Mar 8, 2014, 8:10 pm
Last edit by: mia
Thread closed. Click HERE to read the new thread.
Let's crowd source things that have counted towards travel redemptions that are not so obvious
Successful
Successful - Plus Only
Unsuccessful (please mention the amount redeemed - important as anything under $25 cannot be reimbursed)
Don't forget travel purchase needs to be > $25 charge for 2,500 mile redemption
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.
Let's crowd source things that have counted towards travel redemptions that are not so obvious
Successful
- NS Hispeed Train Tickets (nshispeed.com)
- Capitaine Train Tickets (capitaine.com)
- Eurostar Train Tickets (eurostar.com)
- DB Bahn Trains Germany (bahn.de)
- Super Shuttle (mixed, worked in SF when (billed SUPERSHUTTLE EXECUCARS), worked in Boston (SUPERSHUTTLE BOSTON), failed in LA (SUPERSHUTTLE)
- rail europe on travelocity
- New York City MTA Subway Cards
- Boston MBTA Charlie Card reload & Commuter Rail passes & tickets
- San Francisco Clipper Card public transit (autoload from website)
- Norwegian Cruise Line purchase made from telephone order from vacationstogo.com
- rail JR Rail in Japan, load as tourist attraction, call in to get it credit (Post#938)
- Alaska Airlines checked baggage fee $25 charge
- Southwest Early Bird Check-in (billed separately from airfare charges)
- cheaptickets.com hotel
- Amtrak train ticket >$25 (ALB-NYP)
- Amtrak train ticket >$25 (unknown destinations)
- Buying Lifemiles from Avianca
- Primetime Shuttle (Worked from LAX-SNA)
- Orbitz.com purchase
- Priceline
- Las Vegas Show Booked through hotel
- Hotels.com
- WMATA (Washington DC Metro) Weekly pass
Successful - Plus Only
- Uber
- NYC Taxi
- Empire State Building tickets
- SF Taxi (coded as "YELLOW CARD SERVICES I")
Unsuccessful (please mention the amount redeemed - important as anything under $25 cannot be reimbursed)
- Amtrak (possibly due <$25 charge)
- IHG points and cash hotel redemption
- www.b-europe.com (SNCB rail)
- Description: ZERVE *CA WHALES Merchant Category: THEATRICAL PRODUCERS (EXCEPT MOTION PICTURES), TICKET AGENCIES...Tickets to whale watching tour purchased over the phone.
- Car2go
- Hostelbookers.com deposit (maybe the charge which is >$25 will count?)
- Thello train (France-Italy night train, codes as rail-freight)
- Trenitalia (both online and in stations, posts as rail-freight)
- Brazil airline GOL booked online codes as DIRECT MARKETING/DIRECT MARKETERS--NOT ELESWH ..
- Blue Water Rafting. Merchant category "Recreation Services -- Not elsewhere classified"
- Parking at IAH (Houston Intercontinental - on airport) -$76 (PARKING LOTS AND GARAGES)
- Parking at SNA (John Wayne Airport)
- Skyjump at Stratosphere Hotel LV $150 (01/14) - not charged by hotel.
- Gotobus.com Long Distance Buses, ~$100
- Global Entry
Don't forget travel purchase needs to be > $25 charge for 2,500 mile redemption
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.
Barclays Arrival/Arrival Cards (1.1%/2.2% travel credits)
Apr 8, 2014, 9:47 pm
#1066
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 4,166
Personally I much rather to have the 30K US miles with $1 spend then the Arrival card if Barclays only let me have one card at a time. Multiple US cards work far better. Plan to have No.5 2 to 3 months from now, after getting the bonus on No.4 today. Virtually no work and the bonuses have much higher value in my book.
Apr 9, 2014, 1:05 am
#1067
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: KWI
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 806
I've been considering appealing another Freight Train code on passenger rail, but I'll probably just get a refundable plane ticket instead...
Apr 9, 2014, 4:48 am
#1068
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: BOS .. but soon SFO
Programs: UA PLAT, TK GLD, Hilton Diamond, IC PLAT, SPG GLD, Marriott GLD
Posts: 1,528
Should I reply back asking for a manual review or should I call in? What exactly should I say when I call in or reply?
Apr 9, 2014, 4:58 am
#1069
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: KWI
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 806
Should I reply back asking for a manual review or should I call in? What exactly should I say when I call in or reply?
I'm not sure how repeatable it is. Now I have the freight train issue and a hotel that coded my entire stay as a bar tab (they don't even serve drinks or food). Rather than fight it again I'll just use the alternative less ethical method.
Last edited by LoneTree; Apr 9, 2014 at 5:03 am
Apr 9, 2014, 5:06 am
#1070
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: BOS .. but soon SFO
Programs: UA PLAT, TK GLD, Hilton Diamond, IC PLAT, SPG GLD, Marriott GLD
Posts: 1,528
You can either message or call, but I basically replied that their limits were much more arbitrary than competing products like Capital One Venture and that they should be able to make a manual redemption since it is obviously travel related. I mentioned how I may be more likely to use the Venture if I am unable to redeem travel charges on Arrival. They replied that my request would be manually reviewed. A week later the redemption appeared.
I'm not sure how repeatable it is. Now I have the freight train issue and a hotel that coded my entire stay as a bar tab (they don't even serve drinks or food). Rather than fight it again I'll just use the alternative less ethical method.
I'm not sure how repeatable it is. Now I have the freight train issue and a hotel that coded my entire stay as a bar tab (they don't even serve drinks or food). Rather than fight it again I'll just use the alternative less ethical method.
Apr 9, 2014, 5:11 am
#1071
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: KWI
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 806
You can either message or call, but I basically replied that their limits were much more arbitrary than competing products like Capital One Venture and that they should be able to make a manual redemption since it is obviously travel related. I mentioned how I may be more likely to use the Venture if I am unable to redeem travel charges on Arrival. They replied that my request would be manually reviewed. A week later the redemption appeared.
I'm not sure how repeatable it is. Now I have the freight train issue and a hotel that coded my entire stay as a bar tab (they don't even serve drinks or food). Rather than fight it again I'll just use the alternative less ethical method.
I'm not sure how repeatable it is. Now I have the freight train issue and a hotel that coded my entire stay as a bar tab (they don't even serve drinks or food). Rather than fight it again I'll just use the alternative less ethical method.
Apr 9, 2014, 6:20 am
#1072
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: PVD/BOS
Posts: 879
You would have to MS a TON to generate enough $ to cover a cruise.
Unless you are lucky enough to be on West Coast and have access to the no fee Pay Power and could buy as many as you want, chances are, the most gain you would get, NET of the cost of MS, is a 1.1% return.
For a $5K worth of cruise, totally paid by the card earnings NET of the MS cost, it would mean said person needs to MS roughly $455K. That is A LOT of MS Work to do to generate that amount. This is just basic MATH that anyone could plug it in a calculator to show it. Even a math-challenged person could do it if s/he understand how a percentage works - $450,000 x 0.011 = $4,950. Try it on your calculator and you would see how much MS required to generate that $5K after the MS cost.
If you can MS that much $ to pay for your travel - then hats off to you as you obviously have a lot of time to "invest" in this.
Now, if you are using a 5x card versus a 2x card - the story would be different because now the earning rate NET after the cost, on a 5x card would be 4% - that is 300% more than the Arrival card's 1.1% Net after cost. But we are talking Arrival here that is a 2x only.
So for a 5x card, after cost it really is a 4x - the same $5K only needs $125,000 MS to generate - that is A LOT LESS MS WORK TO DO, and many can manage this in several months time, not to mention there is no need to redeem the "mile" with a travel expense in order to get that 1.1% net return, as the 5x card is 100% cash rebate that you can use it on whatever and however you want to use it. That is why even with the $440 bonus, it is not the best card out there to generate your spending cash.
Unless you are lucky enough to be on West Coast and have access to the no fee Pay Power and could buy as many as you want, chances are, the most gain you would get, NET of the cost of MS, is a 1.1% return.
For a $5K worth of cruise, totally paid by the card earnings NET of the MS cost, it would mean said person needs to MS roughly $455K. That is A LOT of MS Work to do to generate that amount. This is just basic MATH that anyone could plug it in a calculator to show it. Even a math-challenged person could do it if s/he understand how a percentage works - $450,000 x 0.011 = $4,950. Try it on your calculator and you would see how much MS required to generate that $5K after the MS cost.
If you can MS that much $ to pay for your travel - then hats off to you as you obviously have a lot of time to "invest" in this.
Now, if you are using a 5x card versus a 2x card - the story would be different because now the earning rate NET after the cost, on a 5x card would be 4% - that is 300% more than the Arrival card's 1.1% Net after cost. But we are talking Arrival here that is a 2x only.
So for a 5x card, after cost it really is a 4x - the same $5K only needs $125,000 MS to generate - that is A LOT LESS MS WORK TO DO, and many can manage this in several months time, not to mention there is no need to redeem the "mile" with a travel expense in order to get that 1.1% net return, as the 5x card is 100% cash rebate that you can use it on whatever and however you want to use it. That is why even with the $440 bonus, it is not the best card out there to generate your spending cash.
I make a profit on my MS or at the very least break even. So when I put all my math together it looks nothing like yours.
But of course thanks for assuming we all MS your way and it has to cost money to generate points.
Apr 9, 2014, 11:21 am
#1073
Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 731
Quote:
Originally Posted by yOyOYoo
I just had a strange thing happen when trying to redeem for one cruise ticket.
Price of one 7 day cruise ticket was $573.41, I noticed when I went to redeem, it gave me an option of using 57,400 miles to pay for the trip. I redeemed, it said congratulations, and then I noticed it did not deduct any miles.
I tried this two times, and both times it said my purchase was complete... yet no miles were deducted from my account.
This glitch ever happen to anyone else??
To update this, I sent a secure message to Barclaycard and they said I had to call in to make the redemption. Very strange. They processed the cash back for travel over the phone and say it should take effect in 24 hours.
This is the first time I could not make a redemption through the website.
Originally Posted by yOyOYoo
I just had a strange thing happen when trying to redeem for one cruise ticket.
Price of one 7 day cruise ticket was $573.41, I noticed when I went to redeem, it gave me an option of using 57,400 miles to pay for the trip. I redeemed, it said congratulations, and then I noticed it did not deduct any miles.
I tried this two times, and both times it said my purchase was complete... yet no miles were deducted from my account.
This glitch ever happen to anyone else??
To update this, I sent a secure message to Barclaycard and they said I had to call in to make the redemption. Very strange. They processed the cash back for travel over the phone and say it should take effect in 24 hours.
This is the first time I could not make a redemption through the website.
I'm pretty annoyed / frustrated right now. I think this is the first reported case of someone NOT being able to redeem Arrival miles.
Apr 9, 2014, 12:03 pm
#1074
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Raiegh, NC
Posts: 300
Yeah, I don't have much problem generating enough points for a cruise. If I could MS totally on my AMEX BCs, I would of course do that. I don't want to sabotage that opportunity though. That's where the Arrival card comes into play. I "earn" about $200 net (towards a cruise or something else) for each trip I make to Walmart. 
Apr 9, 2014, 12:19 pm
#1075
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 349
can you still call in to get the 1k spend offer?
also, to contribute: shows in vegas do show up as redeemable travel if you purchase the tickets through the hotel
also, to contribute: shows in vegas do show up as redeemable travel if you purchase the tickets through the hotel
Last edited by llbad; Apr 9, 2014 at 12:28 pm
Apr 9, 2014, 3:29 pm
#1076
Join Date: May 2010
Location: SoCal
Programs: SPG PLAT, AA Plat (2MM), BA, UA/CO
Posts: 442
Can't See Rewards History
Has anyone else come across this? When I click on "Rewards History" in my account, the history flashes for a split second and then disappears, followed by: "No rewards activity available." I'd appreciate any suggestions that anyone has. Thanks.
xlax
xlax
Apr 10, 2014, 8:54 pm
#1077
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: United States
Posts: 526
No you cannot still call to get the 1k offer.
Looks like you'll be able to downgrade to the no annual fee version anyway. But really the Arrival is only worth it for the first year sign up bonus. Then you're going to be better off with the fidelity amex that is a flat 2% cash back unless you're spending $44,450 a year or more on the Arrival to offset the annual fee by the extra 0.2% back.
Apr 11, 2014, 10:47 am
#1078
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: LAS
Programs: DL PM, UA PS, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 4,904
If you use TripIt Pro, don't forget the free subscription there. It costs $49 although there are some coupons that bring it down to $29 or $39 at some points of the year. I love TripIt Pro and would totally pay for it, so I considering the Arrival a $50/year card (take average price of TripIt off).
Apr 11, 2014, 2:29 pm
#1079
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: BOS .. but soon SFO
Programs: UA PLAT, TK GLD, Hilton Diamond, IC PLAT, SPG GLD, Marriott GLD
Posts: 1,528
The barclay travel commuity just went from 200./story to 150/story
and I just started a couple of days ago, but it seems like they also imposed a 5 limit / city thing
and I just started a couple of days ago, but it seems like they also imposed a 5 limit / city thing