Barclaycard has now discontinued the CashForward card. It’s no longer available for new applications and all application links lead to errors. This is somewhat surprising given that they recently increased the sign up bonus to $200. It’s unclear what will happen to current cardholders, but we will update when that becomes clearer. Information regarding the old card can still be viewed below. Card was originally launched in December of 2015.
Application Information
This card was previously available only for targeted recipients but has now been made public. Not much is known regarding the exact criteria to get approved for this card, but being that it’s a no-annual-fee card – it would be considered a step-down from the Arrival Plus and shouldn’t be terribly difficult to get approved.
As always, Barclay’s does not like approving many cards per year, and they don’t like approving you for a second card if your first one looks dormant.
Signup Bonus
CashForward comes with $100 cash bonus after you spend $500 in purchases within the first 90 days following account opening.
Rewards Program
The card earns 1.5% cashback on all purchases, with no categories or limits. Additionally, every time rewards are redeemed you’ll receive a 5% redemption bonus to use toward your next redemption. This addition makes the rewards worth almost 1.6% total.
Cash rewards can be redeemed as a deposit into your bank account, a statement credit or gift cards. Redemptions start at $50. Rewards do not expire as long as your account is open, active and in good standing.
Card Benefits
- No annual fee
- Free online access to FICO score – allows you to keep an eye on your credit and get alerts
- 0% APR for the first 12 months on purchases and balance transfers (balance transfers will incur a 3% fee)
Note that there is a 3% foreign transaction fee.
Final Thoughts
Not a bad card for everyday spend, but pretty lackluster being that there are already two credit cards that earn a full 2% cashback and have no annual fee – the Citi Double Cash and the Fidelity Amex.
When compared to Barclay’s own, this card is better for most everyday spend versus their other no-annual-fee cards. On the other hand, for a big spender (who also travels), it would be worth paying the $89 annual fee for the Arrival Plus card and earn 2.1% back on all spend.
It will be interesting to see if Barclay’s phases out their no-annual-fee Arrival card and leaves this as the base option or if that card is here to stay. Currently, the Arrival card is one of the not-too-many cards without an annual fee which still have no foreign transaction fee.
