Calculator: AARP Essential Rewards Mastercard

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Rewards Rates

Earn Unlimited 3% Cash Back on Gas and Drug Store purchases (excluding Target and Walmart).

Earn Unlimited 2% Cash Back on eligible Medical^* expenses.

Earn Unlimited 1% Cash Back on all other purchases.

^*Medical purchases are defined as Dentists, Orthodontists, Osteopathic Physicians, Chiropractors, Optometrists, Ophthalmologists, Opticians, Optical Goods & Eyeglasses, Chiropodists, Podiatrists, Hospitals, Medical and Dental Laboratories, Hearing Aids, Ambulance Services, Orthopedic Goods, Prosthetic Devices, Nursing and Personal Care Facilities, Medical Services & Health Practitioners not elsewhere classified (NEC) and Doctors not elsewhere classified (NEC), as identified by the merchant category codes.

Key Cardholder Benefits

Charitable Contribution: Barclays will donate $10 to AARP Foundation for every new account and 1% of eligible purchases to AARP Foundation.
Rewards can be redeemed for cash back, AARP membership and more at BarclaysUS.com.
Redeem rewards for an AARP membership for yourself or as a gift. Options start at $16 in rewards.

Annual Fees

The AARP Essential Rewards Mastercard has a $0 annual fee.

Cash Back Calculator

Input your monthly and yearly spend amounts into the calculator to find out how much you can earn with the AARP Essential Rewards Mastercard. Compare the results side by side up to 2 credit cards to find out which cards are best for you.

Any spend entered into the primary card column (the first column) will carry over to all credit card calculators on the site, so there's no need to re-enter spend when viewing other credit cards.

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Credit Cards

Use this section to add credit cards to the calculator. You can search for a card or go through our top recommendations for each category.

Once you select a card, you'll be shown the details of the card. Any link you click on in the details will open up in a new tab, so you will not lose your calculations.

Clicking on Add Selected Card will add it to the calculator.

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Compare A Card

Add a credit card to compare side by side based on spend, benefits and fees.

Search Cards

Search for a credit card by name, rewards program, or the rewards currency it earns.

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Family Cards

These cards are part of the same family and generally earn the same type of rewards.

Travel Cards

Travel credit cards are great for building rewards redeemable towards a wide variety of travel including airfare, hotels, car rentals, cruises, and more. Most travel cards also offer a range of benefits that can make your trips more enjoyable and save you money.

Cash Back Cards

Cash back is one of the most flexible form of rewards and most easy to understand. Rewards earned are worth face value and they can be used towards almost anything.

Business Cards

Put money back into your business by earning cash back, points, or miles on business expenses. Many cards also offer travel insurance, purchase protection, and more.

Airline Cards

These are the best credit cards if you're looking to use rewards towards award flights. Some of these cards also offer various benefits such as lounge access the ability to earn qualifying miles through spending.

Hotel Cards

If you're looking to use rewards towards free nights at hotels, these are the best cards for you. Many of these cards also offer great benefits such as annual free nights, complimentary elite status, and more.

No Annual Fee

If you're looking to minimize your immediate costs while still earning plenty of value, you may want to consider a credit card with no annual fee. Some of these cards also offer lower interest rates and balance transfer offers.

Intro Bonus:

Annual Fee:

Authorized User Fee:

Bonus Categories:

Add Categories - Adds any missing bonus categories from the selected card to the Category Spending section once added. Copy Spend - Copies spend values from the first column to the second/third column on card add.

Category Spending

Add Categories

Calc Options

Use this section to enter how much you plan on spending either monthly or yearly across different categories for each card listed.

You can click on the option button for access to a lot of useful tools you can use to quickly adjust spending for the calculator.

Change the order of the categories in the Category Spending section. This has an impact on cards that have spend limits and bonus caps on categories.

Resets all fields in the Category Spending section for all columns. Also clears all saved spend values that carry from calculator to calculator.

Add Categories

Search for categories and click 'Add Category' to add it to the calculator. If you want to be more specific, you can specify domestic or international spend.

Type at least 3 characters.

Currently Selected:

Spend Region:

Category Spending Total

The amount of rewards earned from card spending.

Rewards & Bonuses

If a card earns bonus points, miles, or cash back, it will be listed here. You'll be able to edit or toggle on/off most bonuses listed here.

Do note that some bonuses may be automatically calculated based on spend entered in the Category Spending section.

If you want to factor in an intro or welcome bonus, you can also do that here by entering it in the Extra Value field. You can click on View Offers when applicable to see current sign up bonuses for all top credit cards by category.

Extra Value

Use this field to add additional rewards to include in the calculation such as an intro or signup bonus.

Extra Value

Use this field to add additional rewards to include in the calculation such as an intro or signup bonus.

Extra Value

Use this field to add additional rewards to include in the calculation such as an intro or signup bonus.

Rewards & Bonus Total

The amount of rewards earned from card bonuses.

Total Rewards & Cash Value

This is the total of all points, miles, and cash back earned between Loyalty & Memberships, Category Spending, and Rewards & Bonuses.

You can view the average value of the rewards based on popular redemptions and the transfer of rewards to partners (where applicable).

Rewards Average Value By Redemption

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How much is 0 worth?

Average Value

This is how much we value the rewards earned with the card on average based on our valuations. Cards that may offer bonus/additional value are reflected here.

Transfers To Partners

Redemptions to do with transferring rewards to partner loyalty programs and redeeming them for high value (when applicable). These redemption values typically require knowledge of the best transfer partners.

Cash Back, Statement Credits

Redemptions to do with turning your rewards into cash back or using it as a statement credit to offset purchases made to the card.

Travel

Redemptions to do with using your rewards towards travel such as airfare, hotels, and car rentals (not including transfers to partners).

Gift Cards

Redemptions to do with using your rewards towards the purchase of gift cards.

Reward Transfers To Partners

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Currency Worth

Enter how much you value a single rewards point or mile in cents or regional currency equivalent (X.XX). The value of cash back cannot be changed.

Rewards Cash Value

The average cash value of rewards earned in the Grand Total section based on the set Currency Worth.

Monetary Bonuses

This section lists all monetary bonuses. This includes annual credits and top-tier benefits that can offer great monetary value.

If there's a perk or benefit missing that you find valuable, you can add how much you value it in the Extra Cash Value field.

Extra Cash Value

Use this field to add additional cash value to the calculations.

Extra Cash Value

Use this field to add additional cash value to the calculations.

Extra Cash Value

Use this field to add additional cash value to the calculations.

Total Cash Value

The total cash value of all listed benefits plus the cash value of rewards earned.

Fees

With great benefits comes great annual fees. If a card has a fee that you have to pay annually (or monthly in rare cases), it will be listed here. You have the ability to change it.

If the card charges a fee for adding authorized users, it will also appear in this section.

Annual Fee

This is the fee you must pay annually to have the card.

Authorized User Fee

This is the cost to add additional users or supplemental cards to the account. Enter total amount of authorized users.

Total Card Value

This is the total cash value of each listed card when factoring in all rewards and all fees.

Learn More

Learn more about the card through our partners.

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