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NerdWallet > Rewards Credit Cards > Harvard Alumni Association Credit Card

THIS CARD IS NO LONGER BEING OFFERED

Review / Compare / Reward Calculations / Interest Calculations / Rankings / Comments
Harvard Alumni Association Credit Card
Barclays Harvard+Alumni+Association Credit Card

(3/5 - 21 Votes)
Net Annual Rewards
$241
of Retailer Points
Reward Rate
1.00%
Annual Fee
$0
Signing Promo
5,000 Retailer Points Bonus
APR, fixed
APR:
7.24%
Default:
30.24%
Cash Adv:
21.99%
Intro APR Promotions
Purchase:
None
Transfer:
0% for 6 mos
Summary
  • Earn 1 point per $1 spent on purchases
  • Redeem Crimson Rewards for gift cards or cash
  • Approximately 1 cent per 1 point redemption value

Compare To Our Most Popular Cards For The Category

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Compare To Blue Cash Preferred℠ Card from American Express

Why do we think you should consider this card?

Earn $150 cash back after spending $1,000 in eligible purchases in the first 3 months of Cardmembership

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Reward Details & Calculator

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Rewards Type: Retailer Points

Signing Promotion
($50=5,000 points)/2 yrs
$25
Estimated Annual Rewards
$21,600 * 1.00%
$216
Annual Fee, 2 yr avg
$0
Annual Rewards (Rewards less Fees)
$241

Calculate Interest & Finance Charges

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Use the sliders to the left to calculate balance transfer interest and APR interest for this particular card.

Finance Charge, Balance Transfer of $10,000*

Balance Transfer Fee, 0.0%
$0
Promo APR, First 6 months
$0
APR, 18 months
$1,144
Total
$1,144

*Average APR for Balance Transfers of 5.4% includes transfer fees and APR promotions.

Effective Annual Rate, Purchases

Promo EAR, 0 months
0.00%
Ongoing EAR, 24 months
7.49%
Total EAR, 24 months
7.49%

APR Rankings

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APR
7.24%
ranks #63 out of 1751 cards.
Average is 11.78%.
Balance Transfer Fee
0%
ranks #1 out of 1639 cards.
Average is 1.67%.
Cash Advance APR
21.99%
ranks #534 out of 1002 cards.
Average is 18.74%.

Rewards Rankings

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Annual Fee
$0
ranks #1 out of 1773 cards.
Average is $9.
Base Reward Rate
1%
ranks #69 out of 963 cards.
Average is 0.99%.
Effective Reward Rate
1%
ranks #187 out of 958 cards.
Average is 1.04%.
Sign-up Bonus
$50
ranks #98 out of 1762 cards.
Average is $33.
Credit Card Review: Harvard Alumni Association Credit Card


Author:
STEPHEN

This card is unusually good in two main respects.

First, it is one of few credit cards with no foreign transaction fee out there. You can see from our list that there are only about 6 of these offers out there, plus the Capital One cards.

Second, it is one of the few credit cards that has no balance transfer fee AND a 0% introductory balance transfer promotion. It is usually the case that credit cards with 0% introductory balance transfer offers have a 3% to 5% fee upfront. Combine that with the unusually low APR rate, and this is one of the best balance transfer credit card deals around. However, it may not be the best. As you can see from our balance transfer card comparison calculators, there are numerous 0% for 18+ month balance transfer deals that are effectively a lower APR than the Harvard Alumni card on a 2 year time frame.

Other less notable positives about the Harvard Alumni MasterCard.

In addition to having no foreign transaction fee and no balance transfer fee, the card has no cash advance fee and no annual fee. This makes it a solid choice for travelers, and for those who wish to keep their credit card open for years in order to maintain a long dated credit history, which is very important for maintaining a good credit score.

  • Ann L

    I got a Harvard World MasterCard specifically because of the no foreign transaction fee feature. The good news is that there are no foreign transaction fees, and that the exchange rate is favorable.

    The bad news is that the card’s fraud detection features are on a hair-trigger that has resulted in frequent denials, often with merchants from whom I have purchased before. Furthermore, there is not 24/7 service to undo a freeze after the fraud unit flags a transaction, even if you call promptly and identify yourself unambiguously.

    I am switching to another card.

    • Oxon.

      I’ve had the exact same problem when I traveled to France this summer.

      The card has nice perks but the customer service is atrocious. They used to have great customer service but now they’ve started using a foreign call center that offers little to no help… Getting a denied charge at dinner and not having a way to undo a security freeze is not okay. Please fix your customer service system!!

  • http://www.nerdwallet.com Tim

    Does anyone know if this card is only available to Harvard Alumni?

  • dem4life

    DO NOT NEED 2 BE Harvard Alumni! Great card…super low rate of 7.24% and gives you rewards! Thats impossible to find anywhere else except First Command Credit Card, I have both cards, but i dont like First Command rewards.

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