This isn’t new information, but I thought it would be a good reminder to those who had the Barclaycard Arrival Plus Mastercard prior to the July changes that November 17th is the last day that you will enjoy the pre-change benefits. However, if you want a prorated annual fee, you have to contact Barclaycard on or before November 3rd to get part of your annual fee back.
I had a detailed post on what changes were in store for long-time cardholders. For those who had the card prior to July, the following changes will occur on November 17th:
- The 10% rebate will turn into the current 5% rebate.
- The 2,500-point minimum for redemptions ($25) will turn into the current 10,000-point minimum ($100).
- Tourist attractions will no longer count as qualified travel charges.
Barclaycard is offering to prorate the annual fee for anyone who paid an annual fee, but you have to contact Barclaycard on or before November 3rd to do that. I’m currently waiting for one last charge to post so that I can redeem 2,500 points for a final $25 travel charge before downgrading our Arrival Plus to a no-fee Arrival card (I don’t want to lose the credit line for the time being).
In the meantime, I might be in the market for another 2% cashback card. I’m considering the Citi Double Cash card, which offers 2% cashback for no annual fee. However, I currently use a Discover IT card which offers double cashback for the first year, so I’m earning a 2% minimum return before any Discover Deals portal bonuses (which also get doubled), 5% quarterly bonuses (which becomes 10%), or 10% Apple Pay bonuses (which becomes 20%) get added on. I think I’m good with that for now.
As for having a card with no foreign transaction fees, plenty of other credit cards offer that. Of note is the Citi ThankYou Premier card, which has no forex fees and offers 3x points on all travel and 2x points on dining/entertainment. I value ThankYou Points close to 1.6 cents each because of the Citi Prestige discount for American Airlines flights, so I’d be earning more return using that card abroad than the Arrival Plus (4.8 cents back on travel, 3.2 cents back on dining/entertainment).
The only unique aspect of the Arrival Plus is its ability to offer chip & pin functionality abroad at unmanned kiosks. However, I’ve only had to use this feature once or twice. I’m hoping other cards provide this feature soon.
