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
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
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
Jan 31, 2015, 5:40 pm
#1741
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 1,872
I converted my barclay Hawaiin card to the NO fee arrival card 2 months ago. The only bonus for this was 1k arrival miles after first purchase. This information also came with the card in mail.
Made the purchase, 2 statement closed and 1k mile never posted. Called and spoke to supervisors and they kept telling me there was none and there is no such 1k mile for no fee arrival convertion. The clueless reps kept telling me you get it only if you apply brand new. lol told her really? No fee arrival bonus mile for new applicant is only 1k?
Anyone had success getting it when you downgraded to No fee arrival?
Made the purchase, 2 statement closed and 1k mile never posted. Called and spoke to supervisors and they kept telling me there was none and there is no such 1k mile for no fee arrival convertion. The clueless reps kept telling me you get it only if you apply brand new. lol told her really? No fee arrival bonus mile for new applicant is only 1k?
Anyone had success getting it when you downgraded to No fee arrival?
Jan 31, 2015, 10:38 pm
#1742
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 4,166
I converted my barclay Hawaiin card to the NO fee arrival card 2 months ago. The only bonus for this was 1k arrival miles after first purchase. This information also came with the card in mail.
Made the purchase, 2 statement closed and 1k mile never posted. Called and spoke to supervisors and they kept telling me there was none and there is no such 1k mile for no fee arrival convertion. The clueless reps kept telling me you get it only if you apply brand new. lol told her really? No fee arrival bonus mile for new applicant is only 1k?
Anyone had success getting it when you downgraded to No fee arrival?
Made the purchase, 2 statement closed and 1k mile never posted. Called and spoke to supervisors and they kept telling me there was none and there is no such 1k mile for no fee arrival convertion. The clueless reps kept telling me you get it only if you apply brand new. lol told her really? No fee arrival bonus mile for new applicant is only 1k?
Anyone had success getting it when you downgraded to No fee arrival?
Jan 31, 2015, 11:18 pm
#1743
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 1,872
I threatened CFPB complaint over this and was manually offered 2500 miles
Feb 1, 2015, 6:11 am
#1744
Join Date: Feb 2015
Posts: 12
Apologies if this has been previously posted.
For those into the churning game who wish to cancel and reapply every 6+ months, it seems like there's optimally there's going to be a balance of 250 points (assuming you've redeemed it for $25 previously) remaining when you go to close the card. Alternatively, one could downgrade to the Arrival version and keep that balance, but doing so risks the acceptance when reapplying for the A+. Is that right?
Also, it seems prudent to just redeem points ASAP (assuming one would make future travel expenses) instead of saving them up.
ie. I just bought cruise tickets for $1k. I currently have 50k points. Better to redeem them all now, get back 5k points for future redemptions instead of trying to hoard up until i have 100k points to redeem the cruise in one shot.
Does that sound about right?
For those into the churning game who wish to cancel and reapply every 6+ months, it seems like there's optimally there's going to be a balance of 250 points (assuming you've redeemed it for $25 previously) remaining when you go to close the card. Alternatively, one could downgrade to the Arrival version and keep that balance, but doing so risks the acceptance when reapplying for the A+. Is that right?
Also, it seems prudent to just redeem points ASAP (assuming one would make future travel expenses) instead of saving them up.
ie. I just bought cruise tickets for $1k. I currently have 50k points. Better to redeem them all now, get back 5k points for future redemptions instead of trying to hoard up until i have 100k points to redeem the cruise in one shot.
Does that sound about right?
Feb 1, 2015, 11:56 am
#1745
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Portland, OR, USA
Programs: Delta + United Airmiles
Posts: 703
Apologies if this has been previously posted.
For those into the churning game who wish to cancel and reapply every 6+ months, it seems like there's optimally there's going to be a balance of 250 points (assuming you've redeemed it for $25 previously) remaining when you go to close the card. Alternatively, one could downgrade to the Arrival version and keep that balance, but doing so risks the acceptance when reapplying for the A+. Is that right?
Also, it seems prudent to just redeem points ASAP (assuming one would make future travel expenses) instead of saving them up.
ie. I just bought cruise tickets for $1k. I currently have 50k points. Better to redeem them all now, get back 5k points for future redemptions instead of trying to hoard up until i have 100k points to redeem the cruise in one shot.
Does that sound about right?
For those into the churning game who wish to cancel and reapply every 6+ months, it seems like there's optimally there's going to be a balance of 250 points (assuming you've redeemed it for $25 previously) remaining when you go to close the card. Alternatively, one could downgrade to the Arrival version and keep that balance, but doing so risks the acceptance when reapplying for the A+. Is that right?
Also, it seems prudent to just redeem points ASAP (assuming one would make future travel expenses) instead of saving them up.
ie. I just bought cruise tickets for $1k. I currently have 50k points. Better to redeem them all now, get back 5k points for future redemptions instead of trying to hoard up until i have 100k points to redeem the cruise in one shot.
Does that sound about right?
The consideration for when to redeem is:
Each travel purchase, regardless of amount spent or points redeemed against, can only be used once, and only travel purchases in last 120 days qualify for redemption.
So, redeem as much as you can as soon as you can AFTER you have generated the maximum points you expect to within 120 days of travel purchase. Less advantageous to redeem small amount of points against large purchase and thus consume all of that purchase eligibility and have to have another travel purchase in 120 day window to redeem more points (including the 10% redemption bonus).
Only being able to redeem in 2,500 ($1250 spend) increments is a [undisclosed?!?] pain, especially if you have very few travel purchases to redeem against in the 120 day window or your AF is coming up and you want to cancel to get the sign up bonus in the future.
Feb 1, 2015, 12:06 pm
#1746
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Portland, OR, USA
Programs: Delta + United Airmiles
Posts: 703
Concerning promises made by csrs, I simply use a chat session and CTRL-A CTRL-C just before ending to CTRL-V copy the session content to an empty email I immediately send to myself as contemporaneous documentation (usually legally binding). This has immediately resolved any dispute I've ever had by simply posting the chat in the followup chat session to resolve broken promises. There are a few banks that have finally started posting disclaimers about chats being enforceable, but I doubt they will want to try to hide behind that weasel clause.
Chats are excellent to get things clearly nailed down and eliminate the "I don't seem to have any notes in the account about your concern" dodge that has been a big issue in the past. They even make it convenient to copy and paste a question that gets a weasel response until it finally gets a real response.
Chats are excellent to get things clearly nailed down and eliminate the "I don't seem to have any notes in the account about your concern" dodge that has been a big issue in the past. They even make it convenient to copy and paste a question that gets a weasel response until it finally gets a real response.
Feb 1, 2015, 12:06 pm
#1747
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Wine Country, Finger Lakes
Programs: LFFRS BOD
Posts: 1,355
Husband just got approved for 2nd Barclays World Arrival Plus, had canceled 1st one back in September.
Feb 1, 2015, 12:21 pm
#1748
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Portland, OR, USA
Programs: Delta + United Airmiles
Posts: 703
Getting approved does not automatically mean getting 40k points sign up bonus, so please report on that part too.
"About This Offer: ... may not be available if you already have or have had an account with us."
Despite that language, I did get the 20k miles on the no-fee A card even though I had the A+ card.
I got approved for a Delta Amex card after cancelling 6 months prior, then got a post card in the mail a month later that stated I wouldn't get the bonus due to ever having the same card. I simply applied for the business version and did get the bonus!
Last edited by uds0; Feb 1, 2015 at 12:26 pm
Feb 1, 2015, 2:35 pm
#1749
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Wine Country, Finger Lakes
Programs: LFFRS BOD
Posts: 1,355
To be clear, Husband (not you) was the one who cancelled his card back in September, and "2nd" is actually the one and only A+ card he now has?
Getting approved does not automatically mean getting 40k points sign up bonus, so please report on that part too.
"About This Offer: ... may not be available if you already have or have had an account with us."
Despite that language, I did get the 20k miles on the no-fee A card even though I had the A+ card.
I got approved for a Delta Amex card after cancelling 6 months prior, then got a post card in the mail a month later that stated I wouldn't get the bonus due to ever having the same card. I simply applied for the business version and did get the bonus!
Getting approved does not automatically mean getting 40k points sign up bonus, so please report on that part too.
"About This Offer: ... may not be available if you already have or have had an account with us."
Despite that language, I did get the 20k miles on the no-fee A card even though I had the A+ card.
I got approved for a Delta Amex card after cancelling 6 months prior, then got a post card in the mail a month later that stated I wouldn't get the bonus due to ever having the same card. I simply applied for the business version and did get the bonus!
Hasn't anyone else gotten the card again and bonus pts? I thought I had read some have.
Feb 1, 2015, 4:39 pm
#1750
Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 1,263
I received a letter in the mail yesterday that Barclay had shut down my Wyndham card due to inactivity...oddly enough this came right after them had approved me for Arrival+. I'm not complaining, just surprised to see that they automatically closed one of my other Barclay cards in order to give me the Arrival+...most issuers will give you that option first, but they just did it automatically.
Feb 1, 2015, 7:23 pm
#1751
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Florida
Posts: 29,780
To be clear, Husband (not you) was the one who cancelled his card back in September, and "2nd" is actually the one and only A+ card he now has?
Getting approved does not automatically mean getting 40k points sign up bonus, so please report on that part too.
"About This Offer: ... may not be available if you already have or have had an account with us."
Despite that language, I did get the 20k miles on the no-fee A card even though I had the A+ card.
I got approved for a Delta Amex card after cancelling 6 months prior, then got a post card in the mail a month later that stated I wouldn't get the bonus due to ever having the same card. I simply applied for the business version and did get the bonus!
Getting approved does not automatically mean getting 40k points sign up bonus, so please report on that part too.
"About This Offer: ... may not be available if you already have or have had an account with us."
Despite that language, I did get the 20k miles on the no-fee A card even though I had the A+ card.
I got approved for a Delta Amex card after cancelling 6 months prior, then got a post card in the mail a month later that stated I wouldn't get the bonus due to ever having the same card. I simply applied for the business version and did get the bonus!
2) AMEX current policy on personal cards is one bonus per life time. (they had similar policy several years ago, this is just a return to what it was before.)
3) AMEX current policy on business cards is completely different from personal cards - you will get the bonus if you do NOT own the same business card in the past 12 months.
4) Hence there is no surprise on your experiences with AMEX, and that cannot be generalized to Barclays (or other banks for that matter as each bank has its OWN policy in writing and in practice which is not always the same thing!)
Feb 2, 2015, 7:54 am
#1752
Join Date: Jun 2012
Posts: 42
Yes, I've gotten the A+ bonus twice for both myself and MrsBumstead (4 times total). Mine came while still having 2 A+ cards open. I cancelled MrsBumstead's a month before application for her 2nd A+ and got the bonus again for her too. It appears to work either way as long as you get automatic approval.
Feb 2, 2015, 9:15 am
#1753
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 4,166
Concerning promises made by csrs, I simply use a chat session and CTRL-A CTRL-C just before ending to CTRL-V copy the session content to an empty email I immediately send to myself as contemporaneous documentation (usually legally binding). This has immediately resolved any dispute I've ever had by simply posting the chat in the followup chat session to resolve broken promises. There are a few banks that have finally started posting disclaimers about chats being enforceable, but I doubt they will want to try to hide behind that weasel clause.
Yes, I've gotten the A+ bonus twice for both myself and MrsBumstead (4 times total). Mine came while still having 2 A+ cards open. I cancelled MrsBumstead's a month before application for her 2nd A+ and got the bonus again for her too. It appears to work either way as long as you get automatic approval.
Feb 2, 2015, 11:26 am
#1754
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 415
Last time I booked SW with my points, I was booking for 3 people, so my total 9/11 fees amounted to 33.60 for the roundtrip. SW billed me once for 11.20 and another time for 22.40, so I wasn't able to redeem with Arrival+! Is there any way around this? Not sure what I'd have to do differently to get the entire 33.60 in one charge.
TIA!
TIA!
Feb 2, 2015, 12:10 pm
#1755
Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 151
So I guess it would be correct to say "You have to charge $4450 on anything, and redeem for the annual fee".