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 7, 2015, 5:47 pm
#2566
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Upper Sternistan
Posts: 10,047
Remember how excited everyone was about the Schwab Visa that was a true 2% CB card, ACH right to your checking account?
It was too good to be true. It couldn't last. It didn't.
Same thing here. Sure, the AF helps Barclays a bit, but at root, it's just too generous, I suspect. So they're cutting back in smallish ways to try to make it profitable. Cards that give one AA/UA/DL mile per dollar are profitable for an issuer forever. Not so with 2%. Which should tell you something.
They certainly got themselves on the map with this card, so there was a publicity value.
Maybe Fidelity can pull it off with their Amex. It's Amex, so that helps them on the incoming fee side.
In any event, I just don't think this card could last, the way it was. That was why we all liked it so much.
It was too good to be true. It couldn't last. It didn't.
Same thing here. Sure, the AF helps Barclays a bit, but at root, it's just too generous, I suspect. So they're cutting back in smallish ways to try to make it profitable. Cards that give one AA/UA/DL mile per dollar are profitable for an issuer forever. Not so with 2%. Which should tell you something.
They certainly got themselves on the map with this card, so there was a publicity value.
Maybe Fidelity can pull it off with their Amex. It's Amex, so that helps them on the incoming fee side.
In any event, I just don't think this card could last, the way it was. That was why we all liked it so much.
Jul 7, 2015, 5:58 pm
#2567
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 33
It was too good to be true. It couldn't last. It didn't.
Same thing here. Sure, the AF helps Barclays a bit, but at root, it's just too generous, I suspect. So they're cutting back in smallish ways to try to make it profitable. Cards that give one AA/UA/DL mile per dollar are profitable for an issuer forever. Not so with 2%. Which should tell you something.
Same thing here. Sure, the AF helps Barclays a bit, but at root, it's just too generous, I suspect. So they're cutting back in smallish ways to try to make it profitable. Cards that give one AA/UA/DL mile per dollar are profitable for an issuer forever. Not so with 2%. Which should tell you something.
Jul 7, 2015, 6:05 pm
#2568
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: San Diego, CA
Programs: GE, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 15,508
Over 2% for certain categories, yes. 2%+ for everything and sticking around for the long haul? We don't know yet but considering that Citi has had even more lucrative cards (IIRC) in the past and discontinued them it doesn't look promising.
Jul 7, 2015, 6:35 pm
#2569
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Upper Sternistan
Posts: 10,047
Citi (and they make it very confusing), Fido Amex, Cap1 Spark (for businesses, and a little hard to get) and this card. I'm not sure that I'd consider it common. Chase, for example, doesn't offer one. Amex doesn't offer one directly.
Jul 7, 2015, 6:58 pm
#2570
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: San Diego, CA
Programs: GE, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 15,508
A more recent example of a card that was extremely lucrative and wasn't long for the world is the newest Diners Club card. $300 annual fee but they gave 3x points for gas stations, grocery and drug stores with no earning limit. The latter two places also happen to be the most common places to get Visa/MC gift cards that will accept payment for such with credit cards.
Over the 1-1.5 months or so the card was available, they got a ton of applicants, mostly from people who bought thousands of dollars of such cards per month and cashed them out. What made things worse was that DC was issuing the cards with credit limits that were unsupported by applicants' credit histories, which dramatically increased the bank's risk (not to mention was a significant drain on their revenue). DC eventually made the application "temporarily" unavailable and cancelled a whole lot of cards; it's been closed ever since. If they ever open the card again it will likely have significant changes to prevent that from happening in the future.
Anyway, I wonder if Barclay would do well by combining the two Arrival cards and adopting a more CSP like earnings/redemption structure--2x for just travel and dining and 1x everything else (with all redemptions worth 1c per point). Chase has been able to keep the CSP around for quite a while for what it's worth, albeit increasing the minimum spend for the bonus a few times.
Over the 1-1.5 months or so the card was available, they got a ton of applicants, mostly from people who bought thousands of dollars of such cards per month and cashed them out. What made things worse was that DC was issuing the cards with credit limits that were unsupported by applicants' credit histories, which dramatically increased the bank's risk (not to mention was a significant drain on their revenue). DC eventually made the application "temporarily" unavailable and cancelled a whole lot of cards; it's been closed ever since. If they ever open the card again it will likely have significant changes to prevent that from happening in the future.
Anyway, I wonder if Barclay would do well by combining the two Arrival cards and adopting a more CSP like earnings/redemption structure--2x for just travel and dining and 1x everything else (with all redemptions worth 1c per point). Chase has been able to keep the CSP around for quite a while for what it's worth, albeit increasing the minimum spend for the bonus a few times.
Last edited by tmiw; Jul 7, 2015 at 8:15 pm Reason: forgot a word
Jul 7, 2015, 8:07 pm
#2571
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: NYC
Posts: 557
Citi's card isn't confusing at all, IMO. 1% when the purchase posts, and then another 1% of each payment. It's 2%, just with some lag.
Jul 7, 2015, 8:09 pm
#2572
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 33
Not sure about that. AmEx got hit so hard with Costco and others' ending their agreements that they might have no choice but to reduce their swipe fees to be more in line with Visa/MC. Some smaller businesses might see a significant falloff in AmEx use when Costco's cards finally become Citi cards and decide to stop accepting it if there's no/little fee reduction.
Sticking around for the long haul? You mean that there points don't expire? That's what makes them so attractive?
Jul 7, 2015, 8:14 pm
#2574
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: San Diego, CA
Programs: GE, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 15,508
Yep, but what I meant by "long haul" was the card still being available for new applicants after a couple of years. A lot of the really lucrative cards are eventually discontinued.
Jul 7, 2015, 8:51 pm
#2575
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 91
Oh I see. Thank you.
You don't think you could apply for those right now? I apply for credit cards all the time and have never gottan rejected. Also, I'd do all 3 applications on the same day. Coincidentally, I applied for 3 cards last night (Wells Fargo Propel World, Citi ThankYou Premeir, and British Airways Visa) and got approved for all three.
You don't think you could apply for those right now? I apply for credit cards all the time and have never gottan rejected. Also, I'd do all 3 applications on the same day. Coincidentally, I applied for 3 cards last night (Wells Fargo Propel World, Citi ThankYou Premeir, and British Airways Visa) and got approved for all three.
What is confusing about it? Isn't it 1% when you use it and then 1% when you pay it off and you just need to not make a payment on the account until it posts?
Jul 7, 2015, 10:59 pm
#2576
Join Date: May 2015
Location: Here and there.
Programs: Brooks Beta Runner
Posts: 116
If you use the cashback for a statement credit it's actually a 1.99% card, which i've seen some people complain about. I guess people don't like having to wait to pay off their bill to get the second 1%? I dunno, with discover I don't get cash back until after my bill get's paid, and Amex takes forever to post points.
Jul 8, 2015, 5:20 am
#2577
Join Date: Feb 1999
Location: Denver CO
Posts: 3,682
The Wall Street Journal reported today that Barclays CEO Antony Jenkins has been fired. There was no mention in the article that Jenkins' removal was connected to posts on Flyer Talk by members planning to cancel their Arrivals+ cards after expected future changes Barclays plans for the card terms.
No mention, but draw your own conclusions.
No mention, but draw your own conclusions.
Jul 8, 2015, 8:04 am
#2578
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Upper Sternistan
Posts: 10,047
Two, reports are that AGC and plenty of other financial transactions only get 1%.
Three, of course, the forex fees.
The DC is not a slam dunk.
My point is, the simple, forex-free, 2% true cashback card with no BS is a mirage, still.
Jul 8, 2015, 10:38 am
#2580
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Florida
Posts: 29,763
Fido AMEX can work because the 2% has to go into the Fido accounts. In theory it has to be the brokerage account but in practice, the Cash management account seems also work.
To combat the Citi's confusion, try to pay your outstanding balance in full 2 days before the statement closing day and leave it at 0 at closing. This way it would be a full 2% go to the rewards.
The fact that Citi is slow to post anything, meaning you need to schedule payment (either from PULL or PUSH) 2 days prior statement close, but it also means you could do transactions on the day of statement closing and it would go to the next cycle.
Schwab Visa was the best card but Schwab decided the card business simply was too much for them, probably because it was on its own while the FIA was thru MBNA which handles cards affiliated with brokers. MBNA was bought by BofA years ago and therefore has a much bigger operation when adding other cards BofA also issues - therefore the cost of operation is spread out.
With these many co-branded cards, Chase has no need to issue a true cashback card that is more than 1% on basic point. Though I am sure many have taken good advantage of the various 5x. The Inks would make up for the lack of 2x for many folks.
Last edited by Happy; Jul 8, 2015 at 11:00 am