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Over the past few years, credit card companies have continued to raise fees on luxury cards. Earlier this year, American Express raised the fee on the well-known American Express Platinum Card® to a whopping $895 (Rates & Fees), and the points and miles world was shocked at the high price point. Yet, there's a little-known card that blows that annual fee out of the water.
On September 30th, 2025, Barclays quietly “enhanced” its trio of Luxury Cards, including the Mastercard® Gold Card™, which now clocks in with a whopping $1,199 annual fee.
That enormous annual fee comes with quite a few benefits, but are they enough to justify the price tag? Let's take a look at everything this card offers so you can decide for yourself.
- Redeem at 2% value for airfare and 2% for cash back. Just 50,000 points will get you a $1,000 ticket on any airline or $1000 cash back, issued as a direct deposit statement credit.
- Earn 2X points on Airfare and Hotel reservations booked through LuxuryCardTravel.com. One point for every one dollar you spend for all other categories, earning points every time you spend.
- $300 Annual Airline Credit: Receive up to $300 in annual air travel credits toward flight-related purchases, including airline tickets, baggage fees, upgrades and more.
- $200 Annual Dining Credit: Get up to $200 in annual statement credits when you use your Luxury Card at qualifying restaurants.
- $200 Ship&Play Credit: Send your belongings ahead of time with Ship&Play and receive up to $200 in credits annually.
- Receive up to $120 reimbursment credit for a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® application for each Mastercard Gold Card Primary Cardmember and Authorized Users.
- 24/7 Luxury Card Concierge®: Exclusive to Cardmembers. Your busy life never stops, and neither do our Luxury Card Concierge agents. Enjoy around-the-clock lifestyle management and planning support tailored to your specific needs—and designed to save you time. Our personalized one-on-one service delivers solutions, suggestions and even surprises to make every day exceptional. Book the trip. Get the reservations. Score the tickets.
- With your Luxury Card, enjoy complimentary access to over 1,700 airport lounges and travel experiences in more than 600 cities across 145 countries with Priority Pass™ Select. Access includes unlimited visits for yourself as well as your guests.
- Made with 24K Gold®: Beautifully crafted and exceptionally premium, Luxury Card is a statement piece designed to stand out in the most refined way. Weighing in at an impressive 22 grams, its contactless patented card design and metal construction raises the standard. Carry a card with distinction.
- Exclusive Luxury Card Travel® benefits—average value of $500 per stay (e.g., resort credits, room upgrades, free wifi, breakfast for two and more) at over 3,000 properties. Receive protection benefits like trip cancellation and interruption, auto rental car collision waiver, travel accident and baggage delay. Cell phone protection for eligible claims of up to $1,000 each year. Plus additional World Elite Mastercard® benefits.
- Annual Fee: $1,199 ($349 for each Authorized User). Terms and conditions apply.
- Earn one point for every dollar spent
Mastercard Gold Card Pros
- Points can be redeemed for 2% on airfare when booked through myluxurycard.com
- The card itself is made with 24K gold
- Lounge access with unlimited guests
- Over $700 worth of annual statement credits
- No foreign transaction fees
Mastercard Gold Card Cons
- $1,199 annual fee
- Does not offer a welcome bonus
- No bonus categories to earn extra points
Mastercard Gold Card Welcome Bonus
Unfortunately — and maybe a bit shockingly — the Mastercard Gold Card does not come with a welcome bonus. Big welcome bonuses are a common way to justify a large annual fee, so the fact that this card doesn't come with one is a major disappointment.
So, if you're on the hunt for a massive welcome bonus, you'll have to look elsewhere.
However, it does offer a 0% introductory APR for the first fifteen billing cycles following each balance transfer that posts to your account within 45 days of account opening. After that, (and for balance transfers that do not post within 45 days of account opening) the APR will be 19.74% to 27.74%, based on your creditworthiness and other factors. This APR will vary with the market based on the Prime Rate.
Mastercard Gold Card Benefits
There are several benefits that come with the Mastercard Gold Card that help offset the $1,199 annual fee. Here's what you can expect with this card.
Annual dining credit
Get up to $200 per calendar year toward your statement balance when you use your Mastercard Gold Card to pay for dining purchases. This benefit excludes food delivery.
Annual airline credit
Get up to $300 per calendar year toward your statement balance for qualifying airline purchases made with your Mastercard Gold Card. Qualifying purchases include airfare, baggage fees, lounge access, and some in-flight purchases.
Related: Best Credit Cards with Travel Credits and Airline Incidental Credits
Ship&Play credit
Get up to $200 per calendar year as a statement credit when you use Ship&Play to ship your items to your destination and use your card to pay. Ship&Play lets you ship things like baby gear, skis, golf clubs, etc, to your final destination so you don't have to check them.
Double-dip on credits your first year
If you take advantage of each of these three credits once, that offsets $700 of the annual fee. However, because all of these benefits are offered once per calendar year, there is the potential to get each credit twice during one cardholder year.
For example, you could use the airline credit once in September, then again in March, and both of those would be within one cardholder year, ensuring you only pay the annual fee once. This would make these benefits worth $1,400, which is more than you'll pay for the annual fee.
Related: Your Complete Guide to Credit Card Statement Credits
Unlimited lounge access
Mastercard Gold Card holders receive a complimentary Priority Pass™ Select Membership, giving them access to over 1,700 airport lounges worldwide. Many other lounge access cards have cut back on guest access over the past few years, so having unlimited guests is a big perk that sets this card apart.
Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit
There are many cards that offer a statement credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck, and this card is no exception. Charge your Global Entry or TSA PreCheck enrollment fee to your card, and you'll be reimbursed within one to two billing cycles.
No foreign transaction fees
The Mastercard Gold Card has no foreign transaction fees when used outside the U.S., helping you save money while traveling internationally.
Travel insurances
This card offers multiple types of trip coverage (thanks to its Mastercard World Elite designation) in case anything goes wrong with your travel plans.
- Trip Cancellation/Trip Interruption: Secondary coverage when you use your eligible card. You can be reimbursed up to $5,000 per insured person for covered cancellations or interruptions.
- MasterRental Coverage: Secondary coverage for damages to an eligible rental car when the entire rental is paid with your card and you decline the rental agency coverage.
- Travel Accident Insurance: Up to $250,000 for eligible common carrier accidental death & dismemberment when you charge your entire trip to your card.
- Baggage Delay Insurance: Up to $100 a day (up to three days) for baggage delays of more than 4 hours.
Special offers
The Mastercard Gold Card comes with a few further perks, such as access to Priceless Golf, a monthly $5 Lyft credit, a monthly $3 Peacock credit, and cell phone protection when you use your card to pay your bill. These are also Mastercard World Elite benefits.
Mastercard Gold Card Earning Rates
The earning rates for the Mastercard Gold Card are not great. All spending earns just 1 point per $1 spent. The only time you will earn more than that is by using your card to purchase airfare through LuxuryCardTravel.com. In this case, you will earn 2X on your purchase.
Redeeming Points With the Mastercard Gold Card
There are two simple ways to redeem points with the Mastercard Gold Card, and both are worth 2%:
- When redeemed for airfare at LuxuryCardTravel.com, so every 10,000 points is worth $200 toward flights
- When redeemed for cash back
Paired with the 1x earnings on almost all purchases, this redemption rate means the Mastercard Gold Card is essentially a 2% cashback card.
The only way to get a better return than that is by paying for flights through LuxuryCardTravel.com, then using your earned points to book other flights through LuxuryCardTravel.com. This will give you a 4% return on your original spending — 2X for the original cash flights, then an additional 2% when those earned points are redeemed for flights.
Application Restrictions
The Mastercard Gold Card is issued by Barclays and includes the following eligibility information:
“You may not be eligible for this offer if you currently have or previously had an account with us in this Program.”
We also know that Barclays has some rules surrounding card eligibility, though they are not always consistent. Barclays tends to be picky about approvals if you have a high number of recent inquiries and/or high card balances. It also has a loose 6/24 rule, similar to Chase's 5/24 rule.
Related: Understanding Rewards Credit Card Application Rules and Restrictions
Cards that Compete With the Mastercard Gold Card
Now that you've seen all of this card information, you may be thinking that the Mastercard Gold Card with its huge annual fee isn't for you. If that's the case, here are some other suggestions which may be a better fit.
- If you want a premium card with a much lower fee, check out the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card. This card has a $395 annual fee and comes with a $300 travel credit, a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck statement credit, and earns 2 miles per dollar on every purchase, every day. It also has a good welcome offer, unlike the Mastercard Gold Card. Learn more in our full Capital One Venture X review.
- If you want a luxury card with a big welcome offer and more benefits, consider the American Express Platinum Card®. The Platinum Card® is a popular choice thanks to it's great welcome offers, plethora of statements credits, lounge access, luxury hotel perks, and more. Learn all about it in our comprehensive Platinum Card® review.
- If you want a travel card with better spending categories, look at the American Express® Gold Card. The Amex Gold earns 4X points at restaurants worldwide (on up to $50,000 per year, then 1X), 4X at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per year, then 1X), 3X points on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com, and 2X points on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com. Check out our full Amex Gold review.
- 10X miles per $1 on hotels and rental cars booked via Capital One Travel
- 5X miles per $1 on purchases through Capital One Entertainment
- 5X miles per $1 on flights when booking via Capital One Travel
- 5X miles per $1 on vacation rentals booked via Capital One Travel
- 2X miles per $1 on all other eligible purchases
(Terms apply)
- Earn 5X points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel® (up to $500,000 in purchases per calendar year).
- Earn 5X points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel®.
- Earn 5X points on Fine Hotels + Resorts® and The Hotel Collection bookings.
(Terms apply)
- 4X Membership Rewards® Points at restaurants worldwide, plus takeout and delivery in the U.S. (on up to $50,000 per year in purchases, then 1X)
- 4X Membership Rewards® points at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per year in purchases, then 1X)
- 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com
- 2X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid hotels and other eligible travel booked on amextravel.com
- 1X on other eligible purchases
Related: Comparison of Premium Travel Cards
Bottom Line
The lack of welcome offer on the Mastercard Gold Card makes the enormous $1,199 annual fee hard to stomach. However, if you take advantage of those calendar year credits twice and use the guest lounge access regularly, it may be worth it. The most important thing is to assess your travel style and how you'll use to benefits, and see if it's worth a spot in your wallet.
- Redeem at 2% value for airfare and 2% for cash back. Just 50,000 points will get you a $1,000 ticket on any airline or $1000 cash back, issued as a direct deposit statement credit.
- Earn 2X points on Airfare and Hotel reservations booked through LuxuryCardTravel.com. One point for every one dollar you spend for all other categories, earning points every time you spend.
- $300 Annual Airline Credit: Receive up to $300 in annual air travel credits toward flight-related purchases, including airline tickets, baggage fees, upgrades and more.
- $200 Annual Dining Credit: Get up to $200 in annual statement credits when you use your Luxury Card at qualifying restaurants.
- $200 Ship&Play Credit: Send your belongings ahead of time with Ship&Play and receive up to $200 in credits annually.
- Receive up to $120 reimbursment credit for a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® application for each Mastercard Gold Card Primary Cardmember and Authorized Users.
- 24/7 Luxury Card Concierge®: Exclusive to Cardmembers. Your busy life never stops, and neither do our Luxury Card Concierge agents. Enjoy around-the-clock lifestyle management and planning support tailored to your specific needs—and designed to save you time. Our personalized one-on-one service delivers solutions, suggestions and even surprises to make every day exceptional. Book the trip. Get the reservations. Score the tickets.
- With your Luxury Card, enjoy complimentary access to over 1,700 airport lounges and travel experiences in more than 600 cities across 145 countries with Priority Pass™ Select. Access includes unlimited visits for yourself as well as your guests.
- Made with 24K Gold®: Beautifully crafted and exceptionally premium, Luxury Card is a statement piece designed to stand out in the most refined way. Weighing in at an impressive 22 grams, its contactless patented card design and metal construction raises the standard. Carry a card with distinction.
- Exclusive Luxury Card Travel® benefits—average value of $500 per stay (e.g., resort credits, room upgrades, free wifi, breakfast for two and more) at over 3,000 properties. Receive protection benefits like trip cancellation and interruption, auto rental car collision waiver, travel accident and baggage delay. Cell phone protection for eligible claims of up to $1,000 each year. Plus additional World Elite Mastercard® benefits.
- Annual Fee: $1,199 ($349 for each Authorized User). Terms and conditions apply.
- Earn one point for every dollar spent
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: American Express Platinum Card® (Rates & Fees), and American Express® Gold Card (Rates & Fees)
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