The Differences Between the Arrival Card and Venture Card

I write a lot about the Barclaycard Arrival PlusTM World Elite MasterCard® and very little about the Capital One Venture Card.

Superficially the two cards are similar. Both offer miles that can be redeemed for any flight, hotel, car rental, or other travel expense.

Plus the Venture Card has had a sustained TV advertisement blitz for several years that seems to have gotten through to most people. So a lot of people assume the two cards are identical or just as good as each other.

Barclaycard Arrival World MasterCard Offering 7 Miles Per Dollar on Gas, Restaurants, and More

Update 2/21/14: The minimum spending requirement is now $3,000 in the first 90 days to unlock the 40,000 bonus miles.

Big Spenders Should Use One of These Three Cards, and They Probably Aren’t

Update 1/27/15: Some links have been removed from this post if the offer is expired.

There are only three cards big spenders should be using unless they have huge expenditures the would reap category bonuses. I'll call them cards 1, 2a, and 2b.

1. Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard®

2a. United Club Card

2b.