Originally Posted by
flyonpaperplane
If you called for the confirmation letter before the card converted, Barclays would have had to have closed your Virgin America Visa, thereby interrupting service. Is it possible that they couldn't send a confirmation letter because you didn't want to close the account early? Either way, the Arrival card is awesome. Gives you greater redemption flexibility - it's really generous on the statement credit rates. The card is award winning... and you still keep your Elevate miles- seems like keeping Arrival and using it to fly on Virgin or whatever airline is the win. Sure- I prefer flying Virgin, but sometimes they don't go where I need to go. Arrival will ensure I'm earning (and can redeem) with any flight. It's a no brainer to me.
Point redemption with the Arrival card equals one cent on the dollar for travel credits, and a half cent for cash credits. Point redemption with the Comenity card equals 1.8 cents for VX travel. (Maybe someone could check my math.)
The Arrival card has no annual fee, which is a big plus. Annual fees shouldn't be acceptable. Also, Barclays has better security and benefits than Comenity. But the Barclaycard's rewards aren't that great. In any case, it isn't a "no brainer."