Arrival Plus now waiving first-year fee

Update: This post references an offer that has since expired. See current offer information here.

The Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite Mastercard went on a brief hiatus earlier this year to make room for the launch of the Arrival Premier. When the Arrival Plus re-launched, it featured a nice welcome bonus of 60,000 points, but the annual fee was no longer waived the first year as it often had been in the past. That has changed today and once again the Arrival Plus is offering a welcome bonus of 60,000 points after $5,000 in purchases in the first 3 months and the $89 annual fee is waived the first year. (Expired)

The Offer

Card Offer

Barclaycard Arrival Plus® World Elite Mastercard® ⓘ $0 1st Yr Value Estimate This card is no longer available for new applications $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $89 Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. Recent better offer: None. This is the best we've seen. Learn more or apply

Key Card Details

Quick Thoughts

This offer is a great way to earn a nice bonus toward non-award travel and other associated travel costs (like award taxes / fees, third-party hotel bookings, cruises, etc). The card earns unlimited 2x “miles”, which are worth 1 cent each when used toward travel and you’ll earn an additional 5% of your miles back when you redeem for travel. That gives you an effective return of 2.1% the first year (less when you’re paying an annual fee in future years) without considering the value of the new card member bonus. The 60,000 Arrival miles can be redeemed for $600 in travel, which is certainly a valuable incentive to try the card out in year 1 without a fee and then consider whether or not it works for you in future years. If you redeemed the entire 60K points, you’d further get 6K back.

Keep in mind that the minimum redemption for travel is 10K / $100, so you wouldn’t actually be able to redeem 6K rebated miles for $60 in travel (though of course you would have another 10K miles from the $5K spend required to meet the bonus). That’s the major drawback here.

While Arrival miles do not offer the same kind of outsized value that you can get from transferable currencies (and thus I wouldn’t recommend collecting them over something like Ultimate Rewards or Membership Rewards if your goal is to mostly travel in business or first class or stay in fancy resorts), fixed-value points are a tool worth having in the tool belt when the bonus is right as they come in handy for situations where traditional awards make less sense or aren’t available, family trips, etc. With the annual fee waived the first year, the value of the bonus increases a corresponding amount, so this looks like a solid offer if this card has been on your radar.

For more information and to find an application link, see our dedicated Arrival Plus page by clicking the card name under “The Offer” or “Key Card Details”.

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