What are the benefits of Barclays credit cards?

The Barclaycard travel benefits include auto rental insurance, travel accident insurance and no foreign transaction fees. There's also insurance for baggage delays and interrupted trips. These benefits come with several of Barclaycard's travel credit cards, including their entire World Elite Mastercard lineup.

These perks have a high dollar value but come with restrictions that you should be aware of.'… read full answer

Here are the biggest Barclaycard travel benefits:

• No foreign transaction fee: Most travel-oriented Barclaycards don't make you pay extra when you buy something outside the U.S. or from a merchant based in another country.
• Auto rental insurance: When you charge a car rental to an eligible Barclaycard and decline the rental company's insurance, you're covered for theft or damage up to the cash value of the car. Coverage is for rentals of up to 15 days in your home country and 31 days abroad. It doesn't apply in Israel, Jamaica, Ireland or Northern Ireland.
• Travel Accident Insurance: You're covered up to $250,000 for serious injury or death aboard commercial transport. You just have to charge the trip to your eligible Barclaycard. Coverage also applies to your spouse and dependent, unmarried children.
• Baggage delay insurance: If your Barclaycard offers this benefit, you can get reimbursed up to $100 per day, for up to three days per year, should your baggage get delayed. This benefit covers necessities like toiletries or clothing that you have to buy because you're bag-less. You'll have to show Chase proof of your purchases.
• Trip interruption insurance: You're covered up to $1,500 if you have to postpone or cancel a trip booked with an eligible Barclaycard for reasons you can't control. Covered reasons include accidental injury, disease and the death of a family member.
• Other benefits: Barclaycard's travel credit cards are all co-branded with specific airlines, cruise lines and resorts. Their benefits tend to focus on those companies. They include free checked bags, preferred boarding, and discounts on in-flight food and beverages.

The Barclaycard travel benefits cover you for mishaps large and small. And those benefits are on top of the potential rewards you may get for everyday purchases made with your credit card.

Barclaycard approval odds largely depend on your credit score, income and debt. All Barclays credit cards require a minimum of 700 or 750 credit score; this means you need either good or excellent credit to get approved for a Barclaycard. And that alone tells you the average American’s Barclaycard approval odds aren’t so hot. The average credit score is below 700, and you need to be above that mark for good Barclays approval odds.… read full answer

Here’s what you should know about your Barclaycard approval odds:

• Barclaycard will consider your credit history, income, existing debt and number of recent inquiries, among other things, when reviewing your application. The exact approval criteria for each card aren’t public, though.
• Some Barclaycards require excellent credit for approval.
• The vast majority of Barclaycard credit cards require at least good credit for approval.
• When applying, you must provide your permanent address, date of birth, Social Security number and mother’s maiden name.
• Business card applicants must provide their company’s legal name, trade name and phone number, plus how many employees they have, how long they’ve been in business, and their annual revenue.
• You can’t check if you’re pre-approved for a Barclaycard. You could receive a pre-approved offer in the mail, but there’s no way to request that.
• You should check your latest credit score before applying. If it’s not good enough for a Barclaycard yet, you’ll want to look into other cards for building credit.

The best thing you can do for your Barclaycard approval odds is use credit responsibly. Paying down balances, making payments on time and not maxing out your existing cards all help your chances. And if Barclaycards aren’t a realistic option right now, you still have choices. Plenty of other credit card companies have offers for people with fair, limited and bad credit.

You can get a Barclaycard credit limit increase either online or by calling the number you see on the back of your card. You’re not guaranteed an increase with either method, but there’s a good way to estimate your chances. It is also possible to get an automatic credit limit increase from Barclays.… read full answer

How to Request a Barclaycard Credit Limit Increase:

1. Log in to your Barclaycard account.
2. Click on the “Services” tab.
3. Click on “Request credit line increase.”
4. On the next page, click on “Request a credit line increase” again.
5. Enter the amount of additional credit you’d like, along with your occupation, employer, length of employment, and total annual income.
6. Review your information and submit the request.

To get a Barclays credit limit increase by phone, call the number on the back of your card. Then, verify your identity with your card number and Social Security number, and tell the Barclays representative you’d like a credit limit increase. You will then need to answer questions about your employment and income.

Barclaycard Credit Limit Increase Approval Odds:

You’re more likely to get a Barclaycard credit limit increase if you’ve had your account for at least 6 months, you’ve always paid on time, and you haven’t seen any big drops in your credit score recently. Just keep in mind that if you ask for an increase, Barclaycard will do a hard inquiry into your credit report, which will cause a temporary drop in your score.

The same conditions for high approval odds apply to automatic credit limit increases, too. However, automatic increases will only result in a harmless, soft credit check.

Here’s What to Expect After a Barclaycard Credit Limit Increase Request:

It’s possible to get an instant decision on your Barclaycard credit limit increase request. But it can also take up to 10 business days to hear back by email. If your request gets denied, you can ask again once a month has passed. Just don’t forget that each request will result in a hard pull of your credit, which may temporarily damage your credit score, especially when there are lots of them in a short period of time.

With that being said, getting a credit limit increase can be great because it reduces your credit utilization if you keep your spending the same, or allows you to spend more without increasing your utilization.