Mastercard® Gold Card™ review: An overpriced status symbol
If it’s status you’re after, this gold-plated card might be worth it but only if you can afford the annual fee.
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Snapshot
2.9
Bottom line
This card offers impressive perks that help it live up to its reputation as a status symbol. But when it comes to overall value, other cards exceed the Mastercard Gold card in many areas with a smaller annual fee.
on Luxury Card's secure site
See Rates & FeesIntro offer
N/A
Rewards rate
1 point
Annual fee
$995 ($295 for each Authorized User added to the account)
Regular APR
20.24% to 28.24% Variable APR on purchases and balance transfers, based on your creditworthiness and other factors
4.2
Cardholder rating
Extra perks
Meets needs
Online tools
Customer service
2.9
Bankrate score
Rewards value
APR
Rewards flexibility
Features
Reward Details
Card Details
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Mastercard Gold Card overview
The exclusive benefits of luxury credit cards are reserved for ultrawealthy cardholders. Unless you meet many issuers’ mystery requirements and receive an invitation, these cards can be closed off to you even if you have excellent credit.
The Mastercard® Gold Card™ provides an opportunity to snag one of these “status symbol” elite cards. The Mastercard Gold is the top-of-the-line luxury card offered by Barclays. But is this card worth the massive $995 ($295 for each Authorized User added to the account) annual fee, or is it just a way to flash your status? Read on to see if the Mastercard Gold is worth its literal weight in gold compared to other premium travel credit cards.
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Rewards
- 1X points on all purchases
Expert Appraisal: Unimpressive
See our expert analysis -
0% intro APR offer
- 0 percent intro APR for 15 billing cycles on balance transfers made within 45 days of account opening
- After that, variable APR of 20.24% to 28.24% Variable APR on purchases and balance transfers, based on your creditworthiness and other factors
Expert Appraisal: Unimpressive
See our expert analysis -
Rates and fees
- Annual fee: $995
- Balance transfer fee: Either $5 or 5 percent of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater
- Cash advance fee: Either $10 or 5 percent of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater
- Foreign transaction fee: $0
- Late/returned payment fee: up to $40
Expert Appraisal: Unimpressive
See our expert analysis -
Other cardholder perks
- Up to $120 automatic statement credit for Global Entry or TSA Precheck® application fees
- Up to $200 in annual air travel credit toward flight-related purchases including airline tickets, baggage fees, upgrades and more
- Priority Pass Select airport lounge access
- Luxury Card Travel program offers up to $500 in benefits and services at more than 3,000 properties.
- Cellphone protection
- Travel protections: Trip cancellation or interruption insurance, baggage delay insurance, travel accident insurance and auto rental collision waiver coverage
Expert Appraisal: Good
See our expert analysis
Mastercard Gold Card pros and cons
Pros
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This card has a comprehensive set of luxury travel benefits.
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You’ll get a decent intro APR offer on balance transfers if you need to consolidate debt.
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You can redeem unlimited points for 2 cents-per-point value on airfare and cash back redemptions.
Cons
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The value of this card doesn’t match that of other high-end luxury premium cards.
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You can get equal or better earning rates on cards with no annual fee.
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This card has one of the highest annual fees on the market.
Why you might want the Mastercard Gold Card
The Mastercard Gold is primarily a status symbol, but you may want it if you prefer luxury benefits while traveling, as its perks are its main selling points.
Perks: Luxurious features to travel in style
The Mastercard Gold’s portfolio of benefits offers much more value than the card’s rewards program if you take advantage of the travel perks. While it still doesn’t measure up to other premium travel cards, especially considering the much higher annual fee, the benefits are the card's best feature.
The Mastercard Gold’s offerings are geared toward providing luxury while traveling. You can improve your airport experience with credit toward either Global Entry or TSA Precheck, Priority Pass lounge access and an annual airfare credit that is easy to use and covers a wide range of expenses.
The luxury perks don’t end once you arrive at your destination. You’ll have 24/7 access to concierge services that can help secure high-demand reservations or events, arrange various services or make recommendations about how to enjoy your experience to the fullest. If you book through the Luxury Card Travel program, you can get additional value with room upgrades, daily breakfast for two, late checkout and other unique property amenities. You can also access Mastercard Priceless experiences, such as Priceless Golf, which gives you access to over 1,000 private country clubs in North America.
The Mastercard Gold also comes with an excellent set of travel protections, which include trip cancellation and interruption coverage, baggage delay and travel accident insurance, car rental collision insurance and other travel assistance services. You’ll also have cellphone protection against eligible damage or theft. The coverage amounts on this card are on par with other top-of-the-line travel cards. While you hope never to use these benefits, they can save a trip when issues arise.
You’ll also get some of the best standard Mastercard benefits. Mastercard offers solid ID theft and fraud protection, as well as the usual World Elite offerings, which include:
- Complimentary ShopRunner membership
- $5 monthly Lyft credit after taking three rides in a month
- Three complimentary months of Instacart+ and $10 off your second order each month
- $3 monthly statement credit for Peacock or $5 monthly statement credit for Peacock Premium Plus
Status symbol: Look like a heavy hitter
If you like making a flashy display, this card is for you. It’s the very picture of a status symbol — a 24K gold-plated stainless-steel credit card that weighs in at a hefty 22g (four more grams than other premium cards like The Platinum Card® from American Express). If you think the sound and appearance of dropping one of the best metal cards is awe-inspiring, imagine how much more of a show dropping this card will make.
While the Mastercard Gold Card isn’t as rewarding or challenging to attain as legendary cards like the Centurion® Card from American Express* or as glamorous as the diamond-encrusted and palladium-lined credit cards for the uber-wealthy, it should suffice if you’re looking to make a splash.
Why you might want a different premium travel card
Many credit cards beat the Mastercard Gold card for various reasons, whether earning better rewards, charging lower fees or offering a welcome bonus. You could consider brand-specific travel cards, like hotel credit cards or cards for your favorite airlines, that may earn more and better serve your specific travel needs. Or you could look at premium travel rewards cards with general rewards you can use toward a variety of travel redemptions.
Rewards: Weak earnings and limited redemptions
Though the Gold Card touts a better direct redemption rate than the Chase Sapphire Reserve® card, its rewards are less flexible and valuable overall.
You earn unlimited 1X points on all purchases. This is low considering you can earn more with no-annual-fee cards. One thousand Mastercard Gold Card points equal $10 when you redeem them for a car rental or hotel stay, for a value of 1 cent each. But when redeeming for airfare or cash back, your points are worth 2 cents each; therefore, 1,000 points is worth $20. All travel must be reserved through InComm InCentives on myluxurycard.com (or by calling the customer service number on the back of your card). There aren’t any transfer partners or any other way to get extra value from your points, which is quite a limiting factor.
Your point value may also vary depending on whether you redeem for gift cards or merchandise. Note that you’ll lose any points earned in a month if you fail to make a minimum payment by the due date.
In contrast, rewards programs like Chase’s offer additional point value with various transfer travel partners. Based on Bankrate’s valuations, Chase Ultimate Rewards points can be worth about 2 cents per point when transferred to a high-value partner thanks to excellent transfer partner deals. By comparison, Mastercard Gold Card's Luxury Card Travel program opportunities are restricted to select experiences that may rotate, and there are only 3,000-plus properties, which falls short of Chase’s offerings by a wide margin.
Rates and fees: Extremely high annual fees
The most significant sticking point is the extremely high $995 ($295 for each Authorized User added to the account) annual fee. You’d need to spend a whopping $4,146 monthly — or $49,752 per year — and always redeem at the 2 percent value just to break even. If you’re considering adding an authorized user to help earn more rewards, that's another $295 annual fee per user. These are some of the highest overall fees on the market. Other premium travel cards have much lower annual fees and meet or exceed the overall value of the Mastercard Gold card.
The other rates and fees are standard if the high membership cost doesn’t dissuade you. Like any decent travel card, there are no foreign transaction fees. And you’ll get some help if you need to pay off another card with a respectable 0 percent intro APR for 15 billing cycles on balance transfers made within the first 45 days (20.24% to 28.24% Variable APR on purchases and balance transfers, based on your creditworthiness and other factors variable APR after that, with a balance transfer fee of 5 percent or $5, whichever is greater). There isn’t a similar purchase offer, but the ongoing APR is comparable with the current average interest rate.
Welcome offer: No additional value other than debt consolidation
The Mastercard Gold Card doesn’t offer a sign-up bonus in the form of points or an intro APR on purchases, which doesn’t make the staggering price tag any easier to swallow. While the intro APR on balance transfers is decent, it seems out of character for this card. Debt consolidation likely wouldn’t be a priority if you are considering this card.
A welcome offer would add significant value to this card, especially given the mediocre rewards earning rates. Other premium travel cards offer generous welcome offers to entice applicants by providing a straightforward way to offset the annual fee in the first year.
How the Mastercard Gold Card compares to other premium travel cards
The Mastercard Gold Card’s value is measured primarily by its entry cost. The rewards rates are mediocre at best, so the deciding factor with this card will be how you utilize its travel benefits. Other options might provide more rewards and benefits if you're considering more attainable cards.
Annual fee
Intro offer
Rewards rate
1 point for every $1 spent on all purchases (2% value for Airfare Redemptions & Cash Back Redemptions).
Recommended Credit Score
A FICO score/credit score is used to represent the creditworthiness of a person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for. However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.
Annual fee
Intro offer
Earn 125,000 bonus points after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Rewards rate
Earn 8x points on all purchases through Chase Travel℠, including The Edit℠. Earn 4x points on flights and hotels booked direct. Earn 3x points on dining worldwide. Earn 1x points on all other purchases.
Recommended Credit Score
A FICO score/credit score is used to represent the creditworthiness of a person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for. However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.
Annual fee
Intro offer
You may be eligible for as high as 175,000 Membership Rewards® Points after spending $8,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer.
Rewards rate
Earn 5X Membership Rewards® Points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel® up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year and earn 5X Membership Rewards® Points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel®.
Recommended Credit Score
A FICO score/credit score is used to represent the creditworthiness of a person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for. However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.
Is this card right for me?
The Mastercard Gold card is intended for people seeking a luxury travel experience or seeking the appearance of a certain level of status with this card.
Alternative picks
If you're looking for a card with some weight — both in terms of its physical properties as well as its rewards offerings — here are a couple of options to consider. Both are heavy metal cards (albeit not gold-plated, but still hefty) and both feature impressive rewards programs and benefits that allow you to easily offset their smaller annual fees.
Frequently asked questions
How we rated this card
We rate credit cards using a proprietary card scoring system that ranks each card’s estimated average rewards rate, estimated annual earnings, welcome bonus value, APR, fees, perks and more against those of other cards in its primary category.
Each card feature is assigned a weighting based on how important it is to people looking for a card in a given category. These features are then scored based on how they rank relative to the features on other cards in the category. Based on these calculations, each card receives an overall rating of 1-5 stars (with 5 being the highest possible score and 1 being the lowest).
We analyzed over 150 of the most popular rewards and cash back cards to determine where each stacked up based on their value, cost, benefits and more. Here are some of the key factors that influenced this card’s overall score and how the score influenced our review:
*Information about the Centurion Card from American Express has been collected independently by Bankrate. The card details have not been reviewed or approved by the card issuer.
What cardholders think
Mastercard® Gold Card™
In May 2024 and March 2025, Bankrate collaborated with a third-party vendor to survey 8170 cardholders nationwide. Bankrate and our vendor collected, averaged and presented website analytics and cardholder responses to six questions on a 5-point scale. Responses are based on individual cardholder's product details, and therefore cannot be verified for accuracy. Users received an incentive for their feedback. User ratings are unedited and have not been reviewed or approved by credit card issuers, nor do these ratings reflect Bankrate's own reviews of these cards.
Community Reviews
* See the online application for details about terms and conditions for these offers. Every reasonable effort has been made to maintain accurate information. However all credit card information is presented without warranty. After you click on the offer you desire you will be directed to the credit card issuer's web site where you can review the terms and conditions for your selected offer.
Editorial Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, and have not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser. The information, including card rates and fees, is accurate as of the publish date. All products or services are presented without warranty. Check the bank’s website for the most current information.
