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
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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
Aug 13, 2014, 2:37 am
#931
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: USA
Posts: 3,945
Correct. Just make sure you charge it to your room and pay with your arrival card
Aug 13, 2014, 8:17 am
#932
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 3
FYI - I called Barclays and the two different Arrival cards DO NOT pool into a single account.
Aug 13, 2014, 9:31 am
#933
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: RDU
Programs: Delta silver, HH silver, IHG platinum, SPG gold, AMEX platinum
Posts: 400
Some properties have the ability to charge...pretty much everything to the room.
Aug 13, 2014, 10:21 am
#934
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: DTW-DCA
Posts: 60
I just applied and didn't get instant approval.
I have 5 HPs in the last 24 months, 1 from Barclay in Nov. 2012. My last HP was from Chase in May, '14.
The only Barcaly card I currently carry is an old NFL Extra Points card. I closed my US Airways card last year when I wasn't given the 10k anniversary bonus ("I don't see it on the account") or an AF waiver.
Aug 13, 2014, 12:59 pm
#935
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Boston
Posts: 130
I had a 737 score and about 19 inquires in the last 2 years. about 6 in the last 6 months.
On my recent app o rama I had applied for a third us airways card (had one opened about 9 months ago, applied for a second about 4 months ago and accepted. cancelled first that month but kept the second card). Was turned down for a third but no credit pull. I applied immediately for the arrival and got an instant approval and a decent limit.
Now if only I could actually get us bank and amex to let me get a card... they both hate the inquires I have...
On my recent app o rama I had applied for a third us airways card (had one opened about 9 months ago, applied for a second about 4 months ago and accepted. cancelled first that month but kept the second card). Was turned down for a third but no credit pull. I applied immediately for the arrival and got an instant approval and a decent limit.
Now if only I could actually get us bank and amex to let me get a card... they both hate the inquires I have...
Aug 14, 2014, 10:43 am
#936
Join Date: Jul 2013
Programs: AA,UA,BA,SPG,IHG Plat, HH Gold, CC Gold, UR, MR
Posts: 195
In the wiki it's mentioned that many have had success through "manual redemption by phone." Anybody know if they are referring to the case review process that supposedly takes 7-10 days or are people actually getting on the spot approvals over the phone with customer service?
Aug 14, 2014, 11:31 am
#937
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: PVD/BOS
Posts: 879
In the wiki it's mentioned that many have had success through "manual redemption by phone." Anybody know if they are referring to the case review process that supposedly takes 7-10 days or are people actually getting on the spot approvals over the phone with customer service?
Aug 14, 2014, 12:00 pm
#938
Join Date: Jul 2013
Programs: AA,UA,BA,SPG,IHG Plat, HH Gold, CC Gold, UR, MR
Posts: 195
I see. Thanks for the quick reply. Sounds like you were successful at least. I was hoping to hear that they are at least fair with the reviews and allow you to redeem points for justifiable travel expenses. In my case, I have an upcoming redemption for about 200k points that I'm quite sure will get coded as DIRECT MARKETERS/NOT ELSEWHERE LISTED, when in fact it is just a resort chain that I frequent that is never coded properly. I have never pursued a review and manual redemption in the past but intend to this time and was just curious as to how much resistance to expect from the CSR. Anybody else have any trouble getting manual redemption for things that are obviously travel, but not coded as such?
Aug 14, 2014, 4:08 pm
#939
Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 492
for the requirement that ravel purchase needs to be > $25 charge, will smaller charge accumulate across 2 statement to reach the qualification bar? thanks
Aug 14, 2014, 5:19 pm
#940
Join Date: Jul 2013
Programs: AA,UA,BA,SPG,IHG Plat, HH Gold, CC Gold, UR, MR
Posts: 195
No. Every transaction must exceed 25$ IME. For example, I had taxes for four award tickets of like 15$ each. Instead of being billed as 60$ by AA, they were charged back to back (15+15+15+15) and were therefore not redeemable.
Aug 15, 2014, 8:52 am
#941
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 486
Does anyone happen to have at hand the list of countries excluded from the car rental collision damage waiver with the Arrival Plus? I'll be renting a car (multiple, actually) in New Zealand, which I know is excluded on some cards but not others.
Aug 15, 2014, 4:26 pm
#942
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Florida
Posts: 29,762
Have you rented car in NZ before? If not, I strongly urge you to do some research on this topic and do NOT rely on your rental car coverages.
NZ has deregulated the rental car industry a few years ago, now it is a complicated maze to navigate the insurance which is mandatory in NZ. We only deal with the biggies like Hertz and Avis partly because of this issue. The contracts specify if you decline the insurance your card would be promptly CHARGED (not authorized but actual charge) for the "excessive" (their term of deductible). The "excessive" can be in the neighborhood of several thousands and upward of that depending on the type of car you are renting. Upon returning the car if everything is found in perfect order, then the charge would be refunded. They perform the inspection upon return VERY THOROUGHLY.
You would be far better off to buy insurance from the rental car company then trying to rely on a credit card coverage. And if you plan to drive in South Island - that is almost a given you would sustain some type of scratches, minor damages, etc etc no matter how careful you are - because for one thing you could not control the weather which can be really unpredictable and hail can do havoc to your car!
The couple hundreds should be part of the trip cost you factor in just my opinion after 5 trips to NZ, each one included a rental or two.
Aug 15, 2014, 10:00 pm
#943
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 486
My recollection is, only Visa does not explicitly excludes NZ. Both AMEX and MC exclude NZ and Australia due to the MANDATORY requirements to buy insurance.
Have you rented car in NZ before? If not, I strongly urge you to do some research on this topic and do NOT rely on your rental car coverages.
NZ has deregulated the rental car industry a few years ago, now it is a complicated maze to navigate the insurance which is mandatory in NZ. We only deal with the biggies like Hertz and Avis partly because of this issue. The contracts specify if you decline the insurance your card would be promptly CHARGED (not authorized but actual charge) for the "excessive" (their term of deductible). The "excessive" can be in the neighborhood of several thousands and upward of that depending on the type of car you are renting. Upon returning the car if everything is found in perfect order, then the charge would be refunded. They perform the inspection upon return VERY THOROUGHLY.
You would be far better off to buy insurance from the rental car company then trying to rely on a credit card coverage. And if you plan to drive in South Island - that is almost a given you would sustain some type of scratches, minor damages, etc etc no matter how careful you are - because for one thing you could not control the weather which can be really unpredictable and hail can do havoc to your car!
The couple hundreds should be part of the trip cost you factor in just my opinion after 5 trips to NZ, each one included a rental or two.
Have you rented car in NZ before? If not, I strongly urge you to do some research on this topic and do NOT rely on your rental car coverages.
NZ has deregulated the rental car industry a few years ago, now it is a complicated maze to navigate the insurance which is mandatory in NZ. We only deal with the biggies like Hertz and Avis partly because of this issue. The contracts specify if you decline the insurance your card would be promptly CHARGED (not authorized but actual charge) for the "excessive" (their term of deductible). The "excessive" can be in the neighborhood of several thousands and upward of that depending on the type of car you are renting. Upon returning the car if everything is found in perfect order, then the charge would be refunded. They perform the inspection upon return VERY THOROUGHLY.
You would be far better off to buy insurance from the rental car company then trying to rely on a credit card coverage. And if you plan to drive in South Island - that is almost a given you would sustain some type of scratches, minor damages, etc etc no matter how careful you are - because for one thing you could not control the weather which can be really unpredictable and hail can do havoc to your car!
The couple hundreds should be part of the trip cost you factor in just my opinion after 5 trips to NZ, each one included a rental or two.
I'm actually a kiwi so have rented in NZ a lot. I'm surprised you prefer the big international chains -- conventional wisdom in NZ is that they're the ones who'll keep your excess over a teeny scratch. The smaller outfits are more realistic about the difference between damage and wear and tear.
Aug 16, 2014, 9:09 am
#944
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 4,166
Just got back from a 4 week trip to Europe and SE Asia and the Chip & PIN came in very handy, mostly at the metro/train kiosks. In several stations I had different people tell me my card would not work, but it always worked all the time. No decline in 9 countries and 13 cities.
Aug 16, 2014, 12:08 pm
#945
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Florida
Posts: 29,762
In the wiki it's mentioned that many have had success through "manual redemption by phone." Anybody know if they are referring to the case review process that supposedly takes 7-10 days or are people actually getting on the spot approvals over the phone with customer service?
My suggestion is, ask for Reward Dept and dont bother to escalate to supervisor as it would be the Reward Dept handling your manual redemption any way.