Barclays Emirates Skywards Rewards World Elite Mastercard® Credit Card Overview
[2023.10 Update] A record high sign-up bonus of 60k has appeared.
[Updated 2021.9] The 50k sign-up bonus has expired. Currently, there is only a 30k regular sign-up bonus.
[Updated 2021.2] This card has a new sign-up bonus today. You can get 50,000 miles by spending $3000 within 90 days of opening the card.
Application Link
feature
- 60k sign-up bonus: Earn 60,000 EK Miles after spending $3,000 or more within 90 days of account opening.This is the highest sign-up bonus for this card.
- The EK Miles earned with this card are worth about 1.2 cents/mile (reference Airline Miles Valuation). Therefore, the maximum sign-up bonus of 60k is worth about $720. For details on how to use EK miles, please refer to "EK Miles Redemption Guide》.
- You can earn 3x EK Miles on purchases at EK (Emirates), 2x points on hotels, car rentals and other airline purchases, and 1x on all other purchases.
- In the first year of card holding, you will be given Emirates Silver membership (Silver cardholders can enjoy EK business class lounge at Dubai Airport). After that, you need to spend $20k every year to maintain membership.
- EK miles do not expire during the card period.
- No Foreign Transaction Fee (FTF).
shortcoming
- The annual fee is $99, and the first year's annual fee is not waived.
Recommended application time
- Barclays places great emphasis on recent Hard Pulls and recommends applying when the number of Hard Pulls within 6 months is less than 6, although this is not a strict rule.
- [6/24 rule] Similar to Chase’s 5/24 rule, Barclays will also reject you if you have 6 or more new accounts within 24 months. However, unlike Chase, Barclays’ rule is not strictly enforced and there are often counter-examples.
- It is recommended that you apply after having a credit history of more than one year.
- Theoretically, only Permanent Residents (green card holders or citizens) can apply for Barclays credit cards. The screenshot below is from the application details. In fact, the bank does not really verify whether you are a green card holder or citizen. Non-green card holders can also apply, but at their own risk.
Summarize
The current sign-up bonus is not very attractive. The first year is equivalent to paying the annual fee to buy a silver card membership, and you have to spend more to maintain it. People who often take EK should be able to reach the membership easily. The only benefit is to save points... Two words: a crappy card...
Related credit cards
- Barclays Emirates Skywards Rewards (this article)
- Barclays Emirates Skywards Premium
After applying
- Barclays can check the status of your application Click here.
- Barclays reconsideration backdoor number: 866-408-4064. Barclays will like to ask you various questions in detail, so you must be confident about your personal situation and credit report. In addition, their reconsideration is likely to hard pull again, but they will also inform you in advance, so you can use your own discretion.
Sign-up bonus trend chart
Application Link
END