Get Big Travel With These 5 Barclaycard Credit Cards!

For folks looking to get Big Travel with Small Money, there are several Barclaycard credit cards that offer excellent sign-up bonuses and perks.

But Barclaycard is known to be strict with the number of cards they’ll approve you for.  Typically, you won’t get approved for more than 1 or 2 cards per year.

So you’ll want to choose the best offers that help achieve your travel goals!

I’ll share my picks for the top 5 Barclaycard card offers!

Consider These Tips Before You Apply for Barclaycard Cards 

Link:   Best Card Strategy for Beginners in 2017

Link:   Why You Should Choose Your Barclaycard Cards Wisely

It depends on your travel goals, but I typically recommend folks apply for Chase credit cards first.

That’s because Chase has some of the most valuable credit cards for getting Big Travel with Small Money!  And their strict application rules mean you won’t be approved for many of them if you apply for other cards first.

Afterward, you can consider offers from other banks, like Barclaycard.  But keep in mind, Barclaycard typically doesn’t approve folks for more than 1 or 2 cards per year.  And they like to see you using your existing cards before extending you new credit.

For example, before Million Mile Secrets team member Scott became miles and points savvy, he signed-up for the Barclaycard NFL card.  And he didn’t spend much (or anything!) on the card after meeting the minimum spending requirements.

So when he applied for the Barclaycard Arrival Plus ~1 year later, he was denied.  He began to use his existing Barclaycard and was eventually approved for the Arrival Plus, which offers much better benefits as I’ll explain shortly!

Here’s a look at 5 excellent offers from Barclaycard.  Emily and I don’t earn a commission for all of these cards, but we’ll always tell you about the best deals!

1.   Barclaycard Arrival Plus

Link:   Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite Mastercard

Link:   My Review of the Barclaycard Arrival Plus

With the Barclaycard Arrival Plus, you’ll earn 50,000 Barclaycard Arrival miles after spending $3,000 on purchases within the first 90 days of opening your account.

The sign-up bonus is effectively worth $525 in statement credits towards travel purchases of $100 or more.  Because you’ll receive 5% of your miles back when you redeem them for travel, including purchases with:

• Airlines
• Campgrounds
• Car rental agencies
• Cruises
• Hotels and Airbnb
• Transportation, including buses, taxis, and trains

With this card, you’ll also get:

• 2X Barclaycard Arrival miles per $1 you spend on all purchases
• No foreign transaction fees

This card has an $89 annual fee, which is waived the first year.

2.   Barclaycard American Airlines

Link:   Barclaycard AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard

Link:   My Review of the Barclaycard AAdvantage Aviator Red Card

You can earn 50,000 American Airlines miles with the Barclaycard AAdvantage Aviator Red card after making a purchase in the first 90 days of opening the account and paying the card’s $95 annual fee.

This is a good deal for folks looking to earn American Airlines miles without having to meet large minimum spending requirements.

With this card, you’ll also get:

• 2X American Airlines miles per $1 for purchases with American Airlines
• 1X American Airlines miles per $1 for all other purchases
• $100 American Airlines flight discount when you spend $30,000+ on purchases in a card anniversary year
• Group 1 boarding for the primary cardholder and up to 4 passengers on the same reservation on domestic itineraries operated by American Airlines
• 10% rebate when you redeem American Airlines miles  (maximum rebate of 10,000 miles per year).
• First checked bag free for you and 4 passengers on the same reservation (domestic flights only)
• No foreign transaction fees
• 25% in-flight savings on food, drink, and headsets

American Airlines miles are valuable, because you can use them to fly just about anywhere in the world directly on the airline or with their airline partners!

With 50,000 American Airlines miles, you can get:

• 2 round-trip coach flights within the mainland US
• 2 round-trip coach flights to the Caribbean during the off-peak season
• 1 round-trip coach ticket to Europe during the off-peak season
• 1 round-trip coach ticket to Hawaii during the off-peak season

If you already have American Airlines miles, you can combine the sign-up bonus with your existing miles and book a round-trip Business Class award flight to Tokyo, like Emily recently did!

3.   Barclaycard JetBlue Plus

Link:   Barclaycard JetBlue Plus 

Link:   My Review of the JetBlue Plus Card

The Barclaycard JetBlue Plus is a great choice for folks who like to fly the airline.  This card comes with benefits like:

• 30,000 JetBlue points (worth ~$420 in JetBlue flights) after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 90 days of opening your account
• 5,000 JetBlue points (worth ~$70 in JetBlue flights) each year on your account anniversary
• 6 JetBlue points per $1 you spend on JetBlue purchases
• 2 JetBlue points per $1 you spend at restaurants and grocery stores
• 1 JetBlue point per $1 you spend everywhere else
• Free first checked bag for cardholder and up to 3 companions on the same reservation when you use your card to pay for your ticket
• 50% discount on eligible in-flight purchases like cocktails, food, and movies
• 10% of points back when you redeem them
• Annual $100 statement credit when you purchase a Getaway Vacation Package for $100 or more
• Earn JetBlue Mosaic elite status each year after spending $50,000 or more on purchases (free first and 2nd checked bag, early boarding, free alcoholic beverages)
• No foreign transaction fees

Team member Keith uses his JetBlue Plus card to earn bonus points at grocery stores.  Then, he redeems points for JetBlue award flights to visit family in Orlando!

Don’t forget to check out my post with 10 secrets to better JetBlue travel!

4.   Barclaycard Wyndham Rewards

Link:   Barclaycard Wyndham Rewards Visa

Link:   My Review of the Barclaycard Wyndham Rewards Card

With the $75 annual fee version of the Barclaycard Wyndham Rewards card, you’ll earn 30,000 Wyndham points after your first purchase.  And another 15,000 Wyndham points after spending $2,000 on purchases within the first 90 days of account opening for a total of 45,000 Wyndham points.

The sign-up bonus is worth 3 free nights at Wyndham hotels, which cost 15,000 points for a free night.  So you can use 45,000 Wyndham points for 3 free nights at the all-inclusive Viva Wyndham Fortuna Beach in the Bahamas.

With this card, you’ll also get:

• 6,000 Wyndham points on your account anniversary each year
• 5X Wyndham points per $1 you spend at Wyndham hotels
• 2X Wyndham points per $1 you spend on eligible gas, utility, and grocery store purchases
• 1X Wyndham points on everything else (excluding time-share downpayments)
• Automatic Platinum status (early check-in, late check-out, preferred rooms, annual points bonus)
• 5X bonus category expanded to include Wyndham timeshare and rental properties
• No foreign transaction fees

The automatic elite status is a great deal for folks who travel to Las Vegas.  Because you can now get your Wyndham status matched with Caesars hotels!  And you’ll soon be able to transfer points between both programs.

5.   Barclaycard Hawaiian Airlines

Link:   Earn 50,000 Miles With the Barclaycard Hawaiian Airlines Card  

Link:   My Review of the Barclaycard Hawaiian Airlines Card

If you’re planning a trip to Hawaii, you might consider the Barclaycard Hawaiian Airlines® World Elite MasterCard®.

You can earn 50,000 Hawaiian Airlines miles when you spend $1,000 on purchases within the first 90 days of opening your account.

The sign-up bonus is enough for a round-trip coach award flight from North America to Hawaii!

With this card, you’ll also get:

• Free first checked bag (for the primary cardholder only, and only if you use your card and buy tickets from Hawaiian Airlines directly)
• One-time 50% discount on a companion ticket between Hawaii and North America
• Discounts on award tickets
• No foreign transaction fees

You can also redeem Hawaiian Airlines miles for an award seat on partner airlines like JetBlue or Virgin America.  But you’ll get the best deal when you use Hawaiian Airlines miles for flights on Hawaiian Airlines.

Bottom Line

With Barclaycard, you typically won’t get approved for more than 1 or 2 cards per year.  This means you’ll want to choose offers wisely!

I’d recommend these 5 Barclaycard travel cards for folks looking to get Big Travel:

• Barclaycard Arrival Plus
• Barclaycard AAdvantage Aviator Red
• Barclaycard JetBlue Plus
• Barclaycard Wyndham Rewards Visa
• Barclaycard Hawaiian Airlines

My top pick is the Barclaycard Arrival Plus because the sign-up bonus is effectively worth ~$525 in statement credits toward travel purchases of $100 or more, including Airbnb stays and cruises.  And the card’s annual fee is waived the first year!

Emily and I don’t earn a commission for all of these cards, but we’ll always share the best deals!