The Barclaycard Arrival Plus^TM World Elite MasterCard is a relatively new offering geared towards the frequent traveler. It currently offers 40,000 bonus miles after you make at least $3,000 in purchases within the first 90 days of opening your account. With each mile worth a penny when redeemed towards travel, those 40,000 miles are worth $400 of travel statement credits.

Another nice feature of the card is that you’ll earn a 10% bonus whenever you redeem your miles for travel. For instance, when you redeem your 40,000 miles towards travel, you’ll receive an additional 4,000 bonus miles to use towards your next redemption.

Travel statement credit redemptions start at 2,500 miles for $25 and miles may be redeemed for for any travel purchase within the last 90 days. A charge is considered a travel purchase when the merchant fits into one of the following categories as determined by its merchant category code: “Airlines, Travel Agencies & Tour Operators, Hotels, Motels & Resorts, Cruise Lines, Passenger Railways and Car Rental Agencies.”

All purchases also earn 2 miles per dollar spent. So if you are always redeeming towards travel, the card essentially earns a 2.2% rebate on all purchases once you include the 10% bonus.

You do have the option of redeeming your points for merchandise or gift cards, but the value is so poor, it’s not recommended. When redeeming for statement credit, for instance, you’ll receive 1 cent for each 2 points, which is half the value you get compared to redeeming towards travel.

A few other noteworthy benefits include:

• No caps on earning or redeeming miles
• No foreign exchange fees
• Complimentary subscription to TripIt Pro mobile travel organizer

How does the card stack up to the competition?
The card seems to be a direct competitor to the Capital One Venture Card. Both cards earn double miles on all purchases, with miles that can be used towards travel expenses made within the past 90 days.

Both cards will waive their annual fee for the first year, though the Venture Card has a $59 annual fee, compared to the Arrival Card’s $89 annual fee. The Arrival card does have the 10% travel bonus redemption which the Venture card does not. So if you spend at least $15,000/year, the 10% bonus will offset the difference in annual fees. Right now, the Arrival card also has a much more lucrative sign-up bonus ($400 vs the $100 currently available on the Venture Card).

For more info or to apply for the Arrival Plus MasterCard, see this link.