nbtmn

Newbie here, and considering signing up for my first travel rewards card. My husband and I each have a no-fee Citi Dividend card which gives us 1% cash back, but I'm interested in trying something new which will give us a better rewards return and apply the reward to something fun, like travel.

We're casual travelers, and usually fly once or twice a year for leisure. We usually go with the airline that gives us the best price/schedule, though fly Delta the most since as we live near a Delta hub. I looked into the SkyMiles AMEX, but don't think it would give us the best benefit, as we don't always fly routes where Delta has the most competitive offering. We have also been unable to book a SkyMiles award ticket at the "saver" level for either of our last two itineraries.

Because of this, the two cards I'm most intrigued by are the Barclays Arrival and CapitalOne Venture. I really like the flexibility of accumulating "points" and being able to offset travel charges based on price spent, vs. tiered redemption (like US Bank FlexPerks) or miles (my experience with SkyMiles restrictions). I also like being able to apply them to other things like rental cars/hotels, since we sometimes stay in a hotel w/o flying.

Looking at the basic perks of both cards, the Barclays Arrival seems to be the obvious winner, but I want to first ask a few questions for anyone who has had experience with either or both of these cards.

Flexibility of redemption in regards to "travel charges": This is my biggest concern about the Barclays since it seems they will only let you use points for charges that are filed under certain merchant codes, and are rigid about it. I've read some anecdotal reports that seem to indicate that CapitalOne is more flexible about what constitutes a "travel" charge. Is this true? We sometimes book nontraditional lodging such as VRBO/bed and breakfasts, so this could be a big drawback to the Barclays. Is there a way you can check, in advance, if a charge would count as "travel" to Barclays?

Devaluation/change of rewards programs: Obviously none of us has a crystal ball, but does anyone have a guess as to which bank would less quickly devalue or change the rewards program? I am conservative with our credit and would plan to keep the new card for awhile, charging all spending to it to maximize our potential reward in a single pool.

Two cardholders building "points" in a single account: It seems preferable to have my husband and I both cardholders that have the ability to accumulate points in the same "bucket" so we can build rewards to offset larger travel charges more quickly. What is the feasibility/possibility of doing this with either card?

Travel insurance: I've bought supplementary travel insurance for a couple of trips before. I see both cards have some coverage, but Barclay's includes interruption/cancellation; can anyone comment on the value of this benefit vs. purchasing supplementary insurance through a third party? Do you only get this benefit if you book tickets, etc. with the card?

Thanks!