Mastercard Titanium Card Review

Full Review of Mastercard Titanium Card

Pros & Cons

Company Overview

Mastercard has been around since the late 1940s when a handful of U.S. banks came together to promote the idea of enabling their customers to make purchases with something other than cash. The original "Mastercard" was really nothing more than a special piece of paper. Titanium goes well beyond that with its stainless steel and carbon cards.

Mastercard International was born in 1966 when some of those initial banks formed the Interbank Card Association (ICA), which evolved into the Mastercard brand. The Mastercard Titanium card is issued by Barclays, which traces back to two London goldsmith bankers who went into business in 1690.

Pros Explained

• Introductory 0% APR on Balance Transfers: Balance transfers that post to your account in the first 45 days of opening it get a 0% APR for the first 15 billing cycles beginning with the date of transfer. This is far from the longest 0% balance transfer offer on the market, and there isn't a promotional APR offer on purchases. But it's a decent offer for a rewards credit card.
• Solid Points Rewards: The points you earn with the Mastercard Titanium card can be redeemed at a value of 2 cents per point if you redeem them for airfare. This is a fairly rich and rare redemption value. Other redemption options like cash back or statement credits only receive 1 cent per point value, which is a common but unexciting value proposition.  
• Ample Premium Benefits: You’d expect a card costing nearly two hundred dollars a year to have plenty of extra features, and the Mastercard Titanium card satisfies that expectation. Leading the way is a Luxury Card Concierge to “assist you with travel bookings, various personal requests and more...24/7 with no hidden fees.” Included insurance benefits include coverage for baggage delays, cell phones, trip cancellations and interruptions, travel accidents, and rental car collision waivers.

Cons Explained

• $195 Annual Fee: The Mastercard Titanium card charges a $195 annual fee from the time you get it.There's no waiver for the first year as some cards offer. This fee is on the high side for the card’s relatively low rewards earning rate. That said, it does offer a package of benefits that's not easy to find on any one card, even among those that charge an annual fee. And the Mastercard Titanium card is a positive bargain compared with the Mastercard Gold card that has an annual fee of $995. That card allows you to get 2 cents per point when redeeming for airfare as well as cashback or statement credits. It comes with a 24k plated card but it presents a bigger challenge to justify the cost.
• No One-Time Offer: This card doesn’t offer points or cash as an incentive upon first purchase or after meeting an initial spending requirement. That’s extremely rare for a rewards credit card, especially one with a fairly high annual fee. Almost all such high-end cards offer bonuses worth more than $1,000 in exchange for a required amount of spending.

Who This Card Is Best For

The Mastercard Titanium card is for travelers who seek a full range of benefits and credits in a single card. But its $195 price tag and stylish materials and design also make it a good choice for those who are happy to pay a steep premium for bling value. The ideal cardholder is likely to be someone who is somewhat ambivalent about the value of the rewards they earn because they could potentially earn more rewards with other cards.

Rewards Earning Details

You’ll earn 1 point per dollar spent on all purchases with no bonus categories. That's a low number for any card, let alone one with a fee this steep. There's no limit to the number of points you can earn. Your points won’t expire as long as your account is open, active, and in good standing. 

Rewards Redemption Details

You'll technically enjoy many reward redemption options with this card, but one stands out as offering the highest value for your points; redeeming your points for airfare results in a value of 2 cents per point. All other redemptions result in lower valuations, which are typically 1 cent per point. Those redemption alternatives include hotels, car rentals, cash back as a direct deposit, cash back as a statement credit, gift cards, and merchandise.

Visit LuxuryCard.com or call the customer service number on the back of your card to redeem your points. Redemptions start at 50 points for airfare redemption and 100 points for cash back, statement credits, hotel stays, and car rental redemptions. Gift cards and merchandise minimums depend on the specific item for which you choose to redeem your points.

How to Maximize Your Rewards

All purchases earn 1 point per dollar spent, so there’s little to do to boost your return on rewards other than to use your Mastercard Titanium card often. Use your points for airfare rather than other redemption options to maximize the value of your redemptions and realize a value of 2 cents per point. That's double the point value for all other options.

Mastercard Titanium Card's Outstanding Benefits

• 24/7 concierge: Accessible by phone, live chat, and email to help meet your needs, including research, finding difficult information, arranging special experiences, and more.
• Baggage delay and trip cancellation and interruption coverage: You may be eligible for reimbursement of covered items for up to $100 a day for a maximum of three qualifying days and qualifying baggage delays of more than 4 hours from the time you arrive at your travel destination. Arrival at your primary residence is excluded. Coverage is secondary.
• Cell phone protection: Get supplemental coverage for eligible damage or theft of eligible devices.

Standard Benefits

• Auto rental collision damage waiver
• Travel accident insurance
• Travel assistance

Cardholder Experience

Barclays, which issues this card, was ranked seventh in the 2021 J.D. Power Credit Card Satisfaction Study, lower than the average for all national card issuers. The bank offers access to customer service 24 hours a day, seven days a week, which is standard for major card issuers. You’ll also get free access to your FICO credit score, which is the score that most lenders use in lending decisions. Check your score regularly to know where you stand and what you can do to make improvements.

You can reach customer service by calling 844-589-2273 or you can manage your account online or with the Luxury Card app, created by the company that manages the card’s rewards and benefits.

Security Features

This card's security features meet the industry standard. The card offers Mastercard ID Theft Protection benefits to help replace your card and notify the credit agencies if you find yourself a victim of identity theft. In addition, your card has chip-and-PIN capability, which allows you to make purchases at unattended terminals abroad that may only accept chip-and-PIN transactions.

Fees to Watch out For

The Mastercard Titanium card's $195 annual fee is higher than other cards that offer better rewards and similar benefits. Make sure you consider the balance transfer fee of $5 or 3% of the amount of each balance transfer, whichever is greater, if you plan to take advantage of the 0% APR offer. That’s a standard fee for most cards, but a few dedicated balance transfer cards charge no balance transfer fees during an introductory period. They may not offer credit card rewards, however.

Final Verdict

You might be able to justify this card’s $195 annual fee if you plan to use the ample benefits the Mastercard Titanium card offers regularly and if you redeem your rewards points solely for airfare. Otherwise, you could probably net more value from a card with no annual fee that offers 1.5% cash back on all spending, or get similar travel benefits from other premium travel cards that have significantly lower annual fees.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Mastercard Titanium Card Worth It?

It can depend on why and for what you use the card. It can definitely be worth it if you travel a good deal, thanks to its 2-cents-per-point airfare redemption, as well as its hotel and car rental perks and lack of foreign transaction fees. The high annual fee might not be worth it otherwise.

What Are the Benefits of the Mastercard Titanium Card?

The 0% APR on balance transfers is a nice perk, although it's only available for 15 billing cycles for transfers made during the first 45 days of establishing your account. It's money saved all the same. And the travel-related benefits are excellent, addressing the costs of trip delays and cancellations, as well as accidents on the road, even if they just involve your cell phone.

How Much Is the Credit Limit of the Mastercard Titanium card?

Credit limits are set depending on personal factors, including the cardholder's income and credit profile. They're determined on a one-on-one basis. The more you earn and the more spotless your credit history is, the greater your credit limit will typically be.

How Do You Qualify for a Titanium Mastercard?

The Titanium Mastercard is reserved for those with good to excellent credit. This means that your credit score should be a minimum of about 740, although you might have a little wiggle room, depending on the rest of your credit profile. Your job, your current financial commitments and even your age can factor in as well. Barclay's indicates that it will also consider the way you've managed your account or accounts if you're an existing customer.

Methodology

We objectively assess, score and weigh nearly 100 individual card features to rate credit cards. This rolls up into five major feature sets: fees, interest, rewards, benefits and security/customer service. You can read the full version of our methodology for a more in-depth look at how we assess cards and award them the best in various categories.