Barclaycard just announced the launch of the Barclays Arrival Premier World Elite Mastercard, aimed at the high-end traveler. It competes against the good old Chase Sapphire Reserve and the rest which we covered in our research last year on the sustainability of high-cost rewards. Is timing good, as first-year attrition rates become the focus of last year’s flurry? We will have to see but the features look good.
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Earn up to 25,000 loyalty bonus miles each cardmembership year,
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Earn Unlimited 2X miles
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Annual Fee: $150
We like the recurring bonus. All programs we looked at last year assumed you could front load bonuses and expect the cardholder to stay forever. Not in this world; cardholders remember you until the next big offer comes. If you want to keep them, you need a good carrot. 25,000 works for me.
The business head, Rachana Bhatt, a former Chase executive, says the concept was to reward loyalty, as opposed to a one time, large bonus. That makes good sense.
Overview by Brian Riley, Director, Credit Advisory Service at Mercator Advisory Group
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