Barclays Arrival Premier World Elite Mastercard

Is exciting when you see a new credit card offer, one that can help you earn some new points and miles.  But once you start to go through the benefits the next step is to check out the annual fee.  That is usually the case for me, but on this case I felt like I was missing the benefits since much wasnt offer and balancing the annual fee I was starting to wonder if this card might be one I should consider or simply skip.

Well, before getting started here are some things you should know about this credit card (from what it offers, the benefits and my comments if this is the card for you).

Credit Card Offer

  • You will get up to 25,000 bonus Miles during each 12 month period
    • You will earn 15,000 Loyalty Bonus miles after spending $15,000
    • You will earn an additional 10,000 Loyalty Bonus miles after spending $10,000
  • Global Entry $100 credit for the cost of one application fee every 5 years
  • Pay $150 annual fee which is not waived the first year

Benefits included with this Credit Card

  • Mastercard Airport Experiences provided by Lounge Key
  • Earn 2X miles on every purchases
  • Earn 1X miles on all other purchases
  • Earn more miles for sharing travel stories
  • No foreign transaction fees

How to apply the miles

  • You can redeem the miles to airlines, hotels, motels, timeshares, campgrounds, car rental agencies, cruise lines, purchase and travel agencies, discount travel sites, trains, buses, taxis, limousines, and ferries and the account annual fee
  • Airlines you can transfer the points to
    • Aeromexico
    • Air France/KLM Flying Blue
    • China Eastern
    • Etihad
    • EVA Air
    • Japan Airlines (JAL)
    • Jet Airways
    • Malaysia Airlines
    • Qantas

Now that you see the offers mentioned for this card, I can share my opinion if this is something to be consider.  I truly love getting a lot of miles in a card with a very little annual fee, that being said this card has a high annual fee of $150 which is not waived on the first year.  That shouldnt throw me off right away since is great to balance out what that annual fee can be compensated with..

  • On this card it offers Global Entry $100 credit for the cost of one application fee every 5 years (if this is something you was willing to pay for on its own) then getting this card is worth it.  Simply because you can pay for the annual fee and receive some incentives while getting a credit when applying for the Global Entry.
  • If you spend between $10k -$25k in a year using this card, you will receive that much in miles.
  • You will earn 2x the points on all purchases which does help earn the amount of miles a lot quicker.

Conclusion

There are so many great credit cards that offer a wonderful sign up bonus with an annual fee that is usually waived on the first year, so thinking about the $150 annual fee is hard to justify it when going through the offers mentioned for this credit card.  In addition if I was starting the miles & points journey (travel journey through points) this card would not be on my list specially when Chase has the 5/24 rule (which limits the cards I would like to get right from the start).  But if you are applying for the Global Entry, will like to transfer your points on the partners selected and dont mind spending $10-$25k using this card then this could be one you might like to consider.

Either way, verify what might be your next credit card and what are your travel plans, that way you can match the best credit card for your next future travel.

Excited4journey