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Old Dec 29, 2014, 1:50 pm
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: MDtR-Chicago
For discussion on upgrade offers to the Aviator Silver card, see: Any success upgrading Barclays AA Aviator Red MC to AA Aviator Silver World Elite MC?

For other discussion on the Aviator cards, see: New AAdvantage Aviator Silver and Red Cards from BarclayCard (US targeted)

Current retention offers

Under the card's header, specify the date called (MM/DD/YYYY), the offer, how long you had the card, yearly spend, and any other pertinent info.

Arrival Plus
03/09 Retentions only offered downgrade. Escalated to manager and AF waived immediately. ~$220K spend in first year
03/03 Same as other offer listed today. Would be allowed to downgrade, no mention of bonus points, no AF waiver. Probably a few thousand in spend over the 1 year. Cancelled the card.
03/03 No AF waiver, just option to downgrade. Spent $32k on the card in the first year
02/18 Asked for annual fee waiver. Said had already been waived for first year, unable to waive it again
01/15 Refused to waive AF, offered to downgrade instead. Will call again.
01/15 Specialist (call elevated) offered to downgrade. No AF waiver. 1 yr, not much spend. Canceled.
01/26 offered downgrade with 1000 points on first spend, also offered ability to use points to pay part/all of AF
02/11 - Downgrade was not available for my account. Closed it instead.
02/15 Retention CSR was polite, but no offer other than downgrade + 1000 points for first spend. Declined her offer and will likely retain card with af.
03/15 - 2 separate data points. One was offered annual fee waiver, and one was not. Not sure what difference between the accounts was.
06/2015 - AF not waived; downgrade w/ 1000 points after first spend offered. Card age = 1 year, about 10k spend. Decided to downgrade to no AF card. Was assured no credit pull for downgrade.
10/15 Offer only to downgrade to no annual fee Arrival or Rewards card - no ability to waive fee again for second time on Plus card or convert to another card other than the aforementioned - have 60 days from when fee posts to cancel and receive a refund it seems
10/15 Offer to downgrade to no AF Arrivals card + 1000 points w/ first use of new card. No hard pull to downgrade.
01/02/2017 - No waiver offered, only downgrade, card open since 2013, minimal recent spend
02/23/2017 - No offers. Open 2 years. Spend $7600 last year.
02/15/2018 - minimal spend. had card 1 year. no offers. closed
05/15/2018 - minimal spend . Offer to switch to no fee card to retain credit limit.1,000 points for first use and $50 statement credit if $1,000 is charged to the card for 3 consecutive months. Accepted.
10/4/2018 - $2k spend in prior two months. Had card 2yrs. Offer to switch to no fee card to retain credit limit.1,000 points for first use. Accepted.
4/23/19 - minimal spend. No offer to downgrade or points offered. Closed.
12/10/19 - $8k spend in 12 months. Had card 1 yr. No offer to downgrade or points offered. No action yet from my side.
07/2020 - $50k spend in 2019. Called twice, no offers. Called third time to cancel.
08/2020 - $9k spend in 14 months. No offers on first call. Drained points and called back a week later, still no offers, closed account.

Arrival (non-plus)


Aviator Red/US Airways
12/14 AF waived, Spend less than $500 annually, opened 2013.(J_b)
01/15 AF waived, opened 2013.
1/7/15 AF waived, opened Dec. 2013. Spent less than $500
01/15 AF waived, 5K miles for $3K spend 90 days; 2 yr. old card; $25k spend in 2014
3/1/15 AF waived for second year in a row. $25k spend last year. Nothing in 6+mo
March 16, 2015: All 6 of our family's accounts had AF either waived or credited back. B/w 2K and 3K spend last year on each account.
3/19/2015: Got $89 fee credited. (got annual 10k miles + last US Air companion certificate in mail too!)
4/4/2015: $89 fee credited by having manager call me back. This is 2nd anniv (will be getting 10k miles for anniv as well on next statement).
May 2015 AF waived $25K last year maybe $5-6K to date this year
06/05/2015: AF waived, ~$20k spend
06/24/2015: Has card since 2013, barely any spend the last year. First call, no retention offers. Second call, a few days later, to actually cancel the card, transferred to a specialist, AF waived. Keeping it for another year.
6/30/2015: First line rep saw right away that they could waive fee, just needed to connect with someone else to make it official. ~6K spend
7/11/2015: same as above (6/30), $89 fee waived in 2-3 business days. ~10K spend.
8/28/2015: Annual fee waived, also rep found a 2x gas, grocery, utility offer for 90 days up to 8000 miles. ~1k spend this year on card
9/21/2015: Annual fee waived. 2x gas, grocery OR utility offer for 90 days. Spend $1000 in category and get 5000 mile bonus. Max bonus 8000 miles. ~6k spend this year on card
10/1/15: AF posted yesterday, got it waived today. System was being updated so I'll call back tmrw to see if there are any additional offers available.
11/4/15: AF posted 10/30, fee waived no questions asked. Got an offer for 5,000 bonus miles after next purchase, no min spend requirement. $14k in spending in the past 12 months. Got card in Oct. 2014.
11/6/15: AF posted recently, got it waived and got an offer for 5,000 bonus points after $1,000 in new purchases within 90 days. Total spend about $1k in past year.
11/2015: Annual fee waived. No other offers other than an upgrade to Aviator Silver.
12/09/2015: AF posted 11/30, fee waived after asking for "offers to offset AF". Also offered extra 1mile/$1 on gas & groceries, up to $8k.
12/21/15 af posts at end of December had to escalate to 2nd level af waived offered 5k points for 1 k spend member sine 09
12/31/15 AF Waived. No other offers.
1/2/16 AF Waived, 500 bonus miles, 5k bonus miles with $1k spend within 90 days. Have had card for 1 year, with about $7k in spend during 2015.
1/4/16: AF waived. No other offers, even after asking about promos. Have had card for 1 year, 9k spend.
1/5/16: AF waived immediately, also offered 2x points on supermarkets, movies, and utilities until Mar 1st. Had card for one year, one purchase initially, and about $1200 spend in past 2 months.
1/5/16: AF waived, offered 5000 miles for $1000 spend in 90 days or 2 miles/dollar on gas and other categories up to 9K miles. Also given 500 miles as courtesy deposit. Less than $2k spend, but $6k in balance transfer offers on my account in 2015.
1/6/16: AF waived. Two offers - 5K for $1K spend in 90 days or 2 miles/dollar. No more than 2K of overall spending in a year.
1/8/2016: AF waived. Offered 5000 miles for 1 purchase (as long as it was over $1.00) in 90 days. ~$20K spend.
1/9/2016: AF waived. No offers. ~$16K Spend.
1/11/2016: AF waived. Didn't hold out for more offers. No spending.
1/14/2016: AF waived. No offers. ~$8K Spend.
1/17/2016: AF waived. No offers. $15K spend
1/25/2016: AF waived. Did not hold out for more offers. $15K spend.
1/25/2016: AF waived, 500 miles for one purchase. $10k spend.
1/28/2016: AF waived. No offers. $12k spend last year.
1/31/2016: AF waived. No offers. ~$10k spend last year.
1/31/2016: AF waived. 1mi bonus for gas, grocery & utility purchases for the next 90 days up to 8k mi. $0 spend, sock drawered.
2/1/16: AF Waived, plus 5K bonus post $1K spend in 90. Had mentioned it's all about bonus points. Accepted.
2/1/16: AF waived. Double miles for gas, grocery, & utilities for the next 90 days. Spent <$500 in 2015. Mentioned that I had a Citi card with identical benefits.
2/1/16: AF waived. 5k bonus miles for $1k spend in 90 days. Spent ~$1500 in 2015, most for a mileage bonus. Mentioned that I had a Citi card with identical benefits.
2/3/16: AF waived. 5k bonus miles for $1k spend in 90 days. 2x for supermarket, movie, and utility spend up to $2,500 for next 90 days. Increased CL by $2,500 without a hard pull.
2/7/15: AF waived. 10k bonus miles for $3k spend in 90 days. ~$80k spend.
3/4/16: AF waived. <$1k spend last year.
3/6/16: AF waived. Offered 2x on gas/groceries/utilities
3/24/16: AF waived. Spent <$1k last year. Offered 5k bonus for $1k spend, and 3x miles for spend on Uber.
3/28/16: AF waived. No offers. $2.5k spend last year.
3/30/16: AF waived. Spent $3K last year. Offered 5k bonus miles for $1k spend in 90 days, and 3x miles for spend on Uber until July 2016.
4/1/2016 : AF hit yesterday, called today and AF got waived. $6 spent last year. Offered 500 points for using the card in next 4 days.
4/6/2016: AF waived, 5k miles for $1k in spend over 90 days, bonus miles on Uber, restaurants, home improvement, and gas.
4/11/2016: AF waived, 5k miles for $1k in spend over 90 days.
4/15/2016: AF waived, offered choice of 5k miles for $1k in spend over 90 days, or extra mile per $ for gas/restaurants/etc over 90 days (max 8K). uber option also offered.
4/19/2016: AF waived + 5k miles for dealing with incompetent customer service.
5/5/2016: AF waived, offered 5000 miles for $1000 spend in 90 days or 2 miles/dollar on gas and other categories. Took the $1000 spend offer. No spending last year.
5/14/2016: AF waived, plus 5000 miles after next purchase (no $ limit). Zero spend last year.
5/24/2016: AF waived, did not inquire about offers. Not a 10K annual miles legacy card, so why I am keeping it? Little to no spend since switch to Aviator.
06/05/2016: called regular CSR and told her that I can't afford the Fee and wanted to close the card, she said Ok, she can close it. I said too soon, I have citi aa and they can waive my fee, then she transferred me to specialist. got AF waive and 5000 miles after $1k spending.
06/10/2016: AF credit and 5000 miles after $1k spending in 90 days
7/9/2016: AF waived, 5k for $1k/90days. Offered CLI with no HP but I declined
7/12/2016: AF waived, 5k for $1k/90days, CLI with no HP
7/23/2016: AF waived, 5k for $1k/90days. Offered CLI with no HP but I declined
7/31/2016: AF waiver, 5k for $1k/90 days. Offered CLI with no HP - declined. Limited spend (<$2k) in previous year
8/21/2016: AF waiver, 5k for $1k/90 days. 0% on new purchases for 9 months. 0 spend in last 12 months
8/30/2016: AF waiver, kicking myself for not asking for the 5k bonus, will call back. ETA - I called back, got the 5k bonus, a CLI with no HP, and 500 extra miles for having to call back (unsolicited).
11/04/2016: 5k for $1k/90 days. AF not waived. $1500 spend in past year. Had to ask several times for this offer.
11/10/2016: AF waiver, 5k for $1k/90 days. 0% on new purchases for 9 months (declined that part). $0 spend in last 12 months
11/15/2016; AF not waived, 5k for 1k 90 days + 500 extra miles for being a good customer, credit line increased by 4.5k with no credit pull. I accepted. <1k spend per year.
12/1/2016 AF waived, no bonus but I just got 10,000 Barclay red card holder anniversary miles (no min spend needed)
12/4/2016 AF waived, also received offer for 5K bonus miles with $1k spend in 90 days. About $2000 spend on the card, but also received AF waiver last year.
12/30/2016 AF not waived. Will call back in a few days.
1/2/2017 Had to speak to 3 people AF waived 5k bonous 1k spend runs concurrent w/$500 mo/15k offer i think this is the 3rd year in a row they waived it aprox5-6k spend year
1/3/2017 First CSR transferred to Account Specialist. Offered AF waiver right away. No other offers, didn't ask for the 5k offer, already have 15k and 25%. 2nd waiver, no spend last year except to meet the spend reqs.
1/3/2017 Transferred to Account Specialist Jesse. No AF waiver (probably because I got it twice before!). Accepted the 5k miles on $1,000 spend offer.
1/7/2017 First CSR (overseas) not helpful. Asked to be transferred to retentions (was US based). AF waived. Only bonus received past year was a 25% bonus for a few months. $9.5K spend last year. AF waived last year.
1/8/2017 Spent literally $0 on the card for a year. Transferred to account specialist. Offered downgrade to no annual fee version. Then offered annual fee refund + 5000 miles for spending $1000 in 3 months. Accepted.
1/10/2017 Wife said rude front-line agent immediately canceled her card before she could HUCA or ask for a retention agent. $5k spend.
1/10/2017 AF waived ($35k in spend) but no other offers.
1/19/2017 AF waived on two cards. No other offers. Not sure on annual spend, maybe $5-10k on each. Card holder since ~2011ish
1/28/2017 AF not waived (virtually no spend last year). Offer to downgrade or 5000 AA miles for $1000 spend in next 90 days. Closed account
2/2/2017 AF waived for 3rd year running on account still grandfathered into 10K miles annually. $4000 annual spend. Also got spend $1000 in 3 mos. get 5K miles offer.
2/8/2017 AF waived for 2nd year running on account still grandfathered into 10K miles annually. 5k mi bonus on 1k spend. I prob wont get the 10k this year as I called before the AF hit my account
2/21/2017 AF waived for 3rd year running on account still grandfathered into 10K miles annually. $3000 annual spend.
2/22/2017 No offer, refused to transfer retention. Foreign call center. Agent just reads the card benefits and made non-specific promise that there will be "more bonus offers" later. Had this card for ~3 years, have always paid the AF before. Annual spend maybe $2K. Will HUCA another day...
2/26/2017 Second call (previous call is described immediately above this line). This time they did transfer me to an Account Specialist. Offered 5K bonus miles for spending $1 in 90 days. Asked if they could credit for AF, too. She said no, that was the only offer available. Good enough, I accepted.
2/26/2017 No offer initially. Asked to cancel and transferred to retention who immediately waived it. Minimal spend on the card <$1K
3/13/2017 AF waived. Told the agent that as I had not used the card for a whole year that I was not inclined to pay AF. She asked me if I would like her to waive the fee. I said Yes. Good result.
3/2017 - wouldn't waive the fee (saw that I had it waived last year). Offered 5000 miles for $1000 spend in 90 days.
3/27/2017 - No offer initially. Asked to cancel and transferred to retention who immediately waived it. Minimal spend on the card <$2K
3/26/2017 - Called up and asked for retention offers. Nothing offered. Asked for 5K miles for $1k spend... got refused. Cancelled card.
3/29/2017- Called and transferred to retention. Specialist offered to waive the $89 fee right away and offered to put the $1k spend in 90 days promo on. Kept card open. About $3k in annual spend.
4/29/2017 - Called and transferred to retention. Specialist offered to waive the $89 fee right away and offered to put the $1k spend in 90 days promo on. Kept card open. Very minimal spend (enough for last year's bonus ).
5/15/17 - ~$500 annual Spend. Called to cancel/Downgrade. AF waived and 5k miles for $1k/90 days. Took the offer
5/22/17 - ~Think I spent $30 on the card on a ticket last year. Called to cancel/Downgrade. AF waived and 5k miles for $1k/90 days or 2x miles on gas/grocery/dining. Took the 5K offer.
6/27/17 - USAirways card w/ 10k yearly bonus, fee posted 27 days ago. Recent spend around $1500. No fee waiver available. 5000 miles for $1000 spend within 90 days. Also offered CLI.
06/09/17 - USAirways card w/ 10k yearly bonus, annual spend maybe $1000, no fee waiver, no offer, HUCA a month later
06/25/2017: USAirways card w/ 10k yearly bonus, annual spend negligible, no fee waiver, offer to downgrade to no-fee AAdvantage or to Arrival (with 2500pt bonus for spending $1K in 3 months or something) on first call; all offers disappeared upon HUCA a few weeks later; closed card. Too bad -- would've liked Arrival w/o a hard pull.
07/10/17 - US Airways card 2/ 10k yearly bonus, second call (first call on 6/9) - transferred to account specialist, fee waiver & 5k miles for $1k/90days - 4th year running fee waiver :-)
08/02/17 US Airways card 10k yearly bonus - told there were two offers, downgrade to no fee AA or Arrival - after second offer I said close it and then magically third offer to waive fee appeared.
08/12/17 Called twice, both times no offer to transfer to retention specialist and no offer. Closed the account. Minimal spend in the past year, had waived fee 2-3 times prior to that. Shame!
08/14/17 US Airways card, fee waiver, 5k miles for $1k/90days
8/30/17: Offered fee waiver, no additional bonus offers. In October was offered 30k bonus after spending $2,500 each month for 6 months. It was difficult, but managed to hit it with organic spend.
11/11/17: Fee waived, 5k miles for $1k spend in 90 days. $1,500 spend in prior year.
12/01/17: Previous US card w/Annual 10k bonus. Notice received, but AF not yet posted. AF waived. Nothing else offered.
12/1/17: AF waived. 5k bonus miles for $1k spend in 90 days. Accepted.
01/3/18: AF waived. 5k bonus miles for $1k spend in 90 days. Accepted. Opened January 2017, $2,900 spend 2017.
02/13/2018: Called 80+ days after fee posted. Grandfathered USAirways card 5+ years. No fee waiver available but 5k miles for $1k spend in 90 days, plus BT and 0% APR offers. Accepted.
03/01/18: No offers at all. Didn't push it. Minimal spend.
03/03/18: annual fee posted....call the number on the back and the CSR said I can process your cancellation request now....I said I wil rethink about it.....is there a way to connect to the retention department?
03/09/18: AF waived. (Spent >$3k in first year; Called after AF posted, transferred to retention; AA Platinum may have helped to waive AF)
04/23/18: transferred to a retention specialist. No AF waiver. Offered bonus opportunity for bonus miles on gas and groceries. Said I'd call back. Only about $400/year spend.
05/17/18: retention specialist saw low spend and only offered waiver if I spent a few $1000 over next 3 months. I did a PC to an AA no-fee card.
06/08/18: Grandfathered USAirways card. No offers at all. No downgrade whatsoever.
06/15/18: 5 yr-old card, a few K spend; first time unable to get any offer (tried twice). Could have downgraded. Canceled (was a legacy USAirways card, but without the 10K annual miles).
07/04/18: AAviator Red, second year. Little beyond the spend required to earn sign up bonus. After about 10 minutes, I got offered 5k AA miles for $1K spend over 90 days. Accepted.
07/05/18: Old USAirways card with 10k annual bonus, no spend for about 6 months, only offer was $1000 spend each month for 3 months, get $100. Accepted it.
08/13/18 Old USAirways Card with 10k annual bonus, very minimal annual spend, only offer was $1000 monthly spend for 3months, get$100 statement credit, HUCA - (have had fee waived at least past 4years.).
10/28/18 Old USAirways Card with 10k annual bonus (two cards), no spend but do utilize 1% balance transfer offers (nearly free money!). Offered to waive AF on both cards after just asking. Done this every year without any issue.since 2013.
10/30/18 Aviator Red, third year. Only a couple of charges made in-flight this year. No offer.
12/30/18 Aviator Red (converted from Old USAirways Card) with 10k annual bonus. Very little spend this year. AF hits in about a month. I groused about loss of EQD benefit. No offer initially. Then was offered $100 statement credit for spending $1K per month for 3 months. Pushed gently for further offers, got none. Declined offer for now. Will wait and try again in a couple weeks when AF gets closer.
1/1/19 Aviator Red ~10K spend. Past 3 years, AF waived, no issue. This year, $100 statement credit for $1K spend in each of next 3 months. Accepted.
2/1/19 Avitaor Red (converted from USAirways Card no annual bonus): little spend, but lots of balance transfers. Offered AF waiver OR 5k RDM for $1k/90days. Took AF waiver.
4/3/19 Aviator Red, 4 year card holder with minimal spend this past year. AF waived last year. Balance transfer offer but downgrade "offer" not available.
4/5/19 Aviator Red called again after no offers 3 weeks ago. No offers again. Moved Credit Line to Arrival and canceled.
5/1/19 Aviator Red. Open 2 years, less than $1k/year spend. No offers available, no downgrade options. Closed card.
5/7/19 Aviator Red. Legacy US Airways Card. Have had for 5+ years. Always minimal spend ($100/year) and was able to get an offer to waive AF in the past. No offers now. Closed card.
6/10/19 Aviator Red. Open just 1 year, only one purchase, fairly large balance transfer. Offered a downgrade to no fee version or waiver of annual fee. After accepting fee waiver, offered additionally $100 statement credit for 1k per month spending for 3 months.
10/30/19 Aviator red. Opened for one year, $99 annual fee hit this month. No retention offers, no annual fees waived, no option to downgrade the card to a non-annual fee CC. Closed the account.
12/6/19 Aviator Red Legacy USAirways: No offer, not willing to transfer the call, no spending bonuses. Have had annual fee waivers periodically in the past. No spend in months.
2/25/2020 Aviator Red legacy US Airways card: Offered to downgrade to no AF card and also offered 2500 miles with no spend requirement. Accepted.
06/16/2020 Aviator Red legacy US Airways card, minimal spend: No offers at all.
10/10/2020 Aviator Red American Airlines, $99 fee not waived but card was downgraded to no-cost card. Accepted downgrade.
8/11/2021 Aviator Red. Open 4 years. Received retention offer of $99 statement credit to offset annual fee with no spending. Accepted offer.

Aviator Silver
6/30/2015: AF waived at time of upgrading from Aviator Red, where I was a few months in to the AF waiver on that one.
2/10/2016: when annual fee posted on the card, initially offered nothing but after a few minutes of discussion and mentioning that I've spent 40k+ on the card per year, they offered 10,000 bonus miles (immediate without spend). Took the offer and paid the AF of $195
1/10/2017: Was not transferred to a specialist and would not, and no offer. Spent over $40k (by funding Citi bank). Pretty surprised.
3/8/2017: No offer just asked if I wanted to switch to fee free card. Declined and closed. 4k spend in 1yr
1/8/2018: No offer, will HUCA. $50k + spend.
2/8/2018: No offer. They offered to move the CL to my other Aviator card. Accepted and closed the account.
7/5/2018: Old USAirways that I upgraded to Silver when it first started. No offers. No ability to downgrade to any other Aviator. $77k spend in the last 12 months. Offered to move credit to Rewards or Arrival, both free. Declined both offers and will call again before the 60 days are up.
1/15/2019 no offer, would not transfer to retention as "because she is a manager, see sees all offers"
1/18/2020 no offer, $50k per year spend, cancelled card and felt great.
2/11/2020 no offer, previously waived every year, minimal spend. Cancelled card and processed immediately.
8/10/2020 annual fee waived AND 5k bonus miles with $1k of spend. Accepted both. About 4k in spend over last year.
10/6/2020 no offer, downgraded card to no AF, $25-50K annual spend since 2017 and no previous attempts to get the fee waived
Aviator Business
9/3/2019: Annual fee waived as a one-time courtesy. Minimal spend. First anniversary.
9/5/2019: Annual fee waived as a one-time courtesy. Minimal spend. First anniversary.
9/6/2019: Annual fee waived as a one-time courtesy. Minimal spend. First anniversary.
9/14/2019: Annual fee waived as a one-time courtesy. Rep was very explicit that it would not be waived next year. $4k spend. First anniversary.
01/12/2021: Annual fee not waived. First anniversary with minimal spend. Rep said there might be a possibility of a credit with $4500 per month spend. Called back and second rep said same thing. Closed account.
9/14/2021: Annual fee NOT waived. Card has been open at least 3 years and paid annual fee last year. Called after fee had posted to statement. No spend this year. Closed account.
9/15/2023: Annual fee not waived. Card open at least 5 years and paid annual fee last year. Called after fee posted. No spend. Closed account.

Jetblue Plus
10/4/18: Annual Fee Waived plus 5k Points for $1K Spend in 90 Days. Have had card two years. Annual Spend about $5k. Rep who answered the phone was able to look this up. Asked several questions about how often I fly jetblue and when I plan on using points.
2/15/2019: Annual fee waived plus 5k points for $1K spend in 90 days; first renewal on card (obtained in December 2017); spending about $6,500 total but representative stated that she could see I spent over $4k in the last year. Also offered the option to downgrade to a no annual fee card.
2/07/2022: AF waived plus 5k points for $1k spend in 90 days. Accepted. Asked several questions about how often I fly B6 and how I plan to use points.

Lufthansa
11/23 AF cut in half. Earn 5k mi after $1K spend in 90 days. Minimal use.
8/14 AF waived, open 1 month w/ 10K spend
6/15 No offer, closed card after transferring credit limit. $20k spent in 1 year.
6/16 AF waived, +1x points gas, groceries, drugs up to 8,000 points over 3 months. During spend verified Krogers counted as groceries
7/24/2018: 5000 miles for spending $1000 in 3 months
11/2018 Had card one year, minimal spend, only offer was to downgrade

Frontier
4/15 No offer, closed card after transferring credit limit. <$100 spent on card.

Hawaiian Airlines
08/19 biz CC, 2nd AF, only $5K office spend (GCs), AF waived.
02/19 Fee waived another year. Unable to accept any other 'offers' for the next 90 days.
02/18 Fee waived one year. Also offered, downgrade to a HA card with $50 fee/less benefits, no fee rewards card, no fee cash back card
01/15 Offered to waive half the fee. Downgraded to Barclaycard Rewards no fee card (also had option to downgrade to the Arrival no fee card)
04/15 Annual fee waived, had to ask for Retention Dept. Annual spend ~12k (Serve CC loads)
03/16 Annual fee waiver granted via SM, separate call to customer service to process fee waiver
04/16 No waiver or credit. Instead, offered 5000 miles with $1000 spend in 90 days
06/14 offered 5,000 points (worth $50 statement credit) for spending $1,000 over 3 months. This is already a no-fee card.

NFL
06/14 offered 5,000 points (worth $50 statement credit) for spending $1,000 over 3 months. This is already a no-fee card.

Wyndham Rewards VS
06/14 Called in to ask about any offers; given 5,000 WR points for spending $1,000 in 3 months. Followed up with question about annual fee; was able to get fee waived.
02/17 Similar to above (5000 pts with $1000 spending in 3 months), but only half annual fee refunded ($34.50). I thought it was still worth it, so I took the offer.
6/19/17 - 5000 bonus pts with $1000 spending in 3 months and half the annual fee refunded ($34.50).
8/4/17 No offer (other than downgrade to no AF version). Very little spend on card. Closed the account.
2/15/2018 - Very little spend. 50% off annual fee. Decline and closed
8/1/2018 - No spend. 50% off annual fee. Declined and closed.
9/24/2018 - 5000 bonus pts with $1000 spending in 3 months and half the annual fee refunded ($34.50)

JetBlue Business
5/13/2018: Had card for 1 year, met $1K minimum spend, not much else after that. No retention offer. Closed account.
4/24/2020: First card anniversary, nothing beyond initial spend and paying annual fee at opening. Offered half fee waiver as one time courtesy ($49.50).
5/29/2021: Second card anniversary, little if any spend this year and had 1/2 fee waiver last year; no offers this year. Closed.
4/27/2022: Third card anniversary, no spend this year, no offer, closed it.
6/1/2022: First card anniversary, minimal spend after initial bonus; no offers, closed it
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Barclays retention offers (all cards)

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Old Sep 19, 2019, 8:36 pm
  #2251  
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: California
Posts: 146
Aviator red, former US airways. Offered $100 statement credit on $1000 spend for 3 months. Spent over 20 minutes on the phone with the agent. He said I should call often to see if there were offers on my card when I said I used other cards that had spending bonuses. I accepted since I have a flight coming up on AA and no spending to make on anything.
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Old Sep 20, 2019, 1:54 pm
  #2252  
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 255
Aviator Red Card. I had the card since 2017 and got the fee waived last year.

I called today to try to get a retention offer and got an offshore rep, who said there were no offers on my account and that I could only downgrade to a no-fee card and lose several benefits. She did not seem at all confident so I asked for a supervisor. She transferred me to a relationship manager, who discussed the benefits I was receiving with the account. I told her that the primary benefit for me was the 10% rebate on award tickets. She then checked for offers and said she could outright waive the fee this year. I said that would work and she thanked me for my business. Pretty quick process once I got to the right person.
rumboj is offline  
Old Sep 21, 2019, 1:55 pm
  #2253  
 
Join Date: Sep 2019
Posts: 5
I recently called and had my fee waived. I can take 5k free miles
best_credit_offer is offline  
Old Sep 21, 2019, 11:51 pm
  #2254  
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Programs: United Platinum, Marriott Platinum, IHG Plat, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 222
Aviator Business

Called last week when AF posted. Said I wanted to cancel because of fee. Agent immediately said she will issue statement credit offsetting fee. Card opened last year. Initially spent about 6K but no spend in last 8 months.
frmnj is offline  
Old Sep 23, 2019, 1:41 pm
  #2255  
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Chicago, IL
Programs: AA EP; WN CP;UA SILVER; MARRIOTT TITANIUM; HH DIAMOND; IHG PLAT; RADISSON PLAT; HYATT GLOBAL
Posts: 1,938
Aviator Red Card
I cancelled my card a couple of months ago. Today I received in the mail my Companion Certificate. I read all the T&C and no where does it state that account has to be open or I need to use the card to pay for ticket.
Does anyone have any experience using Companion Certificate with closed card?
ORD-TGU is offline  
Old Sep 24, 2019, 2:38 pm
  #2256  
 
Join Date: Feb 2019
Posts: 268
Barclay Personal "red" Aadvantage Aviator.
Called about AF
No waiver
No downgrade to no AF card available either.

Have had the card for years.

Transferred CL over to Arrival card and closed Aviator.
They tried to tell me I'd lose my AA miles if I closed the card. (um, no, that's not true, those miles have been there for over a year).
luv2vacay is offline  
Old Sep 25, 2019, 2:22 pm
  #2257  
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Programs: Virgin Atlantic Silver, IHG Diamond, Bonvoy Gold, Hilton Diamond, AA Platinum Pro
Posts: 1,386
I tried my luck again with the Arrival Premier in light of the benefit cuts.

Still nothing, no willingness to budge on the fee or bonus points with the claim that the loyalty bonus is generous enough.

I'll most likely cancel when the AF comes due in nine months' time and move to CapitalOne, which has a lower fee and transfer bonuses from time to time (and better partners).
moe8555 is offline  
Old Sep 27, 2019, 8:48 am
  #2258  
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Pennsylvania
Programs: American Gold, Hilton Diamond, Wyndham Diamond, Hyatt Explorist
Posts: 269
Wife called in about Aviator Red (Personal). Only $40 spend this year. No offers other than to downgrade to the free card. Closed account.
Filler03 is offline  
Old Sep 27, 2019, 9:52 am
  #2259  
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: SFO
Programs: UA, IHG
Posts: 40
Aviator Red Personal - ~$50 spend this year. Called twice - on different days, both during weekday business hours. No offers of any kind, and no downgrade path offered. Closed account.
KrustyVT is offline  
Old Sep 27, 2019, 6:15 pm
  #2260  
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: SEA
Programs: Delta PM 1MM™, Alaska MVPG75K, Marriott LTTE, United SE, Hertz PC, National EE
Posts: 453
Originally Posted by frmnj
Called last week when AF posted. Said I wanted to cancel because of fee. Agent immediately said she will issue statement credit offsetting fee. Card opened last year. Initially spent about 6K but no spend in last 8 months.
Same situation here. AF posted on 8/30 and I just called to close the account. Agent waived the fee (offsetting credit) but warned that I would have to pay it next year <shrug>.

Card opened last year, only spent $5 on it via Amazon to trigger sign-up bonus, then it sat in a drawer til this month. Oh well, might as well keep it open for now and see if there are any spending bonuses in the next year.
davakkar is offline  
Old Sep 28, 2019, 3:04 pm
  #2261  
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Programs: UA, bmi, AA, CO, DL, B6, AMEX, Hertz, Most Hotels
Posts: 3,002
Originally Posted by nwflyboy
I called back today, during business hours. Results were different - what a shock.

Gave the same story I gave on the previous call. Asked if there were any incentives available. CSR put me on hold, then quickly came back and offered to give a credit on the next statement to offset the AF. She specifically told me: they are allowed to do this one time in the life of the card (so I guess I can expect some greater pushback next year). Accepted the AF credit, thanked her and went about my business.

Lessons I take away from this:
  1. If you don't like the answer you get, try again later.
  2. Don't expect a retention offer during a holiday weekend, when more senior staff are off. Call during business hours!
  3. Getting a credit to offset the AF seems to be really easy -- if you call when the retention department is working -- but after the first year may not be so easy. We'll see next year.
^ ^ ^
tldr: If you can't get a straight answer to a simple Barclay policy question (like when does clock start ticking on deadline for full refund of annual fee, if card is canceled) call the customer service number for another Barclay card, if you have one)

Aviator Red (had since 2011 - grandfathered USAir card). No purchases lately, only recent use was 0%/1% fee promo credit line checks. Annual fee posted on 8/30th will a payment due on 10/12.

Was confused by 45 day language on prior month's bill giving notice of annual fee billing.
"You may choose to call us within 45 days of receipt of this notice to discuss alternate products that may be available or to close your account so that no fee will be billed"

Initially thought I had til mid October to cancel with full refund based on 45 days from date of annual fee posting. Then reread that 45 day notice & was afraid it was 45 days from the close date of statement that contained the 45 day notice? THAT date is tomorrow, Sunday!

The sole purpose of today's, (Saturday) call was to simply confirm the deadline date, as given past experiences and the prior data points, I'd rather have the retention/downgrade chat on Monday.

1st call: Aviator Agent had no idea about the annual fee and dates respecting reversals or refunds. Instead, agent kept asking if I wanted to close the card today. After rephrasing and repeating I didn't want to close the card and just wanted to confirm deadline by which IF canceled, my billed annual fee would be reversed/refunded, I decided to HUCA.

2nd call: This Aviator agent had a slightly better understanding of the question, yet still intermittently asked if I was calling to cancel card. I repeated the purpose of the call was to confirm the last date to cancel the card and be able to have the annual fee reversed/refunded?

After waiting on hold, the agent quoted me 6 months? I asked where that was written? After putting me on hold again, she came back with 60 days from date fee was posted. Again, I asked agent to send me or point me to where I could read the policy she was quoting? No dice. Not confident of the information. I asked to speak with a supervisor.

After 45 mins of being on hold and repeatedly told all supervisors were on other calls, I decide to ask her to note my account with the last answer given, that I had 60 days from date annual fee posted to cancel and reverse that fee.

My goal was to have those notes as backup in case on Monday, the next agent said the I missed the Sunday deadline. The agent agreed and I asked her to read back to me the notes she wrote. I suggested a more specific statement detailing the deadline information she provide. She agreed and again read me back the revised note. I then asked for her name & Operator ID # and told her I planned to call back and confirm the note in my account.

Later, I realized that my question should be a general Barclay policy question and not Aviator specific. Given that I also have a JetBlue card, I called that card's customer service. The JetBlue card rep clearly understood the question, was surprised I wasn't able to speak with a supervisor and clarified the 45 day, and 60 day information I was previously given.
45 days is the deadline to call and cancel so that the upcoming annual fee will not be billed and therefore not need to be posted or reversed



60 days is the deadline from the annual fee posting date to cancel and get the fee reversed and fully refunded.



6 mos. The agent said, even if fee is paid you still have 6 mos to cancel the crd & get full refund of fee. I had her repeat that info since that I only wanted to ensure I could call on Monday to discuss my fee without missing the closer deadline, I didn't probe further>



The JetBlue card agent was surprised and apologetic that I wasn't able to get such a simple question answer, and that I was unable to speak with a supervisor. That JetBlue card agent able to view my Aviator account and confirm that the last agent I spoke with had the Operator ID number provided but placed NO notes in my account! This agent apologized profusely and insisted that a complaint be lodged on my behalf. In addition, even though my issue was with Aviator, she placed 1,000 JetBlue points in that account.

She then offered to connect me with an Aviator agent who she promised would assist me with my account and stayed on the line until we connected. The Aviator agent she connected me with was in the Retention department.

That Aviator Retention agent was informed of my earlier, negative call experiences and immediately apologized and again confirmed the 60 deadline date. She then asked if the reason I asked about the deadline was the annual fee? I confirmed it was and stated all the meaningful benefits had been removed from the card. She immediately offered to waive the fee and to place 2,500 AA points in my account to apologize for the earlier bad experience.

Of course, I accepted both and thanked her and the prior JetBlue agent for all their assistance. Next and most surprising, the Aviator agent offered to also refund the annual fee that had just been posted to my JetBlue card account and offered me a JetBlue spend bonus toot!!! ^

So, as painful as a weekend call to Aviator was, the call to my other Barclay card (JetBlue) got me the answer my policy question and more than made up for the initial frustration and time wasted.
notquiteaff likes this.
bk3day is offline  
Old Oct 11, 2019, 11:58 am
  #2262  
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: BOS
Posts: 550
Have had JetBlue Personal card for 2 yrs, decent amount of spend (~$15k), mostly grocery stores. Called twice, no offers. Thinking I am going to close the card, as I have a Biz version now and the overlap in benefits is significant. Does Barclays claw back anniversary 5000 pts if the card is canceled?
DiMAn0684 is offline  
Old Oct 15, 2019, 9:33 pm
  #2263  
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: JFK
Programs: AA Platinum
Posts: 325
Called to cancel my Aviator Business as the first anniversary fee just posted. I really didn't see any point in holding the card, but the rep talked me out of it. She looked over my history for a few mins* then confirmed sure, she's happy to waive the fee. No mention of rules being different next year.

This was at 11:30pm on a Tuesday.,

*I have churned & burned 6 Barclays cards in the last ~3 years, with very minimal spend. This Aviator was typical: grand total of $11.31 -- yes, eleven dollars, from a single swipe the day I received the card and promptly sock-drawered it.
Richard Berg is offline  
Old Oct 18, 2019, 7:52 pm
  #2264  
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Programs: AA (EP), Hilton (Diamond), Marriott Bonvoy (Titanium)
Posts: 8,937
Originally Posted by Richard Berg
Called to cancel my Aviator Business as the first anniversary fee just posted. I really didn't see any point in holding the card, but the rep talked me out of it. She looked over my history for a few mins* then confirmed sure, she's happy to waive the fee. No mention of rules being different next year.

This was at 11:30pm on a Tuesday.,

*I have churned & burned 6 Barclays cards in the last ~3 years, with very minimal spend. This Aviator was typical: grand total of $11.31 -- yes, eleven dollars, from a single swipe the day I received the card and promptly sock-drawered it.
Was it the front-line rep, or were you transferred to retentions?
anabolism is offline  
Old Oct 20, 2019, 6:02 pm
  #2265  
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: JFK
Programs: AA Platinum
Posts: 325
I was transferred. Only thing the front-line rep asked was clarity on whether I wanted to cancel & replace (i.e. lost card), or to close the account. Soon as I said "close" she said she had to send me to an "account specialist".
Richard Berg is offline  


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