Which Arrival Card is Right for You? The Premier with Waived Annual Fee or the Plus with a 60k Bonus Offer?

Barclaycard Comparison Arrival Plus or Arrival Premier

The Barclaycard Arrival line of Credit Cards has received a lot of attention lately due to the release of The Barclays Arrival Premier World Elite MasterCard as well as a very generous sign-up bonus on the popular Arrival Plus. Last month, we posted about an amazing targeted 60,000 point bonus offer (Barclaycard Arrival Plus making a comeback). The application for this offer is now publicly available. 60,000 Miles is the highest bonus ever offered on the Arrival Plus.

In light of the recent buzz, we thought it would be beneficial to create a quick resource to help you decide which version of Arrival is best for you.

Credit Card Details: Arrival Plus and Arrival Premier

Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite MasterCard

Application Page

Sign-Up Bonus:  60,000 Miles after spending $5,000 within the first 3 months.

Annual Fee: $89 (Not Waived the First Year)

Earning Structure:

• Earn 2 Miles per $1 on every purchase

Redemption Structure:

• Redeem your miles for travel statement credits for the best value (or cash back statement credits, gift cards and merchandise.)
• 5% back in miles after every redemption

The Arrival Plus is right for you if you are an average traveler without a huge need for airline miles and would most likely redeem your rewards for a statement credit for various types of travel. Additionally, the Arrival Plus is great for people who don’t have a lot of spending throughout the year and would thus be unable to meet the spending bonus requirements of the Arrival Premier. Not to mention, a 60k bonus is useful for anyone and everyone!

Barclays Arrival Premier World Elite MasterCard

Application Page

Sign-Up Bonus: Currently there is no Sign-Up bonus (though there is a spend bonus)

Annual Fee: $150 (Waived the First Year)

Earning Structure:

• Earn 2 Miles per $1 on every purchase
• Each year earn up to 25,000 loyalty bonus miles (in addition to unlimited 2X miles)
  • Spend $15,000 on purchases, get 15,000 miles
  • Spend an additional $10,000 on purchases, get an additional 10,000 miles

Redemption Structure:

• Ability to transfer miles to travel partners for award tickets.
  • The transfer rate is 1.4 arrival miles : 1 miles with the exception of JAL and Aeroplan.
  • Japan Airlines and Aeroplan transfer at a rate of 1.7 arrival miles: 1 JAL mile.
• Redeem your miles for travel statement credits for the best value (or cash back statement credits, gift cards and merchandise.)

Notable Benefits:

• Global Entry Credit ($100)
• Lounge Key membership
• No foreign transaction fees

Transfer Partners

The Arrival Premier could be the right card choice for you if you know that you can get decent value from one or more of the airline transfer partners. Also, it’s great for people who need a lot of flexibility since you can redeem for a statement or transfer to partners. While you do not get the 5% rebate on mile redemptions, as with the Arrival Plus, it’s a small price to pay for those who need the additional flexibility. last, if you can definitely meet the spending requirements, you’ll get an extra 18,000 miles. For some of these partners that’s around a $270. Last, if you can make use of the Global Entry credit that adds another $100 of value to you.

Conclusion

Overall, the Arrival Plus provides the better value for almost everyone during the first year because of the 60,000 Mile bonus and the 5% Redemption Rebate. The value of the sign-up bonus after accounting for the 5% rebate and $89 annual fee is around $540. If you compare this with the numbers for the Premier, you have $150 in value since the annual fee is waived the first year. Aside from that, you’d need to be able to use the Global Entry credit, make valuable redemptions with your miles and hit the minimum spend bonuses to get anything close to that.

For more articles like this, check out: Guide: Which Chase Ink Card is Best for Your Situation.

Let us know in the comments section if you think there is anything that should be added or considered.

Disclosure: Miles to Memories has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Miles to Memories and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.

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