Recently Barclaycard exited the market in Brazil and also in Africa, one of the reasons they exited these markets is they were capital restrained and wanted to expand in markets such as the U.S. & Germany. Amer Sajed was promoted to run Barclaycard in April and in an interview with Bloomberg stated that he wanted to expand in the U.S. & other markets.
It should come as no surprise that Barclay’s wants to expand it’s Barclaycard operation as it generates the highest return. In that interview, this quote was particularly interesting.
Sajed said he will use extra capital to invest in technology, attract customers and rebalance his division, which currently gets most of its revenue from interest on customer balances rather than interchange fees bank charge retailers when individuals make purchases with their cards
Hopefully Barclaycard plans to attract new customers with higher than normal sign up bonus, the fact that they will also be focusing on trying to increase their revenue from interchange fees should also mean that we see some more targeted spending bonuses and other initiatives to try to keep Barclaycard cards top of wallet (e.g additional bonus categories & removal of fees such as foreign transaction fees).
I have done my required spend and collected the sign up bonus. After that, the Cash Forward card at 1.5% reward is a distant third in a two card race. I paid off the card when I qualified for the spend bonus.
Building up a new $50.00 reward that I can collect is going to be slow going.
I have considered using the card for tax spending due to the 0% APR on purchases to next spring when I actually file my 2016 taxes. That is my only way to make this card stay out of the sock drawer. After taxes are paid, the sock drawer will trap it. The reward/rebate reduction is offset by the no fees on extended purchases since I am not doing a BT for that time period with this card.
Long term, I will spend once every few months to keep it from being closed for inactivity which Barclay is known for.
I’d argue the JetBlue card is a step in the right direction. The annual bonus and award flight discount almost cancel out the annual fee and the signup bonus is excellent
Agreed, I think the JetBlue cards are a really strong product.
Hope they can get less strict on residency…
I don’t think any of their cards are really stand out wonderful for long term use. Arrival+ is a joke other than for the signup bonus. I have yet to see any compelling argument for paying $89 for it unless you are spending a ton of money on FTF.
Their Rewards card is just a basic points card; their Cashforward isn’t bad but I don’t love the $50 threshold to redeem.
Most Barclaycards seem like poor attempts to copy other options out there in the market and usually Barclaycard imposes restrictions to attempt to force you to use the card a lot, such as the $100 Arrival+ redemption or $50 for Cashforward. Their cards, ostensibly, are designed for high spenders because low spenders will not find themselves able to redeem often. I understand companies want usage and I’m fine with some type of redemption threshold but with Barclay it feels excessive.
Since 2006, profit from credit cards has quadrupled, while earnings at the securities unit have fallen by a quarter. Barclaycard accounts for 25 percent of the bank’s profit, generates the highest returns and has helped prop up the troubled investment bank for eight years since the financial crisis.
Sajed said he will use extra capital to invest in technology, attract customers and rebalance his division, which currently gets most of its revenue from interest on customer balances rather than interchange fees bank charge retailers when individuals make purchases with their cards.
Barclaycard will revamp its rewards program as soon as this year to get customers to use their cards more, while a European cap on interchange fees will force rivals to cut back on their own rewards, he said.
“The reduction in interchange fees is going to cause a market reset, because many of our competitors had richer rewards programs that they will no longer be able to afford,” Sajed said, pointing to Banco Santander SA and American Express Co.
The Arrival+ has become a signup bonus worthy only card after all the recent bad changes. Mine has been locked in the drawer ever since until it eventually gets cancelled before the annual fee is due. Many better cards get my daily spend out there instead
What cards you using?
The 2% Priceline VIsa is so much better than the Arrival with all the same benefits plus more.
The 2% Priceline card isn’t offered to new applicants anymore.