Mastercard Titanium Card Review

Full Review of Mastercard Titanium Card

Pros Explained

• Introductory 0% APR on Balance Transfers: Balance transfers that post to your account in the first 45 days of account opening get a 0% APR for the first 15 billing cycles from 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. Still, 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, which 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, if 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 in 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 considering it has an annual fee of $995. That card allows you to get for 2 cents per point when redeeming for airfare as well as cash back or statement credits and comes with a 24k plated card but 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 proffer bonuses worth north of $1,000 in exchange for a required amount of spending.

Mastercard Titanium card is for travelers who seek a full range of benefits and credits in a single card. But its $195 price tab and stylish materials and design make it also 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, as 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, a low number for any card, let alone one with a fee this steep. There is 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 technically have 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.

To redeem your points, visit MyLuxuryCard.com or call the customer service number on the back of your card. 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 except to use your Mastercard Titanium card often. To maximize the value of your redemptions, use your points for airfare, rather than other redemption options, in order to realize a value of 2 cents per point—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.
• Airport meet and assist: Get through airport procedures in an expedited fashion with a professional representative escorting you through the process.
• Baggage delay- and trip cancellation and interruption coverage: You may be eligible for reimbursement of covered items for up to $100 a day (to a maximum of three qualifying days) for 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
• Discounts or benefits from companies like Lyft, Boxed, ShopRunner, Fandango and Onefinestay
• Travel accident insurance
• Travel assistance

Cardholder Experience

Barclays, which issues this card, was ranked fifth in the 2019 J.D. Power Credit Card Satisfaction Study, with an overall rating on par with 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 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. If you plan to take advantage of the 0% APR offer, make sure you consider the balance transfer fee of $5 or 3% of the amount of each balance transfer, whichever is greater. While that’s a standard fee for most cards, a few dedicated balance-transfer cards charge no balance-transfer fee during an introductory period, but they may not offer credit card rewards.

Our Verdict

If you plan to use the ample benefits the Mastercard Titanium card offers regularly, and you redeem your rewards points solely for airfare, you might be able to justify this card’s $195 annual fee. 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.