I just got my card a month ago and unless they offer me 20,000 points for not cancelling i doubt i will keep it another year, already used my 40,000 bonus points on my airline ticket i purchase but i have a lot of time to see how they treat others who call to cancel.

Bummer, I didn't expect to have trouble calling collect. I've had agents instruct me to call collect if I had any trouble overseas. So much for that idea...

Excuse me, you carry a wallet in Italy of all places? Get a money pouch that sits under your clothes. Just keep 15 or 20 Euros in your pocket, so you don't have to pull out the pouch in public just to pay for a cappuccino or something. Passport, ccs, atm cards, drivers license, most of your cash, all stay in the pouch.

The wallet stays at home, waiting patiently for your return. ;)

Thanks for your opinion. Yeah I have used up pretty much all my pts on a recent flight purchase.

The card looks cool and the new chip & pin is nice, but I don't see a benefit paying an annual fee for ANY card, when you don't get a direct return for paying that fee. Every card has benefits throughout the yr, but no benefit upon paying the fee is silly :confused:

Anybody in the Bay Area know if this card works for Fast Track? (for redemption)

One word: Skype.

Most but not all of the datapoints in the Barclay retention thread report having the fee waived. Check there when it's time.

OT

We have traveled in Europe for the past decade extensively, basically about 2 to 3 times a year since 2005. I cannot count how many times we pass Rome over the years. In 2011 alone I think we passed Rome 6 times! One time husband literally caught a young woman's hand in his outer jacket's pocket on a bus that was still parked at the depot at Piazza Venezia next to the Emanuele Monument (nicknamed Wedding Cake).

Out of all these trips, only 2 times bad things happened. Admittedly, both were due to our own oversight, or let down our guard. While the experiences were bad it also shows it is not a biggie, other than the troubles to replace lost cards, and DL that entailed.

Never carry a money pouch and most likely never will. Consider we have been in Europe about 20 times since 2005, covering all Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, mainland and Greek Isles plus Turkey, we only had 2 such incidents. Probability-wise, it is about time to happen, so to get a refresh course!

Goes to remind us that complacency would cost you. :o

Actually having all your other stuff staying in your money pouch is a BAD idea because once you lose your money pouch, you lose everything... The better practice is to store them SEPARATELY.

Oh yeah, I took out my wallet all the time - at fast foods, at supermarkets, at train station ticket offices, you name it. Except that each time I carefully put the darn thing back to where it would be very difficult to be stolen - at the bottom of a deep, zipped up handbag with short straps that barely allow me to carry on my shoulder tightly and under my arm. I learned my refresh lesson last year!

The first time happened last year, I tried to inform the banks as quickly as possible. This time? I just used SMs, and be done with. Again, the thieves are only aiming for your cash, nothing else. After all, they have hours to use our cards before we have a chance to even report it. NOTHING ever happens to those cards, on both occasions.

Carrying a wallet has not been an issue. Where you take it out even not for the money. is an issue. Passports are never put together with the wallet. CCs, ATM Cards, large amount of bills, are separately stored, only the continuing used cards are in the wallet.

In my case last year, husband wanted 1 euro to access the public toilet at Rome Termini. I took out my purse and then gave him the 1 euro. Afterward, we continued to walk towards the exit, in a rather deserted underground passage. A gypsy woman came shove a map to my face, forcing me to use my front arm to shove her off a couple times - that left my purse unprotected, and the wallet inside was stolen during that encounter.

In husband's case happened in May, it was lazy not to put the wallet back to where it should be safe. The wallet was usually hidden at the bottom of his camera bag. When we checked out of Sheraton Padova (a town about 40 min train ride from Venice), he paid the incidentals from his card as the reservation was made under his name. He was lazy not to put the wallet back at the bottom, but the outer zipper compartment. Still, if he did not take his wallet out to get to his medicines, I am sure nothing would happen... His big mistake was to get his wallet out to get his medicine, in plain view at the McD when we were there killing time waiting for our train. It must be observed by thieves. When we got up to leave, 2 African immigrants (women) went over to get our table and bumped husband's back with their trays. Husband did not know anything happened. I did not see anything as my sight was completely blocked, trying to make my way out of the booth.

He did not discover his wallet was taken from his camera bag until almost 4 hours later when he again tried to get something out from his wallet - it was not in the zipper compartment any more. We figured it must be stolen during that less than 1 min encounter. A good refresh course for him as well.

Again, there would be more than ample time for thieves to fraudulent use the cards, yet none happened. Some travel forums even have posters said they searched the trash bins nearby if it just happened, they found their wallets with just the cash missing.

I would return to more vigilant state but would not do what you or Rick Steves suggested to carry a money pouch or money belt. No such need. Sometimes if we were doing a TATL cruise, we would take advantage of the no fee Casino method and generate some spend in the tune of several thousands. Carried such cash all over Europe till us returning home, multiple times. Never an issue because the money was safely tugged away (and NOT in a money pouch or belt). Though admittedly a better practice is to also take the DL out of wallet and put it somewhere else that is hard to reach, even by yourself.

Thanks for the refresher Happy. It seems like the more we travel, the more we let our guard down.
My wife and I recently had cash stolen out of our luggage in our hotel room in Mexico. There was no in-room safe and the cash was buried deep in our bags. A good reminder to always get a lock and lock your bags or, if your room has a safe, use it!

Good idea from Michael. Use skype from your phone or tablet on wifi. 800 numbers are totally free.

How long after can you get a new card after I close my 1 year old card? Is the new one a "different" product?

I needed some help with redeeming my Barclay points. I bought three air tickets (listed as three separate transactions) for $317 each. I had 42,700 miles. I was able to redeem 31,700 miles on one of the $317 transaction. But I cannot redeem the remaining 16,072 miles for any of the other two transactions. What is the best way to use up those 16,072 miles? I don't use this card very often.

Thanks,
JS

See if they have a gift card you like, 10,000 should get you a $50.00

Why can't you redeem the remaining miles

I got another one after closed a few months - same one.

I've been waiting for 6 mos to apply for this card since Barclays has told me several times that I had too many cards opened in the last 6-12 mos.
AT one point I had 4 Barclay cards, US Air, Wyndham, Choice Privileges and Princess.
All have been canceled.
Last denied for a card was Dec, 16th, 2013. (tried for a second USAir)
Then I opened in Dec. a Citi & a Chase.
So my last application and approval for other credit cards was Dec. 30th 2013
I canceled US Air before the AF in Feb.
So do I need to wait till the 30th of this month?????
I don't want to blow my chances of getting this card if I need to wait till July but I want to get the Chase SW by June 29th on the same day I apply for this one.
Any thoughts?
Also has anyone gotten both Arrival and USAir with AF on the same day?