If you’re big on traveling, and you’re on a mission to search for the perfect travel credit card to serve you on your journey, perhaps this card is the one you’ve been looking for. The Barclaycard Arrival Plus® World Elite Mastercard® is deemed one of the best travel rewards cards that offers a decent rewards rate and flexible redemption rules.

You’ll get a 70,000 bonus miles after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first 90 days, enough to redeem for a $700 travel statement credit toward an eligible travel purchase, which is pretty enticing.

It does come with an $89 annual fee (waived first year) however, but if you’re a frequent traveler and you’re looking to spend your miles earned towards an abundance of travel purchases, then the annual fee may be worth it.

Keep reading for a complete rundown of what the Barclaycard Arrival Plus® has for you.

Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite Mastercard Summary

Start Earning Rewards

You can start earning rewards right when you receive the card. Every purchase made with the Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite Mastercard will earn you 2x miles with no caps. Thus you can spend as much as you want knowing that every $1 spent is earning you 2x miles for future traveling when you redeem it for travel rewards. The miles you’ve earned will never expire as long as you keep your account open.

The great part of their rewards redemption program is that you can earn 5% miles back. Each and every time you redeem your rewards you will earn 5% of your miles back as a redemption bonus that you can use towards your next redemption.

Redeem & Travel With Ease

• Book any airline, any time with no blackout dates or seat restrictions
• Redeem for all types of travel rewards – redeem your miles for statement credits towards flights, hotels, resorts, cruises, trains & car rentals
• Get 5% miles back when you redeem for travel(i.e. redeem 10,000 miles for travel and get 500 miles back)
• No foreign transaction fees

Cash Back Towards Any Travel

The Barclaycard Arrival Plus® World Elite Mastercard® offers 2 miles per $1 spent on all purchases. That’s 2X miles every time you travel, 2X miles every time you dine out, 2X on gas, groceries, even bills.

Every single purchase you make puts your next trip just around the corner. And there’s no limit to how many miles you can earn. You can redeem these miles for Airlines, Travel Agencies & Tour Operators, Hotels, Motels & Resorts, Cruise Lines, Passenger Railways and Car Rental Agencies.

Choose any airline, any time. Use your card to book through any airline, hotel or discount travel engine with no blackout dates or seat restrictions. Or shop for the hotel, resort, cruise, train or car rental you want by charging your travel to the card. Then, redeem via a statement credit within 90 days of the charge.

With the Barclaycard Arrival Plus, enjoy 5% of your miles back every time you redeem for travel. So that 40,000-mile dream trip gives you a 2,000-mile head start to visit your family.

Barclaycard Arrival Plus Benefits

The Barclaycard Arrival Plus® World Elite Mastercard® is the go-to card for these reasons:

1. A welcoming bonus. You’ll earn 70,000 bonus miles after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first 90 days. This is equal to $700 in travel statement credits.
2. 2X miles on all purchases. With this card, you get 2X miles on all purchases, with no limit on how many miles you can rack up and no expiration date as long as your account is open, active, and in good standing.
3. Redeem miles for statement credit. You can easily redeem miles for statement credit toward any travel expenses of at least $100 made within the last 120 days. Redeem miles for travel statement credit at a value of 1 cent per mile or for cash back and other options at a value of 0.5 cents per mile. Eligible travel purchases include spending on flights, hotels, and car rentals with no seat restrictions and no blackout dates.
4. A redemption bonus. When you redeem miles for travel, you’ll get 5% of the miles back as a redemption bonus, which is 500 miles back for every 10,000 you redeem, to use toward your next redemption.
5. No foreign transaction fee. Plenty of cards charge a 3% foreign transaction fee to purchases made outside the U.S. However, this card doesn’t penalize you for making purchases abroad.
6. Smart chip technology. Unlike many smart chip credit cards in the U.S. with Chip-and-Signature technology, this card supports Chip-and-PIN. This means that once you set it up, you’ll have an easier time abroad where you’ll find that many kiosks and other automated payment systems require you to use a PIN to verify your identity, rather than a signature.

Barclaycard Arrival Plus Pitfalls

You may not like the Barclaycard Arrival Plus® World Elite Mastercard® due to these reasons:

1. The annual fee. You’ll get an annual fee of $89 (waived first year). For those who prefer credit cards that don’t have them at all or who can’t justify the annual fee, this may not be the best card for you. But if you do travel a lot, the benefits do outweigh the fee for this card.
2. No introductory APR on purchases, one of the reasons many consumers sign up for new cards. However, if you’re responsible and consistently pay off your balance in full each month, then consider the Barclaycard Arrival Plus Mastercard. For those who tend to carry a balance, look into a credit card with low interest rates. The variable APR afterwards depends on your creditworthiness.
3. Inability to transfer miles to airline and hotel loyalty programs. When you’re ready to redeem miles earned with your card, just apply them as a statement credit to your eligible travel purchases. It’s easy but can be limiting. Something like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card allows you to transfer your rewards to frequent traveler programs to make them go even further.
4. Potential to earn more rewards with a different card. It depends on your spending habits and how you use your cards. For example, some credit cards have rotating 5% rewards categories, such as the Chase Freedom® Card. If your spending patterns line up with their rewards categories, you may be able to earn rewards faster with those cards.
5. Redemption in increments. With this card, you’ll have to wait until you get 5,000 miles to redeem for cash back or 10,000 miles for travel. Even if you have a few thousand miles in your rewards, you may not be able to receive it at all. You can only redeem your miles for travel statement credit in increments of 10,000. Plus, the credit can only apply to purchases made in the previous 120 days. If you’re not a frequent traveler or big spender, these restrictions might put up a little challenge for you.
6. Difficult to get approved. You’ll need excellent credit to qualify. If you need to build your credit, apply for a no annual fee credit card instead, such as the Chase Freedom Unlimited® Card.

Mastercard World Elite Luxury Benefits

The Barclaycard Arrival Plus® World Elite Mastercard® is on the World Elite Mastercard platform. You’ll earn high-end benefits as a Barclaycard cardholder and as a World Elite Mastercard cardholder. These are the highlights:

• 24/7 Personal Concierge
  • If you need help booking a dinner reservation, finding the perfect gift for your spouse, or planning your trip, no matter what it is, you have someone who can help at all times.
• Mastercard Airport Concierge
  • Call your Mastercard airport concierge to get through the airport a little quicker. You’ll be met at the curb and escorted to the gate when you get to the airport and picked up at the aircraft gate upon arrival and escorted to your connecting flight or curbside. This takes out a lot of the hassles and stresses of getting around airports you’re unfamiliar with.
• Luxury Travel Benefits
  • Use the Luxury Hotels and Resorts portfolio to find a hotel room. You’ll get many credit card perks, including complimentary breakfast, and potential room upgrades. You may also get upgraded to business class on your next flight. You’ll also receive elite status at many different car rental companies and an on-board credit with Royal Caribbean cruises.
• Travel and Purchase Protections
  • Trip Cancellation Insurance: For non-refundable travel plans, you’ll have trip cancellation insurance. This will reimburse you for any non-refundable fees that you might have when your flight is cancelled or delayed because of a covered reason.
  • Price Protection: If you purchase an item and the price drops within the first 120 days of purchase, Mastercard could refund you the difference.
  • Extended Warranty: If it seems like your purchase malfunctions every time after its warranty has expired, your Arrival Plus Mastercard doubles the time frame on any warranty of 24 months or less.

Earning Miles

Earning miles using the Barclaycard Arrival Plus® World Elite Mastercard® is pretty straightforward. You’ll earn 2 miles per dollar on all your purchases.

In addition, you’ll get 5% miles back to use toward your next redemption every time you redeem. This 5% redemption bonus boosts your effective earning rate to 2.1%. Your miles don’t expire as long as your account is active and in good standing. Hold onto them until you can use them.

Redeeming Rewards

With the Barclaycard Arrival Plus® World Elite Mastercard®, you can redeem your miles for travel, statement credits, gift cards or merchandise. To obtain the most value for your miles, redeem for travel. It offers 1 cent per mile.

The other options offer only 0.5 cents per mile or even less. Redeem your miles for statement credit toward almost any travel purchase made in the previous 120 days. Book however you want. Reserve directly with an airline or hotel, or a travel agent or discount travel site. As long as you pay with your Barclaycard Arrival Plus® card, you can reimburse yourself with your miles.

This flexibility is especially great for budget travelers who like to find the best deal. And because you’re booking like a regular traveler, there are no blackout dates, seat restrictions, or other restrictions, as opposed to when you try to redeem frequent flyer miles. And as long as your account remains open and in good standing, your miles won’t expire. Note that the minimum redemption amount is 5,000 miles for cash back statement credits. Travel credit redemptions start at 10,000 miles, which will provide $100 toward an eligible travel purchase.

Barclaycard has a pretty broad view of what it considers travel spending, including:

• Airlines
• Hotels/Motels
• Car Rentals
• Travel Agencies
• Discount Travel Sites
• Cruises
• Ferries
• Taxis/Limousines
• Trains/Buses
• Timeshares
• Campgrounds

Remember that you’ll also get 5% of your miles back with every redemption used toward travel. If you redeem for cash back, those 10,000 miles will get you $50. However, you won’t get the 5% redemption bonus.

Bottom Line

The Barclaycard Arrival Plus® World Elite Mastercard® is an excellent travel credit card for racking up miles for those who are frequent travelers, are able to pay their balance on time and in full every month, use their credit card frequently, and don’t have a preference for a specific airline or hotel rewards program.

Don’t be put off by the $89 annual fee (waived first year). The miles bonus offer is a generous perk, the rewards rate is higher than average, and you can earn miles everywhere and twice as quickly as with most other rewards credit cards.

If you have travel expenses, it’s easy to redeem them. However, if you plan to carry a balance or want to be able to transfer miles to your favorite rewards program, you may want to consider a credit card with a low interest rate or transfer partners instead. Check out all the featured credit cards to find the perfect one for you.

Take advantage of its extra perks and benefits whenever possible to get even more value. Remember, as with all cards, terms and limitations apply.

Disclaimer: This content is not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuer. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of the credit card issuer, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuer. This site may be compensated through the credit card issuer Affiliate Program.