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
Jun 25, 2019, 12:47 pm
#4276
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 84
I applied a few days ago, should normally have been approved (never had this card, 4/24, 800+ score, very low credit usage, good income, longtime Barclay customer, etc.) It went to pending, then was denied. I called reconsideration and the rep said (kinda rudely) that I need to send in IRS 4506T (um, no thank you.) I know this is a thing that can be requested but it seemed so strange and arbitrary, I really was shaking my head wondering what the hell happened. Now I read this and it makes sense that they didn't want to issue the card. I see other people have gotten it in the last week but they sure didn't want me - and I'm someone who has been approved for every card I've ever applied for. I asked to have some credit moved from my Wyndham card but she said they don't do that. I see from levilevi's post above that they did for him so I think I got a bad representative.
I didn't have time to HUCB at the time but I'll try calling again.
I didn't have time to HUCB at the time but I'll try calling again.
How did your case go?
Jun 26, 2019, 5:23 am
#4277
Join Date: Oct 2017
Posts: 16
I have a large purchase to make (few thousand) at a big retail store. I can save some money by buying gift cards at retailmenot (cash back offer). Will this count towards minimum spending or will Barclay consider this a cash advance? Thanks
Jun 26, 2019, 11:42 am
#4278
Join Date: Jun 2006
Programs: UA Premier 1K, Star Alliance Gold, Titanium Elite Marriott, Celebrity Elite, IHG, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 343
There has been some restrictions on purchase of gift cards with some credit card companies in the last few years they are considered cash purchases. I would check with the bank. You can pay your utilities a year or two in advance gas, electric, water, phone bill and cable bills. The only one I have a problem with is the electric company they only take one month at a time in my area.
Jun 27, 2019, 7:38 am
#4279
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: WAS
Programs: UA Platinum, AA Gold
Posts: 93
Does Barclays claw back signup bonuses? Applied for Arrival+ on 3/25 and spent a little over $5000 on medical bill. Had an unexpected $700 refund on that charge on day 89. Signup bonus posted a month or two ago - am I likely to lose it?
Jul 4, 2019, 1:57 pm
#4280
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 30
Barclays wanted me to mail in the 4506T form via USPS and I told them I'm not comfortable sending my sensitive information in. I filed a complaint with the rep on the phone, then filed a complaint to the office of president. The office of the president called me back and said they will investigate. A week later I got a call and they are still requesting for the 4506T and I asked them why this is needed to verifiy identity and income of a current customer, the rep could not tell me the reason (shady!?) I told them I was extremely disappointed and then filed a BBB.
How did your case go?
How did your case go?
This experience is also making me think about canceling my Wyndham card as my travels in recent years have not been in places where I can make a good redemption and my points are starting to expire. (I did a gift card redemption *yuk* to squeeze what I could out of the batch that was expiring.)
Thanks for your data point, kouichi. If I get around to making the call, I'll post back here.
Jul 5, 2019, 4:54 am
#4281
Join Date: Apr 2012
Programs: 25 million points to burn!
Posts: 1,522
Are American Airlines gift certificates still showing up as reimbursable travel expenses with this card?
Answer: They do!
Answer: They do!
Last edited by Preacher7; Jul 5, 2019 at 6:31 am Reason: personal
Jul 15, 2019, 8:11 am
#4282
Join Date: Apr 2018
Posts: 15
Looking to cash out my final 10,000 points, does anyone know if gift cards via the United MileagePlus shopping portal show up as reimbursable on A+?
Jul 16, 2019, 10:57 am
#4284
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Dreamland
Posts: 928
Kinda disappointed... was on vacation in Colorado Springs, went to Broadmoor Hotel for lunch, total was over $100, not reimbursable (shows up as a Food & Bev charge, not hotel).
Also, Long Term parking at DCA over $100, not reimbursable
(adding to Wiki)
Also, Long Term parking at DCA over $100, not reimbursable
(adding to Wiki)
Jul 19, 2019, 3:26 pm
#4286
Join Date: Oct 2018
Posts: 4
MPX GC for Uber and Airbnb no longer working?
I just purchased $100 Uber and Airbnb gift cards a couple days ago and they are coding different than normal and they are not coming up as eligible purchases to use the miles on.
Jul 22, 2019, 1:35 pm
#4287
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Dreamland
Posts: 928
Has anyone successfully gotten a manual application of points to a charge? If so, via call in? General service rep? Or Secure message?+
Aug 18, 2019, 4:15 pm
#4288
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 70
Despite what the wiki says, I'm getting no where calling in trying to get the points applied to a purchase for Universal Studios Tickets. Tickets were purchased from an agent inside a Universal Studios Resort (even says Universal Studios Resort on the receipt), but are coded as "AMUSEMENT PARKS, CIRCUSES, CARNIVALS, FORTUNE TELLERS".
Wiki should probably be updated to add YMMV
Wiki should probably be updated to add YMMV
Aug 24, 2019, 8:28 pm
#4289
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: San Diego, CA
Programs: GE, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 15,508
(FWIW, this type of transaction still apparently codes as travel on CSR according to another user, but it's also possible Chase hasn't updated their systems yet. For me, the pending charge's merchant name is "MPX*AIRBNB" but that probably doesn't mean much.)
Aug 27, 2019, 12:33 pm
#4290
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: San Diego, CA
Programs: GE, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 15,508
Just did a $100 Airbnb GC purchase through the mobile app. Assuming it does code normally for me I might just cash out the remaining point balance that way before they actually do change how it codes. Will update back.
(FWIW, this type of transaction still apparently codes as travel on CSR according to another user, but it's also possible Chase hasn't updated their systems yet. For me, the pending charge's merchant name is "MPX*AIRBNB" but that probably doesn't mean much.)
(FWIW, this type of transaction still apparently codes as travel on CSR according to another user, but it's also possible Chase hasn't updated their systems yet. For me, the pending charge's merchant name is "MPX*AIRBNB" but that probably doesn't mean much.)