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50,000
Points as welcome offer
Up to 15x
Points
$0
Annual fee
15.99%, 20.74% or 25.74%
Purchase APR (variable)
Annual fee | $0 |
---|---|
Welcome offer | 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 90 days 25,000 bonus points after spending $2,000 on purchases in the first 180 days |
Rewards | 15x points at Choice Privileges with membership, 5x points on Choice Privileges points or gift cards and 2x points on all other purchases |
Purchase APR | 15.99%, 20.74% or 25.74% variable |
Balance transfer APR | 0% intro for the first fifteen billing cycles (then 15.99%, 20.74% or 25.74% variable) |
Minimum Credit Score | 670 |
Issuer | Visa |
Review by
Kevin Joey Chen was a credit cards, banking and investments writer for Finder. His work and analysis have appeared on CNN, U.S. News & World Report, Business.com, Lifehacker and CreditCards.com.
A simple way to sum up this card? Points, points and more points.
First, you get a decent signup bonus worth up to four nights at select properties. Then comes the annual bonus of 8,000 points each account year in which you spend $10,000 or more. And along with complimentary Gold status in the Choice Privileges loyalty program, you’ll receive 10% more points each time you book at more than 6,500 Choice Hotels properties.
Because conditional approval is automated online, you can typically see an immediate decision on your application. In rare cases, you may need to wait a few business days to a few weeks until Barclays manually approves your application.
After approval, expect your card by mail within seven to 10 business days. If you’re in a hurry, contact Barclays to pay a $15 fee for expedited shipping.
Earn 50,000 bonus points after you spend $1,000 in the first 90 days of card membership. That’s enough points for a four nights at select properties.
Earn a whopping 15x points at Choice Privileges properties, 5x points for Choice Privilege points purchases and Choice Hotel gift cards and 2x points on all other purchases.
Earn 8,000 bonus points every year that spend at least $10,000 with your card by your account anniversary date.
Get 10% bonus points with each stay at a Choice Hotel.
You get all these perks without paying an annual fee for the card.
Every year, you’re automatically upgraded to Gold status in the Choice Privileges loyalty program. At this status tier, you get access to an exclusive reservations and customer service phone number. You can also book reward nights 50 days in advance. Typically, you can book only 30 days in advance.
Get a 0% intro APR for fifteen billing cycles on balance transfers that post within the first 45 days. Balance transfers are still subject to a fee of $5 or 3% of the transaction, whichever is greater. After that, a variable APR of 15.99%, 20.74% or 25.74% applies.
Call Visa 24/7 for assistance with dining, travel and entertainment reservations.
You’re not responsible for unauthorized charges you report to Visa.
For reward nights at Choice Hotels, points are typically worth between 0.4 and 0.8 cents apiece according to the provider website as of October 2018. This value falls well below the industry average of 1 point for 1 cent.
When you redeem points for other rewards, you’ll often get an even lower rate. For example, you can purchase a $16 AARP membership for 5,000 points. That’s a value of 0.3 cents per point. Similarly, a $50 Amazon gift card costs 16,000 points, which comes out to 0.3 cents per point.
You can redeem points for nights with Choice Privileges properties that include:
Redeem your Choice Privileges points for rewards that include:
Eligible balance transfers must post to your account within 45 days of card membership. Otherwise, you won’t get the 0% intro APR period for fifteen billing cycles. The standard variable APR on balance transfers is 15.99%, 20.74% or 25.74%, which applies after the intro APR period expires.
Each balance transfer comes with a fee of $5 or 3% of the transaction, whichever is greater. That means a $1,000 balance transfer will cost $30 in fees. Know that it can take up to four weeks for balance transfers to post to your account.
If your requested balance transfers exceed your available credit limit, Barclays may either decline your request or accept a partial amount. You’re not allowed to transfer balances from another Barclays account.
If you request a balance transfer along with your application and change your mind, call Barclays within 10 days of card approval to cancel it.
To apply for the card, you must be at least 18 years old and a US resident. Residents of Puerto Rico and US territories are not eligible.
You’ll need to provide information that includes your:
Apply with a good to excellent credit score of 670 or higher to increase your chance of approval and to get stronger APR and a higher credit limit.
The Better Business Bureau accredited Barclays in 2001 and rates them with an A+. Barclays earns a composite score of 3.77 out of 5 that accounts for customer reviews and the BBB’s own rating. Most complaints revolve around poor customer service for the bank in general, while almost all positive reviews praise customer support. Overall, your mileage may vary when it comes to Barclays customer support.
If you’re a regular at Choice Hotels, this is an excellent card for points multiples on your stays. Through consistent bookings, you’ll accumulate points that you can redeem toward reward nights and other perks.
If you rarely stay at Choice Hotels, consider a general travel rewards card. That way, you won’t have to spend with Choice Hotels to maximize your points.
2 Comments
September 11, 2018
Can i use this card for gas and groceries or other everyday things?
September 11, 2018
Hi Jason,
Thank you for reaching out to finder.
Yes, you can definitely use Choice Privileges® Visa Signature® card for regular purchases like gas and groceries. You can also earn 2 points per $1 spent on any other regular purchases you make using this card. You can find this information on the card’s terms and conditions.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Charisse