Barclay’s is a large British bank with significant operations here in the United States. They offer a wide variety of banking products, including a great selection of consumer and business credit cards as part of their Barclaycard US program. This article will explore the best Barclay’s credit cards for US citizens, to help you find the right card for you!
Best Barclay’s Card for Travelers: Arrival+
Annual Fee: $89
Credit Needed: Good to excellent
Signup Bonus: 60,000 points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months (usually 50,000 points)
Rewards: 2x points on all purchases
Perks: Easy and flexible redemptions for travel expenses; 5% point rebate on redemptions; no foreign transaction fees
The Barclay’s Arrival Plus World Elite Mastercard is one of the most popular Barclay’s credit cards. It offers a generous signup bonus, typically of 50,000 points after spending $3,000 (although the signup bonus varies).
The great thing about the Arrival Plus is that it’s very versatile. Rewards are simple to redeem for pretty much any travel expense. Simply pay for travel purchases (airfare, hotels, trains, and even cabs) on your Arrival+, and then redeem points against those charges. For example, if you put a $600 plane ticket on your card and then redeemed 50,000 points, you’d erase $500 of that charge and be left just needing to pay $100. This also means you don’t have to deal with award charts, blackout dates, etc.
The ongoing earning rate on this card is also quite solid, at 2 miles per $1 spent (equivalent to 2% back in travel credits). However, the annual fee is relatively high at $89, so for most people, it’s not a card that makes sense to keep long-term.
Note: There’s also an Arrival Premier version of this card. It offers more benefits, but a higher annual fee ($150) and no signup bonus. We do not recommend the Premier for most people.
Best Barclay’s Airline Credit Card: AAdvantage Aviator Red
Annual Fee: $95
Credit Needed: Good to excellent
Signup Bonus: 50,000 American Airlines miles after a single purchase
Rewards: 1x AA mile on all purchases; 2x miles on AA purchases
Perks: 10% mileage redemption rebate; first checked bag free on AA flights
For those who fly with American Airlines, the Barclaycard AAdvantage Aviator Red is a great option. The card offers a generous signup bonus of 50,000 AAdvantage miles, which is enough for 2 round-trip domestic flights, or most of a round-trip to Europe (60k miles). Better yet, the bonus triggers after a single purchase!
The AAviator Red offers decent perks for frequent AA travelers, like free checked bags and a 10% rebate on redeemed miles. The annual fee is $95, so you’ll have to weigh the perks and determine if it’s a worthwhile card to keep long-term, given your situation.
Best Barclaycard Credit Card with No Annual Fee: Uber
Annual Fee: None
Credit Needed: Good to excellent
Signup Bonus: $100 after spending $500 in the first 3 months
Rewards: 4% cashback on restaurants and bars; 3% on select travel; 2% on online purchases; 1% on everything else
Perks: Mobile phone insurance, no foreign transaction fee, $50 annual credit for subscription services
The Barclay’s Uber Visa card came out in late 2017, and it’s a pretty great all-around card. The Uber Visa has no annual fee, yet it offers significant perks that compete with some high-end, high-fee cards.
For one, the earning structure on this card is excellent. Purchases in dining (bars and restaurants) earn 4% cashback, while select travel purchases earn 3%. Online purchases (including Uber) earn 2%, and all other purchases earn 1%. For a no annual fee card, these cashback rates are pretty stellar.
The Uber card also has lots of other perks, including mobile phone insurance (if you pay your phone bill with the card), and a $50 annual credit for streaming services (when you spend at least $5,000 on the card each year). For more details, see our Uber Visa review.
Things to Know About Barclaycard
Barclay’s is certainly not as popular as Chase or Citi, so many people aren’t aware of some of the specifics of their credit cards. Here are some general things to know:
- Barclay’s tends to pull all three credit bureaus (TransUnion, Experian and Equifax). Some people who do not want a lot of hard pulls on their credit reports may wish to avoid this bank
- Barclay’s cards tend to be harder to get approved for than some competing banks. They seem to be sensitive to recent inquiries/recent new accounts.
- Barclay’s cards are churnable, typically, meaning that you can get the bonus on the same card more than once.
- Generally speaking, if you are approved you will get the bonus (after meeting the spend, of course!)
- For more specifics, check out this article from DoctorOfCredit
Didn’t find the card you were looking for? Check out all available Barclaycard credit cards here, or find a card from a different bank in the guides below:
