Review: Upromise World MasterCard From Barclaycard

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This post comes from Logan Abbott, editor of the credit cards section of MyRatePlan.com.

Barclaycard has been busy launching new cards with great offers to try to get a foothold in the U.S. credit card market. Their latest offer, the Upromise World MasterCard, is a solid cash-back credit card that was relaunched last week.

Advantages

  • Receive a cash-back bonus for your first purchase. Cardholders receive $50 cash back just by making their first purchase with the card.
  • No annual fee. There’s no annual fee to use the card.
  • Zero-percent introductory APR on purchases and balance transfers. The card features a 0 percent introductory APR on purchases and balance transfers for 12 months. After the 12 months are up, the variable APR of between 12.99 percent and 20.99 percent applies, based upon your creditworthiness.
  • Earn cash back on every purchase. Cardholders earn 5 percent or more cash back on eligible online purchases, 4 percent cash back at thousands of participating restaurants, 3 percent cash back on eligible gas purchases at Exxon or Mobil locations, 2 percent cash back at eligible movie theaters, and 1 percent cash back on every other purchase. Earned cash back has no limit and never expires.
  • Save for college. Cardholders can elect to have cash-back earnings deposited into a Upromise 529 college savings plan, a Sallie Mae high-yield savings account, or made as payments toward an eligible Sallie Mae-serviced loan.

Disadvantages

  • Smaller cash-back bonus. The Upromise World MasterCard offers a $50 cash-back bonus after making your first purchase. Conversely, the Capital One Cash Rewards Card offers a $100 cash-back bonus for making $500 in purchases in the first three months that you have the card. It’s not a stretch to make $500 in purchases over three months, so the edge here goes to the Capital One card.
  • Cash back on gas only at Exxon and Mobil. Although the card offers a favorable 3 percent cash back on gas, cardholders are only eligible for that cash back at Mobil and Exxon gas stations. Conversely, the Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express offers 3 percent cash back at all U.S. gas stations.
  • Balance transfer fee. Although the card offers a generous 0 percent introductory period on balance transfers for 12 months, the card still charges a balance transfer fee of 3 percent.

Bottom line

Get it if: You have excellent credit and want a solid cash-back rewards program in the categories described, as well as a long 0 percent introductory period on balance transfers and purchases.

Forget it if: You have poor credit, or you want a card that offers rewards other than cash back.

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Note: While we attempt to be completely objective when reporting on credit cards, this site may be compensated by issuers when a reader applies for a credit card through the links within credit card stories or on our credit card search page. Also note that any terms, rates or other features described in this article can change without notice. Always double-check everything with the issuer before applying for any credit card.

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