Credit Card Reviews

Money at 30: Barclays View Credit Card Review

by Kyle BurbankNov 1, 2022

“Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.”

From time to time, credit card issuers are forced to make changes to their product line-up. For example, while a bank may have previously partnered with another company for a co-branded card, the rights to that portfolio may have been sold to another issuer — or the brand just gets out of the credit card game altogether. That was the case in 2021 as the Barclays Apple Rewards card (which Apple basically replaced themselves with the release of the Apple Card) and the Uber Visa were both discontinued. In their place, the bank moved existing cardholders to a brand new card: the Barclays View credit card.

At this time, the View Mastercard is not available to new applicants. But, just in case that ever changes, let’s take a look at what the Barclays View offers and whether or not it’s a solid replacement for what came before it.

Barclays View Mastercard Review

How I Came to Hold to Barclays View Card

When the Uber Visa was released in 2017, it quickly became my favorite rewards card. In its heyday, the card offered 4x on dining, 3x on hotel bookings and airfare, 2x on online purchases and Uber rides, and 1x on everything else. Plus, when you spent $5,000 on the card in a year, you’d earn up to $50 in statement credit toward streaming purchases. For a no-annual-fee card, that was pretty damn strong. Sadly, the card underwent a pretty significant downgrade in 2019 — and then, as mentioned, was put to rest in 2021.

That’s how I came to add the Barclays View to my wallet. With that context, how does the card stack up to the one I initially applied for?

Rewards

The Barclays View Mastercard has three main rewards categories. They are:

• 3x on dining (including takeout and delivery)
• 2x on Internet, select streaming, phone, and TV services
• 2x on grocery purchases (excluding Target and Walmart)

Per usual, all other purchases earn 1x.

As for what counts as a “select streaming service,” Barclays current list (as of November 2022) includes:

*I find it pretty ponderous that ESPN+ and Hulu are included on this list while Disney+ is absent. Just saying.

In fairness to the View card, its 3x on dining category matches what the Uber card offered after its 2019 update. Unfortunately, since there are plenty of other cards that can earn consumers 2% back on all purchases, the other categories here are fairly moot. Furthermore, while streaming may seem like a useful category these days, I’d suspect that most people don’t really spend as much on these services as they might on other categories that might prove more rewarding. Finally, the grocery category — while still moot per my previous argument — is a pretty practical perk for those who don’t have other rewards cards.

Redeeming rewards

Although the Barclays View is a cashback card, the rewards are technically earned as points. Then, these points can be redeemed for statement credits, deposits to external bank accounts, gift cards, and more. However, a downside is that deposits and statement credit redemptions start at 2,500. In other words, you’ll need to amass at least $25 in rewards before you can cash out (to be fair, this was also the case with the Uber Visa). Meanwhile, gift card redemptions do vary — but, even on sale, most require at least 2,250 points.

Foreign transaction fees

Another thing I loved about my Uber Visa card was the fact that it didn’t charge any foreign transaction fees. To my surprise, it seems that the Barclays View doesn’t either. Although this perk isn’t highlighted on the card’s landing page, looking at my Cardmember Agreement, it does state that the foreign transaction fee is 0%. So, good on Barclays for keeping this benefit intact.

Billing due date

In the midst of my efforts to get an answer to my foreign transaction fee question, I happened to notice a random feature on the Barclays site worth mentioning: the ability to change your billing due date. Oddly, not every date of the month is an option, but it seems remarkably simple to request a swap to a part of the month that might better fit your cash flow. Pretty cool.

Final Thoughts on the Barclays View Mastercard

Truth be told: if my Barclays account wasn’t one of my older accounts and didn’t have a sizeable limit, I probably would have closed the account. Considering the other cards I already have in my wallet — namely the Amex Gold and Capital One SavorOne — I really have little use for the View’s reward categories. On that note, I’d say the card is most comparable to the SavorOne, except that card features 3x on dining, entertainment, groceries, and streaming services. Therefore, I’d definitely recommend that option over this one.

As a fill-in for a pair of cards that are no more, I suppose the Barclays View card works well enough. However, there’s clearly a reason why the company hasn’t expanded this card to new customers and that’s because it’s really not that competitive or interesting. So, in the event that they ever do decide to open the View Mastercard up to applicants, I’d advise you to look elsewhere.

“Fioney has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Fioney.com and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.” (Note: advertising relationships do not have any influence on editorial content. Advertising compensation allows Fioney.com to provide quality content for free. All editorial opinions are those of the individual author and/or Fioney staff.)

Author

Kyle Burbank

Head Writer ~ Fioney

Kyle is the head writer for Fioney. He is a personal finance nerd, constantly looking for new apps and services to test and incorporate into his own financial game plan. In addition to his role at Fioney, he's written for other publications including Born2Invest, Lifehack, and Laughing Place, as well as his own site Money@30. He also creates personal finance and travel-related videos for Fioney's YouTube channel, which has garnered more than 2 million views. Currently, Kyle resides in Springfield, Missouri with his wife of 10 years. Together, they enjoy traveling (including visiting Disney Parks around the world), dining, and playing with their dog Rigby.

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