the card, the No Annual Fee Barclaycard Arrival World MasterCard, that’s similar, but as the name implies, without the annual fee.

Advantages

• Earn 20,000 bonus miles. Cardholders can earn 20,000 bonus miles when they spend $1,000 or more in the first three months that they have the card. 20,000 miles is the equivalent to $200 off travel purchases.
• Earn double miles on travel and dining. Cardholders earn 2 reward miles for each dollar spent on travel or dining purchases.
• Earn miles on all purchases. Cardholders earn 1 reward mile for each dollar spent on all purchases, and there’s no cap on the amount of miles they can earn.
• Earn miles back when you redeem them. Cardholders can earn 10 percent of their miles back when they redeem them for hotels, flights, cruises, auto rentals and more.
• TripIt Pro subscription. Cardholders are automatically enrolled in TripIt Pro, which is a mobile travel plan organizer. Retail value for this subscription is $49.
• No annual fee. There’s no annual fee to use the card.
• 0 percent APR intro period. The card offers a 0 percent introductory APR on purchases for 12 months. After that, the variable APR applies, currently between 14.99 and 18.99 percent, depending on your creditworthiness.
• Free FICO scores. The card offers cardholders complimentary FICO scores. Customers can opt in to the program and instantly view their FICO scores from their Barclaycard online account.
• No foreign transaction fee. There’s no foreign transaction fee with this card, so you can use it overseas and not have to deal with those pesky international fees.

Disadvantages

• Fewer rewards than the other version of this card. Although the card offers generous rewards for purchases, the $89 annual fee version of this card offers 2 rewards miles for every dollar spent. If you’re a big spender, then the $89 annual fee card might be a better fit. However, if you’re not a huge spender, then the no annual fee version of the card is probably a better choice.
• Balance transfer fee. The introductory 0 percent APR offer does not apply to balance transfers. In addition, it charges a fairly high balance transfer fee of 4 percent of the amount being transferred.

Bottom line

Get it if: If you have excellent credit and are looking for a great travel rewards credit card. This card is one of the best travel-oriented cards currently available.

Forget it if: You have less than excellent credit.

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