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
May 25, 2016, 8:29 am
#3301
Join Date: May 2016
Posts: 34
Somebody in the thread mentioned earlier that you can book a cancellable flight ticket, redeem miles, then cancel the flight, would that result in the reverse of the miles redemption?
May 25, 2016, 1:41 pm
#3302
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: SMF
Posts: 1,251
Just got an email saying my application was approved! I was getting nervous after waiting for so long, but happy to not have to call recon.
I have 7 cards in the past year, have had 2 Barclays cards before (Frontier-Closed, Aviator Red- Open) which I never put any spend on beyond the minimum spend. I called to reduce my CL on my Aviator to $5k before applying to increase chances of automatic approval.
Hopefully I get the card by next week before I leave for 4 weeks for a trip around the country to Salt Lake, Seattle, Anchorage, Boston, and Maine!
I have 7 cards in the past year, have had 2 Barclays cards before (Frontier-Closed, Aviator Red- Open) which I never put any spend on beyond the minimum spend. I called to reduce my CL on my Aviator to $5k before applying to increase chances of automatic approval.
Hopefully I get the card by next week before I leave for 4 weeks for a trip around the country to Salt Lake, Seattle, Anchorage, Boston, and Maine!
May 26, 2016, 8:35 am
#3303
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 1,784
Just applied for Arrival + through one of the affiliate links, went straight to pending. Not sure if this is a result of Barclays updating their application process or just because of my application. I have 6 in the past 12 months, and I know they're hesitant to approve churners, so I'll update when I get the results.
May 26, 2016, 12:41 pm
#3304
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 34
The longer the main app is offline, the more curious I become. Maybe they will enhance it by raising the annual fee! lol
May 27, 2016, 9:25 am
#3305
Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 28
Hi,
When would be a wise time to cancel the card in order to avoid AF? Thought about keeping the card but AF makes it worse than CapOne for me.
When would be a wise time to cancel the card in order to avoid AF? Thought about keeping the card but AF makes it worse than CapOne for me.
May 27, 2016, 6:01 pm
#3306
Join Date: Jan 2013
Programs: Hyatt Glb, MR Plat
Posts: 2,577
Anyone know if Blacklane posts as a "travel" charge?
May 28, 2016, 12:23 pm
#3307
Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 225
Assuming you're in the first year (no fee), you could consider downgrading to the "A-" any time before the anniversary. I did that in order to help preserve my AAOA and also to spend my travel credits. I then got the Citi Double Cash which worked well for me. Ymmv. Cheers.
May 29, 2016, 3:39 pm
#3308
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Wine Country, Finger Lakes
Programs: LFFRS BOD
Posts: 1,355
Just applied for Arrival + through one of the affiliate links, went straight to pending. Not sure if this is a result of Barclays updating their application process or just because of my application. I have 6 in the past 12 months, and I know they're hesitant to approve churners, so I'll update when I get the results.
May 29, 2016, 4:13 pm
#3309
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 1,112
I'm all for sharing of this specific info since it's already public, but I highly suggest that people share it in PMs rather than publicly.
I have a separate question, though. I've read a decent number of reports of people failing to get the Arrival+ when they already have the regular Arrival. I don't recall any success stories. Are there any? Searching isn't really possible considering the terms involved.
I have a separate question, though. I've read a decent number of reports of people failing to get the Arrival+ when they already have the regular Arrival. I don't recall any success stories. Are there any? Searching isn't really possible considering the terms involved.
May 29, 2016, 4:18 pm
#3310
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 34
I'm all for sharing of this specific info since it's already public, but I highly suggest that people share it in PMs rather than publicly.
I have a separate question, though. I've read a decent number of reports of people failing to get the Arrival+ when they already have the regular Arrival. I don't recall any success stories. Are there any? Searching isn't really possible considering the terms involved.
I have a separate question, though. I've read a decent number of reports of people failing to get the Arrival+ when they already have the regular Arrival. I don't recall any success stories. Are there any? Searching isn't really possible considering the terms involved.
I complained on Social Media that I no longer felt valued as a customer....next day they called me and allowed me to close my arrival and approved me for the arrival plus.
May 30, 2016, 11:13 am
#3311
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 34
A little math: suppose you have made the minimum spend and are now sitting with 46000 points and you want to cash it out with 2 refundable transactions. What are the amounts of these transactions to leave the least number of points on the table. (reminds me of an SAT problem)
Let t1 and t2 be the two transaction amounts
P = 46000; % initial points in account
R = 0.05; % the percent credit for points used
t_min = 10000; % minimum redeem amount
% solve for t1 so have min to redeem points left after credit for points used on first transaction
t1 = P + t1*R - t_min
solve for t1
t1 = (P - t_min)/(1 - R)
result:
t1 = 37900
t2 = P - t1 + t1*R = 10000
leave t2*R = 500 points = $5 on table
summary: the first transaction should be $379 and the second $100
)Let t1 and t2 be the two transaction amounts
P = 46000; % initial points in account
R = 0.05; % the percent credit for points used
t_min = 10000; % minimum redeem amount
% solve for t1 so have min to redeem points left after credit for points used on first transaction
t1 = P + t1*R - t_min
solve for t1
t1 = (P - t_min)/(1 - R)
result:
t1 = 37900
t2 = P - t1 + t1*R = 10000
leave t2*R = 500 points = $5 on table
summary: the first transaction should be $379 and the second $100
May 30, 2016, 12:53 pm
#3312
Join Date: Oct 2014
Programs: All of them
Posts: 1,664
A little math: suppose you have made the minimum spend and are now sitting with 46000 points and you want to cash it out with 2 refundable transactions. What are the amounts of these transactions to leave the least number of points on the table. (reminds me of an SAT problem)
Let t1 and t2 be the two transaction amounts
P = 46000; % initial points in account
R = 0.05; % the percent credit for points used
t_min = 10000; % minimum redeem amount
% solve for t1 so have min to redeem points left after credit for points used on first transaction
t1 = P + t1*R - t_min
solve for t1
t1 = (P - t_min)/(1 - R)
result:
t1 = 37900
t2 = P - t1 + t1*R = 10000
leave t2*R = 500 points = $5 on table
summary: the first transaction should be $379 and the second $100
)Let t1 and t2 be the two transaction amounts
P = 46000; % initial points in account
R = 0.05; % the percent credit for points used
t_min = 10000; % minimum redeem amount
% solve for t1 so have min to redeem points left after credit for points used on first transaction
t1 = P + t1*R - t_min
solve for t1
t1 = (P - t_min)/(1 - R)
result:
t1 = 37900
t2 = P - t1 + t1*R = 10000
leave t2*R = 500 points = $5 on table
summary: the first transaction should be $379 and the second $100
I already did the math on this a few pages back for those who are still getting 10% rebate and $25 minimum, and it is possible to leave ZERO points on the table. In that scenario T1 = $408.88 and T2 is $102.22
In fact, it's possible to end up with negative points balance after you refund T1 and T2, if you pick the two amounts properly, but then I'm not sure if Barclays will go after you for the difference if you close the account with negative points balance.
Edit: now that I've done your math, after you refund T1 and T2, you'll have $5 - 2%*($479) or -$4.58 so you'll be sticking it them LOL.
May 31, 2016, 8:56 pm
#3313
Join Date: May 2016
Location: Bellingham, Wa
Programs: AA, Alaska, Hilton, Marriott
Posts: 73
Okay, this has been a long time. Any rumors about what is going on?
May 31, 2016, 10:53 pm
#3314
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 88
How quickly do purchases turn into miles for use?
I need 200 miles to post asap so i can use up the remaining 42,000 miles to close out the account.
EDIT: nm, I redeemed one for 20,000 miles, got the bonus which gave me more than the 200 miles I needed. Now i have 2,000 miles left but plan to close the card anyways haha.
I need 200 miles to post asap so i can use up the remaining 42,000 miles to close out the account.
EDIT: nm, I redeemed one for 20,000 miles, got the bonus which gave me more than the 200 miles I needed. Now i have 2,000 miles left but plan to close the card anyways haha.
Last edited by tracerit; May 31, 2016 at 11:00 pm
Jun 1, 2016, 7:40 am
#3315
Join Date: Oct 2014
Programs: All of them
Posts: 1,664
How quickly do purchases turn into miles for use?
I need 200 miles to post asap so i can use up the remaining 42,000 miles to close out the account.
EDIT: nm, I redeemed one for 20,000 miles, got the bonus which gave me more than the 200 miles I needed. Now i have 2,000 miles left but plan to close the card anyways haha.
I need 200 miles to post asap so i can use up the remaining 42,000 miles to close out the account.
EDIT: nm, I redeemed one for 20,000 miles, got the bonus which gave me more than the 200 miles I needed. Now i have 2,000 miles left but plan to close the card anyways haha.