The Offer
- Receive 50,000 US Airways miles (soon to be AA miles) as a sign up bonus after you make your first purchase
It’s also possible to get the same offer, but with an added bonus of 10,000 anniversary miles on your first anniversary by using this link. The link is intended for preferred members only (silver status and higher), but there are data points (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 of non-preferred members getting the sign up bonus of 50,000 (was previously lower, but should hold true). Obviously it’s too early to tell if they will also get the anniversary miles or not. It’s also important to note that people who aren’t preferred members were also denied (1), so it’s up to you to decide if it’s worth the risk. Use this link for that offer.
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The Fine Print
- Annual fee of $89 not waived, annual fee must be paid before the miles will post
- 0% Introductory APR for the first 15 months
- Companion certificate for up to two guests on US operated flights for $99 each plus fees and taxes
- First checked bag is free for you and up to 4 companions on domestic flights operated by US Airways
- Priority zone two boarding on all US Airways flights
Our Verdict
Given that US Airways and American Airlines are going to merge soon, you’re probably going to be wondering what will happen to these US Airways cards. In short they will be rebranded AAdvantage aviator cards, you can read more about this product change here. I’m not surprised that Barclays are making a play for more cardholders, once the merger is finalized they will no longer be able to issue cards for US Airways/American Airlines and will lose their biggest airline co-branded partner.
50,000 miles after first purchase is a nice sign up bonus, the main downside is the annual fee of $89 not being waived. I’m not exactly craving US Airways or AA miles at the moment, but I’m going to get this card for two reasons:
- Barclay usually pulls your TransUnion credit report, recently I’ve hardly had any inquiries with them. I try my best to spread my new account inquiries between the three nationwide consumer reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian & TransUnion) but TransUnion is by far the least used.
- Barclay credit cards are churnable. I’ve had this card in the past, but I’m confident I’ll get the sign up bonus again.
Originally I was going to go for the preferred bonus, but I suspect that I will not get instant approval and that I’ll need to call the reconsideration line. I want to give the customer service representative as few reasons as possible to deny me, so it’s not worth the risk for me. If the anniversary bonus was ongoing, then I probably would have taken the risk but I don’t think it’s worth it for only 10k miles for $89. If you’re confident that you’ll get instantly approved or you have preferred status, then I’d definitely recommend using that link.
It’s also not outside the realms of possibility that Barclay will increase the sign up bonus even more before the merger, but I think the chances of this happening are rather small. Are you going to apply for this card? Why or why not? If you’re going to apply, will you use the public link or the preferred offer? Let us know in the comments.
Useful Pages:
- Barclay reconsideration phone numbers & tips for your reconsideration phone callsÂ
- Requesting a credit limit increases require a hard pull
- Barclaycard will usually not match sign up bonuses if you’ve recently applied, although it’s definitely still worth calling to ask. As always, hang up and try again a few times before giving in!
