Barclays US Credit Cards
reviews and complaints

This app auto-upgraded on my iPhone from Version 6.25.7 to 6.25.8, which boasts “Minor app improvements”, but the actual effect of the change was that the app no longer works. Specifically, it attempts to load, then disappears, crashes. I can see the Peek features (long-hold on App icon), so I know the App has my correct information. I uninstalled the app, rebooted iPhone (iOS 13.5.1, which is up-to-date, lest someone claim it’s an iPhone issue), then reinstalled the app, to no avail.

Ok. I get it: an App update didn’t go as planned! I know: let me submit a ticket to report the issue, and hopefully revert to older version of working App. Ah, those are not things the App Developers or this bank value, apparently: the App Support link in the App Store takes you to the Barclays US website, which is lovely, except for the whole “missing the point about support” part. To be sure: the website has no mechanism to report App issues either. Hence my 1 star rating. An App should not take this much time from its users. It should work, allow for simple downgrades, and simpler means yo report issues.

First things first. The alerts you get on this card are so slow that they are worthless from a fraud detection standpoint. I have an alert set for any single transaction over $0. Works great except that the emails typically come 2-4 DAYS later. I have other cards that text and/or email me before I'm out of a merchant's door. If they can do it, Barclay can.

So that is why Peek is my favorite feature of this app. I check it several times a day to see my available credit, which DOES immediately get updated when the card is used, so it's a much better fraud detection tool.

But... The latest updates make Peek not quite as easy to use. In previous versions, Peek would automatically refresh every time you switched to the app. In this version, it always shows the same balance and available credit. To get new info, you have to quit the app (double click home button and swipe up to unload it), then relaunch. Annoying. Fix it to auto refresh and I'm back to 4 stars.

To get the 5th star, add the ability to show which of my authorized users made a transaction. That way I know which kid to yell at! Or who lost their card.

So I had a charge on my card and I was sent factor merchandise. The merchant refused to honor their return policy, refused to supply return address let alone the prepaid label they promise on their website. I was fine with paying to send it back but I would’ve needed an address. Barclays was unable to obtain address, Shopify was unable to obtain an address, the ComplaintsBoard.com was in able to obtain an address. I opened a dispute with Barclays and they closed in the merchant‘s favor because “you failed to return it” you can’t make this stuff up. They do not protect their clients. If I could leave zero stars I would. I did reopen the dispute but they’re going to need a few months to decide so I guess I have to pay for this in order to protect my perfect credit rating and just hope that somebody reads that the reason I open the dispute was because the merchant refuses to honor their own return policy or supply an address to return the item and it’s intentional because they’re selling junk. Be careful if you use your Barclays card to purchase things online and you don’t get what you paid for they will not protect you at all.

I have apps for others financial entities who don’t require a download of an update the moment it is available. This is frustrating with because it demands that you download the update. Then Touch ID doesn’t work anymore so you have to reset it. In order to reset it you have to enter your username and password. But, unlike every other app on the face of the earth, I can’t PASTE my strong password because this app (only this app of ALL my apps) doesn’t allow it. I have to enter it manually. But my password is stored in my phone. It’s a strong password so it’s not easily memorizeable. So I go back and forth between this app and the app where my password is stored and type the first few characters then I go back to my password and get the next few characters and then when I go back to this app, the first few characters I entered are gone and I have to start over. This is literally the only app where I have to get a pen and paper and write down my password in order to enter it into the app. Ridiculous. Test your app with users! Follow normal user-experience best practices! Geez. I’m deleting this app and going back to their website because it was easier to use. Which shouldn’t be the case.

In August I paid the balance in full on my account. About six weeks later I received an alert from credit karma stating that a delinquent payment had been reported to the credit bureau. I immediately went online and checked my account to find out that Barclays had reported a late payment for September. I called them figuring it would be residual interest from the last payment and cut off date. When speaking to her she apologized several times and informed me that it was not only their fault but that I had in fact paid the balance in full prior to the date necessary for no more interest being accrued then immediately offered to reverse all fees including interest and late payment. I asked what happened and she stated, she had no idea. I then asked about the credit ding and she said that it would be not a problem getting it reversed. She said that she would let her supervisor know and that it could take up to five weeks to see the change.
To date I have contacted Barclays many times, disputed through Credit Karma three times and contacted the credit bureau twice.
I had not had a late payment in many years if ever. My credit score has for many years fluctuated between 705-810.
To compound matters they were nice enough to lower my credit limit from $10,000 to $1,000. Which started a negative reciprocal impact to my credit score!
Thanks Barclays!

Wow! I was soooo surprised to see that this app has so few 5-Star reviews, or even 4-Star reviews.

OVERALL:
The BarclayCard app provides:
• ease of design,
• clear functionality,
• features available online are also available via the app,
• simple payment processing,
• efficient use of screen space for such a small screen,
• among other great reasons to love this app!

This is BY FAR the best credit card or banking app I’ve used to date. I’m also a member of two credit unions, and have two other credit cards which provide an app.

One of my credit unions has a fairly decent app that includes my regular bank accounts as well as the credit card listed on the same screen, which I appreciate.
The other is AWFUL! I can access my bank account through them through their app (which I only have because I wanted their credit card), but I cannot access any more than my balance via their app! It’s RIDICULOUS.

The other major credit card I have that also has an app is my Amazon Chase card. They also have a great app, and I would say it is the only app thus far that is on par with the Barclay Card app. they have many of the same features as the Barclay Card and also present them clearly, cleanly, and efficiently.

The reviews that gave 2 stars because they had to put their password in twice... that’s beyond ridiculous to base an entire review on one (SMALL) bug that was probably fixed in the next update.

I upgraded to a Jet Blue plus a few years ago after receiving.emails about the benefits assuming the sender knew I had a regular jetblue ($100 annual fee) card. 3 months later, I asked about the bonus miles you advertised.
I was told I didn’t qualify because I was not a new member. On top of that, you failed to transfer the miles from the old card until I spent time on the phone. Also, when I switched to the plus card, my husband never received one.

I used to travel on jetblue often so adding miles seemed beneficial. But since Covid and my husband’s vision problems, we have rarely traveled. We just took a trip from westchester airport th Fort Lauderdale. The scanners didn’t work for baggage tags even with a jetblue employee helping. Then we were told which line to stand in if we didn’t have tags which was wrong and we had to get on the end of another line. I plan to go back to the regular credit card
As soon as I have time to make sure you will switch all the automatic payments or I actually switch them to another card myself. I fail to see that I have benefited from the Plus card. The plane we took back to Westchester on Monday was new and very pleasant except for the
Attempts to get the passengers to get 80,000
Miles if they got a PLUS card. (No mention that you wouldn’t if you already had a JetBlue regular Mastercard.) We are in our eighties and the Plus card just makes things more confusing.

ETA:I received a response on my review and would like more info. I have taken a screen shot of the issue when in the rewards portion but need info on where to send it. There is no “home” to click on when on that page. There is simply an X that does not respond when you hit it. Also the 2 day thing is unnecessary in my opinion, I have several other cards that immediately show a payment was made so it is possible to do. So neither issue I’ve reported have been fixed.

The main issues I have with this app are 1.when you make a payment it doesn’t automatically show, it takes days. My other cards’ apps show a payment made immediately. And 2.When you go to cash in your rewards it is incredibly difficult. There is a page that will not let you exit out and you have to completely close the app and then go back in. Seems like whoever made this app had only a bare necessity knowledge of app creation. Do better Barclays! So there has now been a few updates since I originally wrote my review and I had hoped at least the rewards issue would be fixed but no. Every time I go into the rewards it won’t let me exit out. The X in the corner of the page is useless and doesn’t do anything when you hit it. Only way to get back to the rest of the app is to completely close the app and re-enter. Seems like a simple issue to fix and yet they don’t. It’s frustrating enough that I have almost completely stopped using my card and will be closing the account soon if it doesn’t get some kind of attention.

This app is horrible. I never have any idea how much money I actually owe.

The MOST irritating part of it is the relationship between “current balance” and “available credit”. In theory if you spend $10 on the 1st and $20 on the 16th and have a credit limit of $100, your current balance should be $30 with an available credit of $70. But that is NOT how this app works. It will ONLY show you the balance of $10. It won’t even consider that $20 for another month. It will show an current balance of $10 and and available credit of $90 and that is JUST NOT ACCURATE! There needs to be an additional “entire balance” section so people can be prepared for how much money they actually owe.

Because of this I DO NOT have my auto pay on. I’ve been screwed before because I thought I owed less money (see example above) so I have to baby my account because it WILL NOT show the due date. It will read “no payment due” until the day it’s due and I find that beyond frustrating. It should say “no payment due, next payment due on...”. This app has no transparency.

Lastly, if you do miss your due date, you can’t select “pay entire balance”. It will say “past due, can’t pay entire balance.” What? That is beyond the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. I should be able to pay my entire statement balance at any time. I’ve resorted to paying in $200 increments until it says I’ve paid too much.

Please change everything about this app. The card is solid with amazing benefits. But this app is trash!

Several issues to note, but I'll preface with: this app gets the job done. It works, and I haven't hit any noticeable bugs since downloading it.
Having said that, the app reminds me a lot of bike with no gears or suspension: you can use it just fine, but it's clearly lacking.
The following are some points I'd like to highlight:
1) to second Lisa, a prior reviewer, this app should fix its payment functionality to allow for statement payment regardless of when the balance is due. The fact that they a) refuse to let people pay more than is due, and b) make it so difficult to pay by requiring an exact amount be entered, with no assistance from the system, is upsetting and annoying. I know this can be fixed, the Citi mobile app does this wonderfully.
2) the only ways they permit contact is via phone call. Idk if this is a European thing, but open yourselves up to mobile chat or emails via the app, why are you so scared? Phone calls are cumbersome and, let's be honest, you're just going to put us on hold for 20minutes anyways.
3) navigating your app is not fun. It could be made more user friendly and intuitive. Again, look at the Citi mobile app, which I'd give a solid 4 stars.
4) if it weren't for you being the providers of Uber's Visa card, I would not be using this app. If a better credit card comes out and doesn't use you system, please know that, all things remaining constant, I'm happily deleting it from my phone.

...I realize my target audience changed halfway, but all-in-all, if you don't need this app, don't get it.

my biggest complaint about this app is that you can't pay your current balance without knowing the exact number from the previous screen - you can only select your balance from last month's cycle or your statement balance which is usually much lower than your current balance. I usually make a guesstimate and end up with a small balance left on my card which I then end up forgetting about.

Aside from this- the app itself is clunky and not user friendly at all - there's no easy way to view pending transactions or posted transactions. The option to view your "transaction history" only shows your posted statement transactions within your set cycle period- so if your cycle ends on the 20th of the month you won't see your current transactions until your statement posts on the 20th.

Another huge pitfall - the option to view your "rewards activity" doesn't actually allow you to see your transaction history and the points you received with each transaction - (you're able to do this on the web app) you're only able to see your earned rewards from your last statement balance and your redemption balance but none of your current or previous transactions that earned you those points.

Apps are more than just an added convenience nowadays - people rely heavily on apps like these for their day to day management and usually count on apps to replace the need for a website altogether. I usually end up logging into my web browser to pay my balance or view my reward history in detail so this app doesn't save me much time.
I suggest the UI developers look into other other mobile banking apps out there- there are other's that are waaaaayyyyy more seamless and user friendly.

On the effort to keep this app simple, and easy to use they have done an outstanding job. I got a Barclaycard to make an Apple purchase( Interest-free for year of course). This has been a handy application to make my payments, directly out of my bank account — even though I use a different bank.

It shows me my available credit & current balance fairly rapidly and gives me alerts if I approach my credit limit.

That is all very good.

Where I experience a few problems causing me to lower the number of stars that I give it:

When it comes to common sense accounting: a lack of a balance or running total
Insufficient notice of pending charges
The inability to use anything other than a certified bank account to make a payment (there's no PayPal option here).
The app itself is a bit stiff. It could use a universal version — one that rotates and looks good on an iPad as well.

Barclaycard recently reworked their web interface, and it's gotten better with has more clarity. Hopefully the next version of the app will as well.
I will probably be using this application for a long time to come and hope to see it reach the point where I'm compelled to give it five stars

Side Note: It can be tough to do a fair review. Banking apps are all over the map! This app attempts to make simple a complicated task: following a credit card. Credit cards have some of the most complex formulas for determining balance and many different rules depending on the situation which they're used. Cash withdrawals at one rate & credit use at another. What surprises me about this app, and many other banking applications, is the lack of simple accounting. There's no running balance. You can't look at your last charges in your recent payments and see exactly to the penny what your current balance after pending charges is. Some of the charges take days to clear, and with no pending balance charge you have no idea what's on your card unless you've kept very careful records outside of the app. Doesn't that sort of defeat the whole purpose of having it at your fingertips? The credit industry the banking industry as a whole needs to look at this. In the days of instant computing — even with the various safeguards necessary to prevent criminal activity — you would think we could do better.

I am currently experiencing financial hardship and unable to make my current monthly payments. I have been trying to enroll in the Barclays payment program for the past two weeks with no success. The account manager on the phone was also unable to help me. When I go to enroll in the hardship program online, I am given the option to choose the "reduced payment options" and enroll in a long term program where I can pay 5.9% on my balance with a minimum payment of $181 for 60 months. When I tried to accept this program, the website gave me an error message and would not let me continue enrolling in the program, although it did schedule the monthly payments through 2024. When I called Barclays customer support, after almost an hour on the phone, the account manager informed me that I would need to pay the first payment of $181 in order to be enrolled. Later that day, I managed to scrap together the $181 to pay under the impression that was the last step I needed to do in order to be enrolled; however, I am STILL not enrolled in this program despite paying the first payment. The longer this takes, the closer I will be to having my account be in delinquency due to Barclays negligence. PLEASE help me. I do not have the ability to sit on the phone with an account manager for another hour as I have work. How can I be enrolled in this program?

Don’t depend on the “freeze account” to work from this app. I froze mine over a year ago. Then I get a $30 purchase went through on an old auto pay account from Apple (thanks, Apple). Barclays wound up charging me $150 in late fees and interest for a $30 purchase. Well, I paid it and will NEVER deal with them again. I understand late fees but $40 a month on $30? Really?
I paid it because I should have checked emails for that account. But, as I said I had placed it on hold a long time ago and just quit checking. I guess I learned a lesson. Enjoy your late fee from me, it will be the last you’ll get.

22 April 2022 Update: After being told there was a fix I downloaded the update, but it didn’t work so I deleted the app and reinstalled it and still no luck.

I cannot print my statement, even after updating this app, I can’t print through your website. I keep getting the following on your app. “You do not have a statement available to view. For information on recent transactions, please view Transaction Activity on the summary screen.” I have had to return to monthly statements being mailed because it is impossible to get a statement printed. I’ve contacted your customer service but still no resolution.

I use face recognition to open my app. I never had a problem. Three days ago it asked me to activate my card. It would not let me log in unless I activated my card. My card has been activated for almost two years now and it hasn’t expired. So now I’m locked out of the app and the website. It tells me to call a number and when I put in the last four of my card number and verify my birthday I get put on eternal hold. I’ve called now for THREE DAYS and no one ever picks up! I’m glad that I set up a payment before I got locked out or I would be late on my payment. WHERE IS CUSTOMER SERVICE?! This is ridiculous

Last month I was one day late on my Barclay payment. The reason is that I did not receive any notification of balance or payment due. That’s ridiculous. It is the first instance I’ve ever had our credit card company not sending you either a paper statement or email. I find it very bad administrative practice on the part of Barclay. when I did get a notice, it was in the form of you failed to make your payment yesterday. Why didn’t Barclay send me a statement or email before the payment was due. I immediately made a payment many times and it required minimal. I would like Markus to acknowledge their error.

Robert

I have called him multiple times and spoke to many people overseas I have about three different reference numbers. No one will let me talk to a manager I have done my part and I have paid my bills and they are making a ton of interest on me and I cannot get my airline miles which was promised to me when I signed up for this card. And they still want me to pay a yearly fee. They want me to do the right thing but they won’t even give me the common courtesy of doing what they said they would do. They are the ones gaining here they are the ones getting interest. I would strongly suggest no one open a card with him because they will not do the right thing.

App no longer shows transactions. Pretty lame No error codes. Just no longer shows transactions with the explanation "no billing periods" Will no longer load previous monthly statements Idiotic customer support people who say they have no support for mobile app. Disappointing

Finally - weeks after I reported the issue, I did receive this note from the development team:
Thanks for providing additional information. We are aware of this issue having resurfaced recently & would like to reassure you that we are working towards a fix on priority. Please ensure you are updating to the latest version of the app to avail of fixes and new features. Many Thanks.

Indisputable proof met all requirements and no reward given

have dates - screen shots of meeting requirements well before deadline
50,000 bonus miles
I call they look and say oh yes you have met all requirements but we have to make a ticket

bern about 8 months later
i called
they said
“ oh yes we see you are right.”

but a different department
wait on a ticket
no update

I called so many times
need miles to go see a ill family member
since passed :-(

User beware

I will update this if it gets fixed

i will give it one more month then
taking it to social media
just posting only facts
and proof and all logged calls

Not I am waiting a month
I can not wait over a year!

Had this card for over 4 years now, never missed a payment, kept below half my credit limit (below 30% is better) one day out of the blue I get a letter saying that they took over 3k credit limit away from me. This messed up my credit score and caused me problems and for what? I called to ask about what the reason was and they said if I have a problem I can send in a dispute but nothing else can be done unless I want to agree to them giving me a hard inquiry on my credit to check to see where I’m at now and possibly give me a little more credit back. I said NO! Needless to say I’m done with this creditor and moving to a better one. Don’t waste your time with these people. Your not gonna get anywhere with them. I had to find out the hard way unfortunately.

I activated my card this morning and downloaded the app. It offered a security confirmation using the CVV code which I went for. Turns out this feature is only available for Business cards so I had to retype all my info. I then was asked for some security information. It considered one of my answers “wrong” so I had to enter my info all over again. I then went to security settings on my account to find the security question I had answered wrong and was unable to find it. However, I did find multiple other settings for notifications which I would have preferred to get as text messages, but the only options were e-mail and sometimes “notifications” which I assume are fleeting. Poor application design and a continuation of the poor experience I had with Barclays a few years ago.

There was a payment of $56 didn’t go through back in February and I didn’t get any notifications from Barclays and I called them and get it fixed 10 days later. Barclays also refunded/credited the late payment fee they charged.

Then I got hit by my experian credit report of a 30day late payment. My credit score was hurt by 60 points.

I tried to dispute this report so many times and never got a response. I mailed out supporting document to Barclays’s credit bureau and contacted to check on the status. They transferred me to 4 different departments and always ended up at the wrong department. Finally they gave me a direct line # to the credit bureau and it was a survey line.

I am so frustrated with Barclays! Anyone who wants to open a credit card with them. Please read this through.

Search across statements for a transaction? Nope. You have to search each statement period.

IF I WERE A BANK … Search would be the number one priority, period. Why? To help with fraud prevention. It’s incredibly easy to miss a transaction AND very difficult and time consuming to find one. Go ahead, search for $99.00 …

Scroll through each statement? Nope. Very easy to inadvertently click into a transaction while scrolling…

Ease of use? Everything on the Home Screen is repeated on the next screen? A lot of what is under the main menu is repeated in whatever screen you look, hence the overload of unneeded buttons & overall clutter.

This is UX vomit without real search. But the App Store itself isn’t much better… 1 star is the lowest rating and for an app like this that’s generous.

Aside from that: the website for Barclays is consistent with the app though: it’s just as bad.

Call center is in India. Zero help whatsoever! Hung up on me after I yelled at them, I was supposed to be enrolled in auto payments, they never set it up. Weird how when I went into the app to set up auto pay myself after that conversation where they hung up on me, my checking account info was in there already, how did they get my checking and routing info... weird! I was sending additional amount every month to pay principal down, that amount just so happened to be above my minimum payment but when minimum payment went up, the additional amount I was sending in didn’t cover the minimum anymore. 30 day late on my credit. This is the 2nd 30 day late I’ve ever had in my life, guess who my 1st 30 day late was with? This same company! Lol. The reason I set up the auto pay. Granted that one was my fault. I had a balance of like 15k, I calculated what I needed to pay card off in 12 months. Was sending in that amount every month. I miscalculated by $20... 30 day late. F this company!