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Barclays Arrival Plus, now 70K w/$5k spend

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Old May 14, 2014, 1:15 pm
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
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
  • 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)

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Barclays Arrival Plus, now 70K w/$5k spend

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Old Jun 26, 2014, 5:57 am
  #691  
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
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Originally Posted by RJP3
Here's some datapoints on eligible travel charges - can someone add these to the Wiki?

Spirit of NY Dinner Cruises - www.spiritcruises.com, which have cruises in several other cities as well.

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.

Lahaina-Maui Ferry Tickets - booked online at www.go-lanai.com
Updated wiki.
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Old Jun 26, 2014, 7:52 am
  #692  
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Originally Posted by flyer4512
How can IHG points plus cash get denied ? The cash part is paying for a hotel room
You would think that's what's happening. In reality, the cash part is buying IHG points from points.com so that you can redeem at the full IHG points level. The transaction posts as a points.com purchase, which has a category of "Business Services" or something similar, not as a hotel purchase.

Last edited by MDtR-Chicago; Jun 27, 2014 at 7:57 am Reason: clarified
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Old Jun 26, 2014, 9:03 am
  #693  
 
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Originally Posted by itchyfeet123
Has the 10% bonus changed? I just redeemed for travel statement credits, and the screen showing the amount of my redemption and how many miles I would have remaining had a line that said something like 10% bonus travel redemption - 0. The FAQ says the bonus is credited within one business day, but previously it's been instant and shown during the redemption process. Anyone experienced something similar?
It is not on the order screen. It is on the confirmation screen.
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Old Jun 26, 2014, 2:13 pm
  #694  
 
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Any experiences executing chip+PIN transactions overseas with Arrival+ yet? I saw all of one post (#635) that mentioned this.

If not, I will be trying next week. I used the card once for a chip+sig at a Walmart, so we'll see if that counts as a first transaction, or if I actually need to do one in a foreign country.
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Old Jun 26, 2014, 2:41 pm
  #695  
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
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Originally Posted by MDtR-Chicago
You would think that's what's happening. In reality, the cash part is buying points from points.com so that you can redeem at the full points level.
I'm guessing you meant to say the points.com CAN'T be redeemed at full value ?


Thanks, seems I'll have to go the Venture card route to get full value
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Old Jun 26, 2014, 2:46 pm
  #696  
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
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Originally Posted by ctbarron
Any experiences executing chip+PIN transactions overseas with Arrival+ yet? I saw all of one post (#635) that mentioned this.

If not, I will be trying next week. I used the card once for a chip+sig at a Walmart, so we'll see if that counts as a first transaction, or if I actually need to do one in a foreign country.
The bloggers that have tried it said it works flawlessly.
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Old Jun 26, 2014, 2:49 pm
  #697  
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
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Originally Posted by ctbarron
Any experiences executing chip+PIN transactions overseas with Arrival+ yet? I saw all of one post (#635) that mentioned this.
Yes! Well, sort of. I used my PIN at a Servicaixa machine in Granada to pick up my Alhambra tickets. I bought the tickets online a few weeks before, but to pick them up at the machine a PIN was required.

I believe this saved me quite a bit of time -- from what I understand, the lines to pick up the tickets at the Alhambra (which is what the PINless have to do, I believe) are quite long.
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Old Jun 27, 2014, 5:54 am
  #698  
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
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Originally Posted by ctbarron
Any experiences executing chip+PIN transactions overseas with Arrival+ yet? I saw all of one post (#635) that mentioned this.
Yes, I had several chip+PIN transactions a few weeks ago in Switzerland, and possibly Italy (can't remember for sure).
MarkMColo is offline  
Old Jun 27, 2014, 8:00 am
  #699  
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Originally Posted by flyer4512
I'm guessing you meant to say the points.com CAN'T be redeemed at full value ?
Oops! My post turned out to be really unclear. I just edited it:

Originally Posted by MDtR-Chicago
You would think that's what's happening. In reality, the cash part is buying IHG points from points.com so that you can redeem at the full IHG points level. The transaction posts as a points.com purchase, which has a category of "Business Services" or something similar, not as a hotel purchase.
So, for example, if your choices are 25,000 IHG points or 15,000 IHG points plus $30, the $30 is actually buying 10,000 IHG points, not paying for a hotel night.
MDtR-Chicago is offline  
Old Jun 27, 2014, 9:03 am
  #700  
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
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I just received credit for these travel charges in Toronto if someone wants to add them to the Wiki:

CN Tower
Royal Ontario Museum

Both were bought onsite.
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Old Jun 27, 2014, 11:30 am
  #701  
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To be clear. These chip+pin transactions did _not_ go through as cash advance? (I've heard of that happening with some chip+signature cards like CSP)
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Old Jun 27, 2014, 4:23 pm
  #702  
 
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Originally Posted by greggarious
To be clear. These chip+pin transactions did _not_ go through as cash advance? (I've heard of that happening with some chip+signature cards like CSP)
The Arrival+ is "true" C+P in the sense that it supports both offline and online PIN transactions. It also supports the full PIN changing protocols used in other countries (where the new PIN is encoded onto the chip on the next online transaction).

That said, it still puts C+S as priority 1, but that shouldn't be a problem for any terminal that handles CVM priority lists properly.

Barclays have done a good job with their implementation. It leaves other, more "prestigious" institutions like AMEX and Chase looking rather unprepared.
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Old Jun 28, 2014, 9:16 am
  #703  
 
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Originally Posted by greggarious
To be clear. These chip+pin transactions did _not_ go through as cash advance? (I've heard of that happening with some chip+signature cards like CSP)
Source please.

I used my CSP extensively in Europe last year. Nothing went thru as cash advance.
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Old Jun 28, 2014, 11:46 pm
  #704  
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Originally Posted by Brugge
Source please.

I used my CSP extensively in Europe last year. Nothing went thru as cash advance.
Did you use PIN?

The poster meant when the Chip + Signature CSP is used in conjunction with the PIN when making a purchase, the purchase went thru as cash advance, as he "heard".

Never bother to use the PIN function on the CSP, but I doubt it would. The Citi's Premium card has been on Chip + Signature 2 years before CSP finally got a chip. Used the cash advance PIN when PIN is needed to finish the purchase at train ticket kiosks, they came thru as purchases.

BTW, Arrival's card stores the PIN on the CHIP, therefore allowed offline PIN transaction which one would need when using unmanned booths in France, Austria, Switzerland, to name a few. Chase Chip cards chip dont store PIN. So it can only work at online PIN transactions. It would never work in an unmanned gas station in France, nor the toll booths just to name a couple example.

There is EMV thread which has a lot more discussion on this subject.
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Old Jun 29, 2014, 1:41 pm
  #705  
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Originally Posted by Happy
Never bother to use the PIN function on the CSP, but I doubt it would. The Citi's Premium card has been on Chip + Signature 2 years before CSP finally got a chip. Used the cash advance PIN when PIN is needed to finish the purchase at train ticket kiosks, they came thru as purchases.
CSP does not support PIN at all except for cash advances according to the CVM list on the chip. Not sure why it asked.
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