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.
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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
Jul 5, 2018, 5:48 am
#4096
Join Date: Jul 2016
Location: NY
Posts: 523
There used to be reference posts to "downgrading" choices when cancelling the Barclay Arrival Plus past the first year of the AF waiver.
I don't see anything related to this anymore.
Any updated advice before I cancel my Arrival in July?
TIA!
PS. If I go for the Uber, does Barclay still allow for adjusting credit lines before the Arrival closure?
I don't see anything related to this anymore.
Any updated advice before I cancel my Arrival in July?
TIA!
PS. If I go for the Uber, does Barclay still allow for adjusting credit lines before the Arrival closure?
Jul 5, 2018, 9:50 pm
#4097
Join Date: Oct 2017
Posts: 84
I made over $900 worth over the course of a year. You get 150 points ($1.50) for posting a 100 word story with at least one photo. You can get additional dimes by adding details to your story, or by getting "kudos" from other community members. On an hourly basis, it isn't great, but I have fun doing my little writeups. The last year or so, people have gotten very nice about giving out lots of kudos. When I was a member a few years ago (the first time I had the Arrival+) almost nobody ever gave kudos and it was kind of frustrating because I (and many others) actually tried to make nice writeups, while there are some who filled out their wordcount by basically generically saying "this place is pretty. I liked it...." for 100 words.
Jul 5, 2018, 9:58 pm
#4098
Join Date: Oct 2017
Posts: 84
You don't earn 2x on everything like the A+, just on travel & dining, but redemptions for the no-fee card are still possible at 2500pts against a $25 travel purchase instead of the $100 min for the A+. But no 5% extra back on points redeemed.
Jul 6, 2018, 1:39 pm
#4099
Join Date: May 2006
Location: SNA/LAX... somewhere sunny and warm, but crowded.
Programs: AA/UA/UR/MRP/IHG Plat
Posts: 916
Question re: eligibility, please
Hi, I'm curious if I would be eligible to get the arrival plus and bonus again. I had it in 2013 and downgraded to the arrival in 2014 when the AF came up. I still have the arrival but only use it sparingly. will they deny me since I still have the arrival card?
Thank you.
Thank you.
Jul 6, 2018, 2:14 pm
#4100
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 6,605
Hi, I'm curious if I would be eligible to get the arrival plus and bonus again. I had it in 2013 and downgraded to the arrival in 2014 when the AF came up. I still have the arrival but only use it sparingly. will they deny me since I still have the arrival card?
Thank you.
Thank you.
I opened several Arrival cards and always received the bonus, you may need to close your current Arrival first. I never had more than one Arrival card open at a time
Jul 7, 2018, 2:34 pm
#4101
Join Date: Nov 2010
Programs: IHG Platinum
Posts: 1,066
Does anyone know if Big Bus Tours (Sightseeing Bus Tours Hop-On Hop-Off Big Bus Tours) is coded as travel on the Arrival+ card? I'm going to 3 different cities and will be purchasing Big Bus Tours tickets and it would be helpful if I could redeem my points. Thanks in advance.
Jul 18, 2018, 8:20 pm
#4102
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 6
I cancelled my previous world elite card in late May. Is there any word on if the bonus will be available or do they have something where it is only once per 2 years similar to Chase or just once like Amex? I read through the fine print, didn't see anything pertaining to that. Can someone please confirm?
Jul 27, 2018, 5:18 am
#4103
Join Date: Mar 2015
Posts: 32
I cancelled my previous world elite card in late May. Is there any word on if the bonus will be available or do they have something where it is only once per 2 years similar to Chase or just once like Amex? I read through the fine print, didn't see anything pertaining to that. Can someone please confirm?
Jul 27, 2018, 8:42 am
#4104
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Washington, DC
Posts: 393
Redemptions < $100 ??
Recently returned from a trip and redeemed points for a $179 hotel charge (which I expected), $67 for another hotel charge, but also $36 for gas (in Europe), and smaller amounts for hotel charges in Boston 2 months ago! Ummm, since it's supposed to be >$100, do you need at least one $100 charge to trigger the ability to also redeem for the smaller amounts?
Jul 27, 2018, 4:05 pm
#4105
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 6
These cards are churnable. I got one almost exactly one year ago, canceled two weeks ago, and applied and was approved last week. I did have to call in to get approved though, because I didn't wait long enough for the system to recognize that my previous Arrival+ was closed. Once I got with a rep on the phone, he could see that I didn't have one currently open. We walked through my application and credit profile, and I was approved over the phone. The churning subreddit also has a thread buried somewhere about fast churning the Arrival+, with confirmed datapoints of people receiving the bonus again.
Aug 1, 2018, 3:38 pm
#4106
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 127
Thanks. I was reading the fine print (yes I did!!) and it said only for a new card member. Hence I had the question. Thanks for your response though. Here is what it said "This one-time offer is valid for eligible cardmembers. You may not be eligible for this offer if you currently have or previously had an account with us in this program."
Aug 16, 2018, 12:40 pm
#4107
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 6,605
DP. My wife received IA approval today for the 60k/$5k Arrival
She closed he last arrival 10/2016 and was 4/24 ( not including business cards) before this app
She closed he last arrival 10/2016 and was 4/24 ( not including business cards) before this app
Sep 20, 2018, 12:19 pm
#4108
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Florida
Posts: 29,760
Downgraded my husband's A+ opened last Sept to a no fee Arrival yesterday. Retention rep (Account Specialist) found an offer of 1K miles for any spend. She said paperwork and new card will be sent in a few weeks.
Old card still has $10 reward $ in it. Rep said would carry over.
Primary goal to down grade is it is being an MC with true PIN and no forex fee.
Old card still has $10 reward $ in it. Rep said would carry over.
Primary goal to down grade is it is being an MC with true PIN and no forex fee.
Sep 20, 2018, 7:45 pm
#4109
Join Date: Aug 2011
Programs: Marriott Gold, Hilton Diamond, Radisson Rewards Gold, Best Western Diamond Select
Posts: 1,856
Is this card still difficult to get approved for?
Sep 21, 2018, 10:21 am
#4110
Join Date: Apr 2014
Programs: Hilton - Diamond, IHG - Spire Amb
Posts: 901
This month persons 1-5 of my household:
P1 - denied
P2- approved
p3- denied
p4- denied
p5- approved
No good pattern. P1-3 had previous A+ and closed last year. P4 never had. P5 never had
P1-5 had Barclay Aviator red approved end of 2017-beginning of 2018 and closed in the spring of 2018.
All p1-p5 have significant numbers of apps and new card with citi (citi aa plat select mailer churn).
P1 - denied
P2- approved
p3- denied
p4- denied
p5- approved
No good pattern. P1-3 had previous A+ and closed last year. P4 never had. P5 never had
P1-5 had Barclay Aviator red approved end of 2017-beginning of 2018 and closed in the spring of 2018.
All p1-p5 have significant numbers of apps and new card with citi (citi aa plat select mailer churn).