May 14, 2014, 1:15 pm
Last edit by: rrgg
This thread is a continuation of the discussion posted here from 12.08.2012 - 5.13.2014: Barclays Arrival/Arrival Cards (1.05%/2.1% travel credits)
Current offer for Arrival Plus is 70K pts w/$5K spend & AF waived 1st year.
Barclays says that you earn “miles” but you’re actually earning cash back with the card since you can’t transfer your Barclays miles to airlines. But you can redeem them for statement credits at 0.5 cents per mile (poor value) or 1.05 cent per mile if you redeem for travel.
You get 5% of your miles back if you redeem for travel, so 40,000 miles gets you $400 towards travel and 2,000 miles back (5% of your miles back). You must have at least 10K 'miles' in your acct if you wish to redeem as a travel credit. 2500 'miles' can be redeemed for a stmt credit though.
If you want, you can redeem miles to cover a portion of a travel charge instead of the full amount. For example, if you have 80k miles and a $740 airline charge, you can choose to redeem just 70k to cover $700 of the charge.
You earn 2X miles on all purchases, so you’re effectively getting 2% cash back for each purchase. But since you get 5% of your miles back when you redeem for travel, this is effectively a 2.1% cash back card when miles are redeemed for travel.
This makes the Barclaycard Arrival PlusTM World Elite MasterCard® (with 2.1% cash back for travel) better than the Capital One Venture card which offers only 2 miles per $1 or 2% cash back, only if you spend $30k+ per year after first year, because Arrival Plus AF is $30 more than Venture.
If you receive a call from 302-255-8000 after applying for this or any other Barclay's card, it is a legit number! You can also call them back directly at 866-951-1437.
Very Old Wiki Info ---
Regarding official company representatives
Note that there is an official procedure for company representatives to register themselves with the FlyerTalk Community Director and verify their credentials. When that process is completed, the username will turn green in posts, rather than the standard blue.
Anyone who does not appear in green has not followed this procedure. Those posts should be considered the same as any other user's posts. It is important to remember that the moderation team does not generally monitor the veracity of any posts; it is up to you to judge a poster's content and history yourself.
Let's crowd source things that have counted towards travel redemptions that are not so obvious
="3"%Successful
Don't forget travel purchase needs to be > $100 charge for 10K mile redemption
Airlines that post purchases of multiple tickets as one amount or split them:
One Amount
BA (USD based award ticket)
Multiple Transactions
UA (award)
DL (award)
Current offer for Arrival Plus is 70K pts w/$5K spend & AF waived 1st year.
Barclays says that you earn “miles” but you’re actually earning cash back with the card since you can’t transfer your Barclays miles to airlines. But you can redeem them for statement credits at 0.5 cents per mile (poor value) or 1.05 cent per mile if you redeem for travel.
You get 5% of your miles back if you redeem for travel, so 40,000 miles gets you $400 towards travel and 2,000 miles back (5% of your miles back). You must have at least 10K 'miles' in your acct if you wish to redeem as a travel credit. 2500 'miles' can be redeemed for a stmt credit though.
If you want, you can redeem miles to cover a portion of a travel charge instead of the full amount. For example, if you have 80k miles and a $740 airline charge, you can choose to redeem just 70k to cover $700 of the charge.
You earn 2X miles on all purchases, so you’re effectively getting 2% cash back for each purchase. But since you get 5% of your miles back when you redeem for travel, this is effectively a 2.1% cash back card when miles are redeemed for travel.
This makes the Barclaycard Arrival PlusTM World Elite MasterCard® (with 2.1% cash back for travel) better than the Capital One Venture card which offers only 2 miles per $1 or 2% cash back, only if you spend $30k+ per year after first year, because Arrival Plus AF is $30 more than Venture.
If you receive a call from 302-255-8000 after applying for this or any other Barclay's card, it is a legit number! You can also call them back directly at 866-951-1437.
Very Old Wiki Info ---
Regarding official company representatives
Note that there is an official procedure for company representatives to register themselves with the FlyerTalk Community Director and verify their credentials. When that process is completed, the username will turn green in posts, rather than the standard blue.
Anyone who does not appear in green has not followed this procedure. Those posts should be considered the same as any other user's posts. It is important to remember that the moderation team does not generally monitor the veracity of any posts; it is up to you to judge a poster's content and history yourself.
Let's crowd source things that have counted towards travel redemptions that are not so obvious
="3"%Successful
Don't forget travel purchase needs to be > $100 charge for 10K mile redemption
- 9/11 Museum and Memorial - NYC
- Accuracy Limo (via Square, Salt Lake City, UT limo service)
- ACE Adventures (West Virginia White Water Rafting), had to call in to get it processed manually
- agoda.com
- AirAsia Flights (airasia.com)
- airbnb bookings
- airbnb GC purchased on United MPX site
- Alaska Airlines checked baggage fee $25 charge
- Amazing Bike Tours Thailand
- AA Gift Card
- American Airlines telephone booking (including booking fee)
- Amtrak train ticket >$25 (ALB-NYP)
- Amtrak train ticket >$25 (unknown destinations)
- Arrival+ Annual Fee
- Argosy Cruises (SEA, classified as RECREATION)
- Autoeurope.com
- BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) San Francisco
- Balloons over Bagan
- Bieber bus tickets
- Boston MBTA Charlie Card reload & Commuter Rail passes & tickets
- Burj Khalifa observation decks
- Buying Lifemiles from Avianca
- Capitaine Train Tickets (capitaine.com)
- Carmel Limo (NYC car service)
- carrentals.com
- cheaptickets.com hotel
- Chinese Visa Application Fees (had to call in. Credit showed up in account in 2 business days. See Post 912 and 921 for details)
- City Taxi (Tampa)
- CostcoTravel
- Cotai Waterjet (Hong Kong)
- CT Limo
- Daily Getaways purchase of HHonors points
- DB Bahn Trains Germany (bahn.de)
- Disneyland Hong Kong (Manual redemption required)
- DriveNow - all locations in EU/US
- Dublin Bus Tours Hop on, Hop off (Green)
- Eiffel Tower (manual redemption by phone allowed)
- Empire State Building tickets
- Enterprise rent-a-car, paid at the counter when returning the car (used Chase United Visa initially for primary coverage, but asked to pay with a different card when returning the car)
- Eurostar Train Tickets (eurostar.com)
- Europcar.com
- Expedia.com
- Hertz Rent-a-Car (booked on hertz.com)
- Hong Kong Airport Express Pass
- Hotel bookings through Rocketmiles (even refundable bookings or those tied to other promotions)
- Hotels.com
- Hotwire
- ItaliaRail (online booking agency for TrenItalia)
- LA Swamp Tours, Steamboat cruise, Haunted History Tours (New Orleans)
- Lahaina-Maui Ferry Tickets - booked online at www.go-lanai.com
- Las Vegas Show Booked through hotel
Las Vegas show tickets booked online (Mandalay Bay Box office) - Limo Charges - Two limo charges that I made in March PRIOR the the recent changes to what qualifies as "Travel" showed up as eligible travel charges. I guess with the changes to what's covered, and for how long, these got pulled back in.
- Lyft
- M-Life advance reservation deposit
- Montway Auto Transport (deposit)
- New York City MTA Subway Cards
- New York Waterways Ferry (between NJ and NYC)
- Ngong Ping 360 (Hong Kong)
- Norwegian Cruise Line purchase made from telephone order from vacationstogo.com
- Norwegian Cruise Line (deposits and payments)
- NS Hispeed Train Tickets (nshispeed.com)
- NYC Taxi
- Orbitz.com purchase
- ORCA card for Seattle area tolls (considered the very typical GOVERNMENT SERVICES NOT ELSEWHERE CLASSIFIED)
- Paris RATP Metro/VATP (buy 10-ticket pack for >$25 and save cost)
- PeruRail (Machu Picchu train)
- PMRF Beach Cottages (Kauai)
- Priceline
- Primetime Shuttle (Worked from LAX-SNA)
- rail europe on Travelocity
- rail JR Rail in Japan, load as tourist attraction, call in to get it credit (Post#938)
- Safari Helicopter Tour (Kauai)
- Sandals.com resort booking (unique vacations) was not redeemable last year. Is redeemable online now
- SEASTREAK LLC - NYC (Commuter Ferri)
- Singapore Cable Car
- Southwest $100 gift card
- Southwest Early Bird Check-in (billed separately from airfare charges)
- Spirit of NY Dinner Cruises - www.spiritcruises.com, which have cruises in several other cities as well.
- Starwood Vacation Ownership (SPG Timeshare) Westin Princeville Kauai (coded as Timeshare).
- St Pauls Cathedral (manual redemption by phone allowed)
- Super Shuttle (mixed, worked in SF when (billed SUPERSHUTTLE EXECUCARS), worked in Boston (SUPERSHUTTLE BOSTON), failed in LA (SUPERSHUTTLE), Worked in Cancun.
- Taxi in Zürich
- Top of the Rock tickets - NYC
- Trenitalia Online
- Trimet (Portland OR public transportation)
- Trip Advisor Rental
- TurboJET (Hong Kong)
- Uber
- Uber GC through MPX $100 (re-confirmed 11/1/2018, using Arrival Premier)
- United Baggage Fee
- Universal Studio Orlando tickets (had to call in)
- Viator (sightseeing/tours)
- Victoria Clipper (passenger ferry)
- Wedding at the Stratosphere's Chapel in the Clouds (billed as stratosphere)
- Windsor Castle (manual redemption by phone allowed)
- Wine purchases from different wine tasting rooms
- WMATA (Washington DC Metro) - [[COLOR="Red"]reconfirmed 10/5/15]
- Zipcar
="3"%Unsuccessful (please mention the amount redeemed - important as anything under$25$100 cannot be reimbursed)
Partial redemptions are possible - however you cannot redeem against that charge again. So if you have a $500 charge and you spend 40K points against it, you cannot redeem 10K points for the remaining $100 of that charge. - www.b-europe.com (SNCB rail)
- Amtrak (possibly due <$25 charge)
- Blue Water Rafting. Merchant category "Recreation Services -- Not elsewhere classified"
- Brazil airline GOL booked online codes as DIRECT MARKETING/DIRECT MARKETERS--NOT ELESWH ..
- Broadmoor Hotel Food and Beverage (Colorado Spring, CO)
- budgetair.co.uk (charged >$200)
- Car2go
- De Palm Tours, Aruba (classified as Recreation. Called Barclay twice.)
- Description: ZERVE *CA WHALES Merchant Category: THEATRICAL PRODUCERS (EXCEPT MOTION PICTURES), TICKET AGENCIES...Tickets to whale watching tour purchased over the phone.
- Evan Evans Sightseeing tours (UK based)- http://www.evanevanstours.co.uk
- Fastrak tag autoload for San Francisco bridge tolls ($25)
- Global Entry
- Gotobus.com Long Distance Buses, ~$100
- Homeaway.com, posts as real estate. Barclays said they'd make a one-time exception but future purchases won't count as travel.
- Hostelbookers.com deposit (maybe the charge which is >$25 will count?)
- Hotels.com Gift Card
- IHG points and cash hotel redemption
- Malaysian Overnight Train KUL-SIN (ktmb.com.my)
- Monterey Aquarium
- Parking at DCA - $136 (7/9/19)
- Parking at HSV ($96 in parking at Huntsville International Airport)
- Parking at IAH (Houston Intercontinental - on airport) -$76 (PARKING LOTS AND GARAGES)
- Parking at LAS
- Parking at LGA $204
- Parking at Port Imperial, Weehawken, NJ
- Parking at SNA (John Wayne Airport)
- San Francisco Clipper Card public transit (autoload from website)
- Skyjump at Stratosphere Hotel LV $150 (01/14) - not charged by hotel.
- Space Needle and Chihuly Garden Tickets
- Starwood points purchase (BUSINESS SERVICES NOT ELSEWHERE CLASSIFIED)
- Taxi Magic /Curb- Taxi service
- Thello train (France-Italy night train, codes as rail-freight)
- Trenitalia (both online and in stations, posts as rail-freight)
- UBER eGift Card (bought through the UBER app) for $100 - Not coded as "travel," so couldn't redeem online and they wouldn't do it over the phone, either.
Airlines that post purchases of multiple tickets as one amount or split them:
One Amount
BA (USD based award ticket)
Multiple Transactions
UA (award)
DL (award)
Barclays Arrival Plus, now 70K w/$5k spend
May 14, 2014, 3:30 pm
#61
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: PVD/BOS
Posts: 879
Quote: Originally Posted by ashap
They did under the old rules/categories so I'm not sure why they wouldn't under the new ones.
MBTA in BOS does in fact code for redemption, but you need to either load $25+ on charlie or get a weekly/monthly that is over $25 (I think weekly is $18)
They did under the old rules/categories so I'm not sure why they wouldn't under the new ones.
MBTA in BOS does in fact code for redemption, but you need to either load $25+ on charlie or get a weekly/monthly that is over $25 (I think weekly is $18)
My point to the OP was just that the MBTA has always coded as a travel category so there is no reason to think it wouldn't now.
May 14, 2014, 3:50 pm
#62
Suspended
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: LAX/SNA
Programs: AA, Hilton Gold
Posts: 3,887
May 14, 2014, 3:51 pm
#63
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 54
Just received this reply from Barclays customer service after I requested a new card.
"Keep in mind, when you first use your card abroad while traveling, you must make a purchase at a merchant with an attendant using the Chip & Signature feature. This will activate the PIN number, so that you may use the Chip & PIN feature at an unattended kiosks."
"Keep in mind, when you first use your card abroad while traveling, you must make a purchase at a merchant with an attendant using the Chip & Signature feature. This will activate the PIN number, so that you may use the Chip & PIN feature at an unattended kiosks."
May 14, 2014, 4:02 pm
#64
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 15
Also worth noting the one downgrade (at least for first year benefits) of the plus card is that it doesn't have the first year into 0% APR like the non-plus arrival still does. Probably not important to most, but I haven't seen anyone note this.
Also, I called in today to see about getting that 0% APR on my plus card (which I had just been approved for) and they couldn't do it. Sounded like they might be considering these two cards to be separate products? She said I would have to re-apply for the non-plus arrival card if I wanted that 0% apr.... and even suggested I re-apply and then transfer my credit line over from the plus. Obviously, not a good option and not what I ended up doing, but this could be a helpful data point for those considering applying again for the plus who already had the non-plus.
Also, I called in today to see about getting that 0% APR on my plus card (which I had just been approved for) and they couldn't do it. Sounded like they might be considering these two cards to be separate products? She said I would have to re-apply for the non-plus arrival card if I wanted that 0% apr.... and even suggested I re-apply and then transfer my credit line over from the plus. Obviously, not a good option and not what I ended up doing, but this could be a helpful data point for those considering applying again for the plus who already had the non-plus.
May 14, 2014, 4:23 pm
#65
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: SAN
Posts: 234
Also worth noting the one downgrade (at least for first year benefits) of the plus card is that it doesn't have the first year into 0% APR like the non-plus arrival still does. Probably not important to most, but I haven't seen anyone note this.
Also, I called in today to see about getting that 0% APR on my plus card (which I had just been approved for) and they couldn't do it. Sounded like they might be considering these two cards to be separate products? She said I would have to re-apply for the non-plus arrival card if I wanted that 0% apr.... and even suggested I re-apply and then transfer my credit line over from the plus. Obviously, not a good option and not what I ended up doing, but this could be a helpful data point for those considering applying again for the plus who already had the non-plus.
Also, I called in today to see about getting that 0% APR on my plus card (which I had just been approved for) and they couldn't do it. Sounded like they might be considering these two cards to be separate products? She said I would have to re-apply for the non-plus arrival card if I wanted that 0% apr.... and even suggested I re-apply and then transfer my credit line over from the plus. Obviously, not a good option and not what I ended up doing, but this could be a helpful data point for those considering applying again for the plus who already had the non-plus.
May 14, 2014, 4:38 pm
#66
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: TYR
Programs: AA ExP, Marriott Gold, HH Gold
Posts: 48
I put about $10k/mo on my Arrival but don't think I would use many if any of the World Elite benefits so if they don't do upgrades then I'm not going to worry about it. In fact if they don't even send me the upgraded card anytime soon that's fine with me - they had to issue me a new card several months ago due to potential fraud that they supposedly detected and it was a pain having to re-setup a lot of my auto pays - especially for business expenses where I had to call and/or fax in information.
I'm content with the current card I have with the added benefits of being able to use additional categories and especially the additional 30 days to redeem rewards - since I budget and pay for my travel in full and then treat the card as a pure cash back card.
I'm content with the current card I have with the added benefits of being able to use additional categories and especially the additional 30 days to redeem rewards - since I budget and pay for my travel in full and then treat the card as a pure cash back card.
May 14, 2014, 5:06 pm
#67
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 4,166
Just received this reply from Barclays customer service after I requested a new card.
"Keep in mind, when you first use your card abroad while traveling, you must make a purchase at a merchant with an attendant using the Chip & Signature feature. This will activate the PIN number, so that you may use the Chip & PIN feature at an unattended kiosks."
"Keep in mind, when you first use your card abroad while traveling, you must make a purchase at a merchant with an attendant using the Chip & Signature feature. This will activate the PIN number, so that you may use the Chip & PIN feature at an unattended kiosks."
May 14, 2014, 5:12 pm
#68
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: RDU
Programs: Delta silver, HH silver, IHG platinum, SPG gold, AMEX platinum
Posts: 400
Added Viator and Evan Evans Sightseeing (UK based) to Wiki.
May 14, 2014, 5:18 pm
#69
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Upper Sternistan
Posts: 10,034
I'm sure there's someone here with more understanding of the situation, but the gas station/train station problem in Europe will still be a problem with this card, AFAIK.
I don't get why US banks don't want to do away with the 'signature' part, but there's some good reason for it, since they almost all still keep it.
May 14, 2014, 6:18 pm
#70
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: PVD/BOS
Posts: 879
Same question here. I hope they continue giving the 0% until our first year is up. I stuck an expensive cruise on mine while I work to get the points to pay for it. If they take away the 0% early that will really mess up my plans.
May 14, 2014, 6:48 pm
#71
Suspended
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: LAX/SNA
Programs: AA, Hilton Gold
Posts: 3,887
May 14, 2014, 6:56 pm
#72
Join Date: Jun 1999
Location: NYC/LA
Programs: DL Plat, AA Plat Pro, Marriott Titanium, IHG Diamond Amb
Posts: 7,486
May 14, 2014, 7:00 pm
#73
Suspended
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: LAX/SNA
Programs: AA, Hilton Gold
Posts: 3,887
May 14, 2014, 7:01 pm
#74
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: SNA/LAX
Posts: 1,407
Just approved! 
Very excited to get on the Boost action and pay for my Disney World tickets over NYE this year. I've been holding out, but I'm glad I did!
Very excited to get on the Boost action and pay for my Disney World tickets over NYE this year. I've been holding out, but I'm glad I did!
May 14, 2014, 7:24 pm
#75
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 920
Doesn't work for me, :/ Will have to call in to see if I can argue the point, since mine was definitely a tourist attraction.