Go Back  FlyerTalk Forums > Miles&Points > Credit, Debit and Prepaid Card Programs > Credit Card Programs
Reload this Page >

Barclays Arrival Plus, now 70K w/$5k spend

Community
Wiki Posts
Search
Old May 14, 2014, 1:15 pm
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
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
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)

Print Wikipost

Barclays Arrival Plus, now 70K w/$5k spend

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old Dec 13, 2016, 10:37 pm
  #3601  
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: SF
Programs: UA, VX, QF, EY, VA
Posts: 756
Could someone please confirm whether MPX*Uber (Uber gift cards through MileagePlus X) are coded as Travel on the Arrival+?

Thanks!
patrick.barnes is offline  
Old Dec 14, 2016, 9:43 am
  #3602  
 
Join Date: May 2015
Location: LAX, BUR
Programs: AS,AA,JB, HH Gold, Starriott Titanium Elite, Hyatt Explorist, Global Entry
Posts: 1,933
Originally Posted by patrick.barnes
Could someone please confirm whether MPX*Uber (Uber gift cards through MileagePlus X) are coded as Travel on the Arrival+?

Thanks!
Be the point and let us all know
mhdena is offline  
Old Dec 14, 2016, 11:32 am
  #3603  
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: SF
Programs: UA, VX, QF, EY, VA
Posts: 756
Originally Posted by mhdena
Be the point and let us all know
Alright. It's worth asking... not a rare thing to do.
patrick.barnes is offline  
Old Dec 14, 2016, 1:29 pm
  #3604  
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 4,166
Originally Posted by patrick.barnes
Could someone please confirm whether MPX*Uber (Uber gift cards through MileagePlus X) are coded as Travel on the Arrival+?

Thanks!
You'd need a $100+ purchase to be able to redeem points for it.
Superorb is offline  
Old Dec 14, 2016, 8:08 pm
  #3605  
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: SF
Programs: UA, VX, QF, EY, VA
Posts: 756
Originally Posted by Superorb
You'd need a $100+ purchase to be able to redeem points for it.
Yes, I'm aware. You can buy Uber gift cards up to $200 through MPX.

I purchased a $100 Uber GC through MPX, so I'll let you guys know if it posts as a travel charge.
patrick.barnes is offline  
Old Dec 14, 2016, 9:18 pm
  #3606  
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 4,166
Originally Posted by patrick.barnes
Yes, I'm aware. You can buy Uber gift cards up to $200 through MPX.

I purchased a $100 Uber GC through MPX, so I'll let you guys know if it posts as a travel charge.
Ahh, gotcha ^ That's a great idea, definitely let us know if it's redeemable.
Superorb is offline  
Old Dec 15, 2016, 7:17 pm
  #3607  
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Az
Programs: AA, UA
Posts: 44
I have an award ticket on hold right now. Problem is that the taxes cost $99.48, just short of the $100 minimum for BA+ reimbursement! Before I hit the purchase button, can anyone think of a way to add a "fee" or additional charge to my award ticket so I can push it over $100? Can I buy more legroom on an award ticket? Prepay for a snack? Usually I'm too cheap to buy anything "extra" so I don't even know what those extras could be.
tiburontucson is offline  
Old Dec 15, 2016, 7:29 pm
  #3608  
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Wine Country, Finger Lakes
Programs: LFFRS BOD
Posts: 1,355
Originally Posted by tiburontucson
I have an award ticket on hold right now. Problem is that the taxes cost $99.48, just short of the $100 minimum for BA+ reimbursement! Before I hit the purchase button, can anyone think of a way to add a "fee" or additional charge to my award ticket so I can push it over $100? Can I buy more legroom on an award ticket? Prepay for a snack? Usually I'm too cheap to buy anything "extra" so I don't even know what those extras could be.
Probably insurance. It should be an option before final payment.
duranza is offline  
Old Dec 16, 2016, 12:03 am
  #3609  
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: SFO
Programs: OZ *G; HH Diamond;
Posts: 1,644
Originally Posted by tiburontucson
I have an award ticket on hold right now. Problem is that the taxes cost $99.48, just short of the $100 minimum for BA+ reimbursement! Before I hit the purchase button, can anyone think of a way to add a "fee" or additional charge to my award ticket so I can push it over $100? Can I buy more legroom on an award ticket? Prepay for a snack? Usually I'm too cheap to buy anything "extra" so I don't even know what those extras could be.
On BA booking, there is also an option for a charity donation add-on as well.
geclub1 is offline  
Old Dec 16, 2016, 6:48 am
  #3610  
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Az
Programs: AA, UA
Posts: 44
Insurance, YES! I remember skipping over it before getting to the "pay" or "hold" page. Don't remember how much it costs, but whatever it costs, it will be well worth it. Thanks duranza!
I'm on AA - didn't see charity section, but that's a good way, too
tiburontucson is offline  
Old Dec 17, 2016, 11:20 am
  #3611  
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: SF
Programs: UA, VX, QF, EY, VA
Posts: 756
Originally Posted by patrick.barnes
Yes, I'm aware. You can buy Uber gift cards up to $200 through MPX.

I purchased a $100 Uber GC through MPX, so I'll let you guys know if it posts as a travel charge.
Alright. Can confirm this codes as taxi/limousine and is travel credit redeemable.

Finally a way to get rid of my points.
patrick.barnes is offline  
Old Dec 17, 2016, 2:59 pm
  #3612  
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 4,166
Originally Posted by patrick.barnes
Alright. Can confirm this codes as taxi/limousine and is travel credit redeemable.

Finally a way to get rid of my points.
Awesome ^
Superorb is offline  
Old Dec 19, 2016, 12:33 pm
  #3613  
 
Join Date: May 2016
Posts: 3
Any DP on American Airlines Gift Card?
menwa is offline  
Old Dec 19, 2016, 2:12 pm
  #3614  
 
Join Date: May 2015
Location: LAX, BUR
Programs: AS,AA,JB, HH Gold, Starriott Titanium Elite, Hyatt Explorist, Global Entry
Posts: 1,933
Originally Posted by patrick.barnes
Alright. Can confirm this codes as taxi/limousine and is travel credit redeemable.

Finally a way to get rid of my points.
I added your DP to the Wiki above!
mhdena is offline  
Old Dec 19, 2016, 2:16 pm
  #3615  
 
Join Date: May 2015
Location: LAX, BUR
Programs: AS,AA,JB, HH Gold, Starriott Titanium Elite, Hyatt Explorist, Global Entry
Posts: 1,933
Originally Posted by menwa
Any DP on American Airlines Gift Card?
Let us know how it goes, we'll add your DP too!
mhdena is offline  


Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.