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
Jun 23, 2014, 11:01 pm
#662
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 116
Annual fee for my Arrival posts on the 30th. Rather than calling, trying to get a supervisor, etc. to waive the fee, I wonder if I'm better off down-grading to the no annual fee Arrival, then re-applying for the Arrival in 6 months to a year from now. If I had it, I would put spend on it, but my Club Carlson is almost as good for random spend and MS for my situation.
What I'm wondering about comes down to two questions:
Can I have two Arrivals (with annual fee and really good sign up bonus) at the same time? If so, this negates any need to get rid of the first Arrival card.
How long after downgrading to a no annual fee Arrival can I apply for the Arrival+?
Jun 23, 2014, 11:06 pm
#663
Moderator: Chase Ultimate Rewards
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: SFO
Programs: UA 2P, MR LT Plat, IHG Plat, BW Dia, HH Au, Avis PC
Posts: 5,456
However, if you check either of the long-running USAirways Card threads (also issued by Barclays) you'll find plenty of people able to get the same card repeatedly, many of whom have held two at the same time.
No way to know if it's the same with Arrival, tho.
Jun 23, 2014, 11:39 pm
#664
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: BAY AREA
Posts: 1,125
Barclays Arrival/Arrival+ Cards (1.1%/2.2% travel credits)
when I asked customer service to upgrade my world MasterCard to the elite, she told me I can't but I can apply for an other card. she asked me if I wanted her to transfer to new application department. I said no thanks lol
Jun 24, 2014, 8:59 am
#665
Join Date: Sep 2013
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 3,677
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.
Last edited by MDtR-Chicago; Jun 25, 2014 at 8:20 am Reason: please trim long quotes
Jun 24, 2014, 9:13 am
#666
Join Date: Oct 2013
Programs: Hyatt Globalist No More..., Hyatt Explorist, Hilton Diamond, SPG Platinum, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 4,375
It worked out better for you anyways that you couldn't redeem simulatenously. Remember that every redemption gives you 10% back in points so you had that amount from your first redemption to add to redeeming your second transaction.
Jun 24, 2014, 12:44 pm
#667
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 171
Got the card 2 days ago, they gave me a 5k limit. Online i requested a 20k increase.
Within 1 hour i got a call. Answered some questions from a nice lady. And got approved for the increase to 25k limit.
I asked her if I could get more of a limit, she said right now this is the most she can do. They said they need more history with them to increase the limit more. So i will try back in 6-12 months to see if I can get more.
Within 1 hour i got a call. Answered some questions from a nice lady. And got approved for the increase to 25k limit.
I asked her if I could get more of a limit, she said right now this is the most she can do. They said they need more history with them to increase the limit more. So i will try back in 6-12 months to see if I can get more.
Jun 24, 2014, 1:12 pm
#668
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 4,166
Got the card 2 days ago, they gave me a 5k limit. Online i requested a 20k increase.
Within 1 hour i got a call. Answered some questions from a nice lady. And got approved for the increase to 25k limit.
I asked her if I could get more of a limit, she said right now this is the most she can do. They said they need more history with them to increase the limit more. So i will try back in 6-12 months to see if I can get more.
Within 1 hour i got a call. Answered some questions from a nice lady. And got approved for the increase to 25k limit.
I asked her if I could get more of a limit, she said right now this is the most she can do. They said they need more history with them to increase the limit more. So i will try back in 6-12 months to see if I can get more.
Jun 24, 2014, 1:59 pm
#670
Suspended
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 817
The page mentions: "Redeem miles for travel statement credits toward any travel purchase made in the last 120 days (increased from 90 days)"
I was a little confused - do the points I earn expire? Or is there just a limit on how far back I can spend the points?
I was a little confused - do the points I earn expire? Or is there just a limit on how far back I can spend the points?
Jun 24, 2014, 2:08 pm
#671
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: DFW
Programs: AA 1M
Posts: 31,475
Does anyone have an update on transferring points between Arrival card holders?
Jun 24, 2014, 2:18 pm
#672
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: BAY AREA
Posts: 1,125
I did the same thing. I applied online and got a 10k limit and called the next day for 25k limit. She said it'll be hard pull. I got approved for 25k within ten minutes. I checked a month later and it was that only hard pull from my initial app. That was in December. I wonder if I can get another increase. Lol. I'm a heavy user. But I prefer if they increase it on their own this way it'll be a soft pull. 
Did they do another hard inquiry for the increase or did they use the one from the application?
Got the card 2 days ago, they gave me a 5k limit. Online i requested a 20k increase.
Within 1 hour i got a call. Answered some questions from a nice lady. And got approved for the increase to 25k limit.
I asked her if I could get more of a limit, she said right now this is the most she can do. They said they need more history with them to increase the limit more. So i will try back in 6-12 months to see if I can get more.
Within 1 hour i got a call. Answered some questions from a nice lady. And got approved for the increase to 25k limit.
I asked her if I could get more of a limit, she said right now this is the most she can do. They said they need more history with them to increase the limit more. So i will try back in 6-12 months to see if I can get more.
Jun 24, 2014, 2:36 pm
#673
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 171
I did the same thing. I applied online and got a 10k limit and called the next day for 25k limit. She said it'll be hard pull. I got approved for 25k within ten minutes. I checked a month later and it was that only hard pull from my initial app. That was in December. I wonder if I can get another increase. Lol. I'm a heavy user. But I prefer if they increase it on their own this way it'll be a soft pull.
Yeah I asked if she could do more, and she said no right now. Already had 4 phone calls in the past 2 days for fraud protection because i have used the card so much. They told me it just takes time for there system to learn my spending habits to not cause it to go to fraud everyday.
My guess is in 6 months if they are a pro active bank, they will offer me an increase. If they are being conservative than i may have to wait 12-24 months.
Jun 24, 2014, 4:40 pm
#674
Join Date: Oct 2013
Programs: Hyatt Globalist No More..., Hyatt Explorist, Hilton Diamond, SPG Platinum, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 4,375
Yeah I asked if she could do more, and she said no right now. Already had 4 phone calls in the past 2 days for fraud protection because i have used the card so much. They told me it just takes time for there system to learn my spending habits to not cause it to go to fraud everyday.
My guess is in 6 months if they are a pro active bank, they will offer me an increase. If they are being conservative than i may have to wait 12-24 months.
My guess is in 6 months if they are a pro active bank, they will offer me an increase. If they are being conservative than i may have to wait 12-24 months.
Jun 24, 2014, 6:59 pm
#675
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 36
If you are closing another Barclays card (in my case Lufthansa), do they let you move the credit from the old card to the Arrival + (like Chase does)?