Barclaycard Ameriprise World Elite MasterCard Review (Discontinued)
Last updated January 17, 2013.
The Facts
The Math
The card returns a decent 1.5%; however, there are several cards that return higher value for general spending, such as Fidelity Amex.
For card members who got the card before 2012, the Priority Pass Select membership (for both primary card member and authorized user) has been extended for 3.5 years and the new airline credit feature makes the card even more valuable. It shouldn't be too hard to spend $36,000 a year and get up to $400 credit (for the current year and next year) which more than cancels out the annual fee.
For new members, however, unless you are an Achiever Circle Elite and have an annual fee waived, there is no compelling reason to open this card.
The Conclusion
A good card to keep for people got the 3.5 years extension for their Priority Pass Select. But for the new card members, this card is much less attractive.
The Facts
- Annual Fee: $150, waived for Ameriprise Achiever Circle Elite clients
- Signup Bonus: 1,000 points
- Rewards: 1x everywhere
- Best Use of Ameriprise Rewards points: you can redeem Ameriprise Rewards points for merchandise, gift cards, cash, or travel for up to 1 cent per point. However, the best redemption is to deposit them into your Ameriprise account to earn 1.5% cash back.
- Other Benefits: Since the launch of this card several years ago, the most attractive feature of the card was the Priority Pass Select membership that gives unlimited free airport lounge access. It was reported that an additional user also got his/her own Priority Pass, which was a great deal. Please see our featured review to learn more about airport lounge access. However, starting January 2012, Priority Pass discontinued the contract with Ameriprise, so Priority Pass Select has been unavailable to new card members. Ameriprise worked out a plan to extend the Priority Pass Select membership until June 30, 2015 for its existing card members, which is a good gesture. To compensate for loss of Priority Pass and continue to justify the annual fee, Ameriprise introduced a new feature starting January 2012 - an annual $50 airline incidental credit for all members and an additional $150 credit for members who spend more than $36,000 in the current or previous year.
- Standard World Elite MasterCard Benefits.
- The History: After Ameriprise WEMC came out in 2008, it quickly became very popular for airport lounge access due to its low annual fee compared to other similar cards and the potential waiver. At that time Priority Pass obtained from an US financial institution included United, Continental, US Air, Delta, and many other international lounges. However, with Delta's departure in 2009 and rebranded Priority Pass Select to exclude United and Continental starting October, 2011, the card is becoming less valuable, just like any other premium cards that offer Priority Pass. Starting 2012, Priority Pass Select was discontinue to offer to new card members.
The Math
The card returns a decent 1.5%; however, there are several cards that return higher value for general spending, such as Fidelity Amex.
For card members who got the card before 2012, the Priority Pass Select membership (for both primary card member and authorized user) has been extended for 3.5 years and the new airline credit feature makes the card even more valuable. It shouldn't be too hard to spend $36,000 a year and get up to $400 credit (for the current year and next year) which more than cancels out the annual fee.
For new members, however, unless you are an Achiever Circle Elite and have an annual fee waived, there is no compelling reason to open this card.
The Conclusion
A good card to keep for people got the 3.5 years extension for their Priority Pass Select. But for the new card members, this card is much less attractive.