Barclays Arrival MasterCard VS NFCU Flagship VISA

[lmhenry1]

Hi All

I currently have the Barclays US Airways MasterCard and NFCU Cash Rewards Card. Speculation after the airline merger suggests that Barclays will Change my MasterCard to the Arrival Card. My question is when and if this happens which card is better the Arrival Card or Flagship Card from NFCU. To me they seem the same but I don't have either, the flagship seems cheaper in terms of the annual fee and recent point structure change. I have the BCP from Amex now so My 1% NFCU card is unattractive but is my highest limit.I could PC to either product What do you guys think?

[azguy13]

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@lmhenry1 wrote:
Hi All

I currently have the Barclays US Airways MasterCard and NFCU Cash Rewards Card. Speculation after the airline merger suggests that Barclays will Change my MasterCard to the Arrival Card. My question is when and if this happens which card is better the Arrival Card or Flagship Card from NFCU. To me they seem the same but I don't have either, the flagship seems cheaper in terms of the annual fee and recent point structure change. I have the BCP from Amex now so My 1% NFCU card is unattractive but is my highest limit.I could PC to either product What do you guys think?

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I have not had either, but keep in mind that the Flagship is a Visa Signature and it will not report your credit limit to the CRA

[Torii]

Actually, the NFCU Flagship Siggy DOES report your CL.

[DaveSignal]

There is an arrival version with no annual fee too.  I would switch to that.  I don't have it, but have been looking at this card repeatedly.  If I didn't already have good travel cards that already do similar, I would apply.

[azguy13]

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@Torii wrote:

Actually, the NFCU Flagship Siggy DOES report your CL.

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My apologies. I was under the impression that all Visa Signature cards did not report their CL's. I am also considering the Flagship and that was a large con to it. But now that I know it DOES report the CL, it is back near the top of my list. Thanks Torii.

[Torii]

No worries azguy13. One thing to consider with NFCU is that you can ask for a CLI at anytime but you can only ask for an APR reduction every 12 months. However, I enjoy the card a lot. Downsides are that the telephone CSR are hit or miss: they either rock or can't wait to get you off the phone. I enjoy going to the local branch and interfacing with them there, I find it a less rushed experience. Other than the here-and-there Visa Siggy perks (like a prescreening of the latest Star Trek) I don't use any of the other benefits. I also find their fraud protection system sub-par compared to the CSP (its an automated phone call to my home). The annual fee is decent but the points are *meh*. About two months ago they said "HEY! You now ever TWO points for every dollar spent." Then doubled the points redemption level i.e. a $50 gift card was 5,000 points, now it's 10,000.