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
Sep 3, 2016, 10:27 am
#3436
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: SAN
Programs: AA, SPG, UR, MR
Posts: 181
San Diego Wild Animal Park / SeaWorld?
Two questions:
1. Does anyone know if San Diego Wild Animal Park and SeaWorld memberships/tickets are eligible expenses?
2. When it says you have to call in for it to clear, do you have to call in before you make the purchase, or once you've already paid the statement?
Many thanks
1. Does anyone know if San Diego Wild Animal Park and SeaWorld memberships/tickets are eligible expenses?
2. When it says you have to call in for it to clear, do you have to call in before you make the purchase, or once you've already paid the statement?
Many thanks
Sep 3, 2016, 6:52 pm
#3437
Join Date: Jun 2016
Posts: 27
Two questions:
1. Does anyone know if San Diego Wild Animal Park and SeaWorld memberships/tickets are eligible expenses?
2. When it says you have to call in for it to clear, do you have to call in before you make the purchase, or once you've already paid the statement?
Many thanks
1. Does anyone know if San Diego Wild Animal Park and SeaWorld memberships/tickets are eligible expenses?
2. When it says you have to call in for it to clear, do you have to call in before you make the purchase, or once you've already paid the statement?
Many thanks
Can you elaborate on your ask in 2)? Be careful, as details in the first post of this thread have changed as the card has been nerfed with reduced benefits; some still have rewards at the older levels. In a nutshell, and referring to the current Arrival +...
- you get 2 points for every dollar you spend
- points can be redeemed against travel purchases > $100 as a statement credit when you have 10,000 points.
- points can be redeemed for a statement credit when you have 5000 points. You'll get a $25 credit. They have gift cards/certificates and merchandise for potential point use.
- Each redemption will get you a 5% point credit towards a future redemption. Redeeming 10000 points against a $100+ travel expense for $100 will get you 500 points.
- They seem to have a formula for point redemption. If you have a pile of points, you may have a few choices for redemption level choices. Say you have 45,000 points and a $800 flight purchase. They may not allow you to get a $100, $200 or $300 credit, but may give you options of $400, $425, $450.
- Travel purchases > $100 will appear as items that you can redeem points against. They appear maybe a day after the transaction clears and moves from the temporary authorizations to the charges portion of account activity.
For a frequent traveler and bigger spenders, this card is better than it is for the casual or infrequent traveler, of which there are better options. Many (myself included) don't feel the annual fee and redemption hassles are worth it. I'll be closing my Arrival+ card soon before the AF gets charged.
Sep 4, 2016, 7:33 pm
#3438
Join Date: Feb 2016
Posts: 292
Two questions:
1. Does anyone know if San Diego Wild Animal Park and SeaWorld memberships/tickets are eligible expenses?
2. When it says you have to call in for it to clear, do you have to call in before you make the purchase, or once you've already paid the statement?
Many thanks
1. Does anyone know if San Diego Wild Animal Park and SeaWorld memberships/tickets are eligible expenses?
2. When it says you have to call in for it to clear, do you have to call in before you make the purchase, or once you've already paid the statement?
Many thanks
Sep 5, 2016, 1:17 pm
#3439
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Michigan
Programs: AA, UA, DL, UR, IHG platnium, AirAsia
Posts: 323
DP: I downgraded my A+ to A- about a year ago. Much to my surprise it turns out I can still redeem for travel purchases that are less than $100 still. Just redeemed points against a $42 taxi fare and $32 MetroCard fees on my card from my recent NYC trip.
Sep 16, 2016, 9:24 am
#3440
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 4,166
Arrival+ is now 50k points after $3,000 spend for an affiliate (FM). The Barclay website is still showing a 40k offer.
EDIT: Found a public link on DoC: http://www.findmybarclaycard.com/bar...s/arrival-plus
EDIT: Found a public link on DoC: http://www.findmybarclaycard.com/bar...s/arrival-plus
Sep 16, 2016, 10:46 am
#3441
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 4,166
How sensitive is Barclays to recent new cards or inquiries? They pull TU for me and I have 0 pulls form them but plenty of new cards in the past 12 months and plenty of current cards as well.
Sep 16, 2016, 11:07 am
#3442
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 322
I'm slightly curious to find out. I downgraded my A+ to the no-fee Arrival and I'm wondering if I can reapply for the A+ again and earn this bonus. I don't know that I'll apply either way, but just curious since if nothing else it could help with those super expensive seaplane transfers in the Maldives.
Sep 16, 2016, 11:31 am
#3443
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 4,166
Historically they've been sensitive to new accounts. Not as stringent as Chase with their nearly fixed 5/24, or US Bank perhaps. Then again people were doubling down on the US Airways card back in the day - the Arrival+ card seemed to be in a class of its own. I haven't been able to find any relevant info regarding recent approvals though.
I'm slightly curious to find out. I downgraded my A+ to the no-fee Arrival and I'm wondering if I can reapply for the A+ again and earn this bonus. I don't know that I'll apply either way, but just curious since if nothing else it could help with those super expensive seaplane transfers in the Maldives.
I'm slightly curious to find out. I downgraded my A+ to the no-fee Arrival and I'm wondering if I can reapply for the A+ again and earn this bonus. I don't know that I'll apply either way, but just curious since if nothing else it could help with those super expensive seaplane transfers in the Maldives.
Sep 16, 2016, 1:27 pm
#3444
Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 30
Ugh! I applied for this card 9 days too early! I called to ask about matching the new 50k bonus, but the agent couldn't do anything - she gave me a case number with the rewards department, and I doubt that will go anywhere.
My data:
Closed previous Arrival+ card 10/3/2015. Applied almost immediately for the no-fee Arrival card and was denied.
Applied for 2nd Arrival+ card 9/7/2016 and was instantly approved.
My FICO according to Barclays is 800. I've opened 8 other cards in 2016, 13 in the last 12 months. According to CreditKarma, they pulled TransUnion, which only had 2 inquires at the time.
My data:
Closed previous Arrival+ card 10/3/2015. Applied almost immediately for the no-fee Arrival card and was denied.
Applied for 2nd Arrival+ card 9/7/2016 and was instantly approved.
My FICO according to Barclays is 800. I've opened 8 other cards in 2016, 13 in the last 12 months. According to CreditKarma, they pulled TransUnion, which only had 2 inquires at the time.
Sep 16, 2016, 2:53 pm
#3445
Join Date: Jun 2010
Posts: 99
Emailed about matching for an account opened in July - denied
Sep 16, 2016, 2:53 pm
#3446
Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 1,857
Historically they've been sensitive to new accounts. Not as stringent as Chase with their nearly fixed 5/24, or US Bank perhaps. Then again people were doubling down on the US Airways card back in the day - the Arrival+ card seemed to be in a class of its own. I haven't been able to find any relevant info regarding recent approvals though.
I'm slightly curious to find out. I downgraded my A+ to the no-fee Arrival and I'm wondering if I can reapply for the A+ again and earn this bonus. I don't know that I'll apply either way, but just curious since if nothing else it could help with those super expensive seaplane transfers in the Maldives.
I'm slightly curious to find out. I downgraded my A+ to the no-fee Arrival and I'm wondering if I can reapply for the A+ again and earn this bonus. I don't know that I'll apply either way, but just curious since if nothing else it could help with those super expensive seaplane transfers in the Maldives.
24 months: 27 new cards
12 months: 11 new cards
6 months: 4 new cards.
FWIW, this is my second Arrival+. The first had been closed ~9 months when I applied for this one.
Sep 16, 2016, 5:56 pm
#3447
Join Date: Apr 2012
Programs: 25 million points to burn!
Posts: 1,522
My son got denied today for the plus. He's never had a card from Barclays, but has 7 new cards in 2016. So...that was disappointing. Has anyone ever had success with a 2nd recon call with Barclays?
Sep 16, 2016, 8:06 pm
#3448
Join Date: Feb 2016
Posts: 292
Generally the "too many new cards" denials are final and the recon reps note the calls so hanging up and trying again generally is useless
Sep 16, 2016, 10:03 pm
#3449
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 4,166
Thanks, your history looks pretty similar to mine. I've had an A+ card before and closed it 7 months ago. Currently have an Aviator Red card with Barclays.
Sep 17, 2016, 12:39 pm
#3450
Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 1,857
Yep, I've got an Aviator Red, too. I think the consensus is (or was, at one point) to allow 6 months between closing a card and opening the same card again. So assuming my memory is right (you may want to do your own research on that point), you're probably ok to give it a try.