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 6, 2014, 12:33 pm
#1036
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: BOS .. but soon SFO
Programs: UA PLAT, TK GLD, Hilton Diamond, IC PLAT, SPG GLD, Marriott GLD
Posts: 1,528
Sep 6, 2014, 3:47 pm
#1037
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 4,166
Hi, my name is Ken, and I haven't done MS in 3 months.
Sep 6, 2014, 9:08 pm
#1038
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 25
Has anyone had success using the Boost online shopping portal on an IPad w/Safari? Made a couple of purchases via Boost last month and neither has posted.
Also...has anyone had success getting Barclaycard to manually post rewards that don't automatically show up?
Also...has anyone had success getting Barclaycard to manually post rewards that don't automatically show up?
Sep 6, 2014, 9:18 pm
#1039
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: RDU
Programs: Delta silver, HH silver, IHG platinum, SPG gold, AMEX platinum
Posts: 400
I've seen mixed results detailed in the forum regarding manually posting rewards...seems to be pretty much YMMV
Sep 7, 2014, 1:51 am
#1040
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 920
Anybody ever get a grayed out where your points balance should be on the homepage?
I still see the present symbol and "miles", but the background is grayed out and I can't click it.
NVM: called in, systems updating
I still see the present symbol and "miles", but the background is grayed out and I can't click it.
NVM: called in, systems updating
Last edited by hitman1420; Sep 7, 2014 at 2:16 am
Sep 8, 2014, 7:42 am
#1041
Join Date: Jul 2013
Programs: AA,UA,BA,SPG,IHG Plat, HH Gold, CC Gold, UR, MR
Posts: 195
Haven't used rewards boost since they discontinued AGC's. However, I did use Ipad with safari and had no problems. With boost, there is no way to tell if the order tracked initially. Unfortunately, the orders won't show up under recent activity until a few days before they are paid, which takes roughly 4-6 weeks. At least that's how it was a few months ago.
Sep 8, 2014, 3:42 pm
#1042
Join Date: Jun 2012
Posts: 66
This is my first card with Barclays, do transactions take forever to post? Have many stuck in pending for days now.
Sep 8, 2014, 3:45 pm
#1043
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: SFO
Programs: OZ *G; HH Diamond;
Posts: 1,644
Sep 8, 2014, 4:04 pm
#1044
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 1
Anybody have any experience with B&B reservations that are coded as lodgings?
I was planning on booking a stay with this particular B&B and the inn keepers confirmed with their credit card processing company that their merchant transaction code is - Lodgings
Thanks in advance.
I was planning on booking a stay with this particular B&B and the inn keepers confirmed with their credit card processing company that their merchant transaction code is - Lodgings
Thanks in advance.
Sep 8, 2014, 4:20 pm
#1045
Suspended
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Bay Area
Programs: DL SM, UA MP.
Posts: 12,729
I have a couple of temp authorizations since 9/4.
I had a couple of 9/3 that they actually stopped because it was booked with a foreign vendor, for a car rental in Europe.
So I had to get that temp. suspension lifted and re-charge the transaction.
I called Sunday night and they said it's the weekend, those will go through. It's not 3 PM PST on Monday and those transactions are still pending.
On top of that, I received an email reminder about my spend deadline to get the miles. But the way they delay and block transactions, I guess I better charge well ahead of time to meet the spending requirements.
I had a couple of 9/3 that they actually stopped because it was booked with a foreign vendor, for a car rental in Europe.
So I had to get that temp. suspension lifted and re-charge the transaction.
I called Sunday night and they said it's the weekend, those will go through. It's not 3 PM PST on Monday and those transactions are still pending.
On top of that, I received an email reminder about my spend deadline to get the miles. But the way they delay and block transactions, I guess I better charge well ahead of time to meet the spending requirements.
Sep 8, 2014, 4:43 pm
#1046
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: SFO
Programs: OZ *G; HH Diamond;
Posts: 1,644
I have a couple of temp authorizations since 9/4.
I had a couple of 9/3 that they actually stopped because it was booked with a foreign vendor, for a car rental in Europe.
So I had to get that temp. suspension lifted and re-charge the transaction.
I called Sunday night and they said it's the weekend, those will go through. It's not 3 PM PST on Monday and those transactions are still pending.
On top of that, I received an email reminder about my spend deadline to get the miles. But the way they delay and block transactions, I guess I better charge well ahead of time to meet the spending requirements.
I had a couple of 9/3 that they actually stopped because it was booked with a foreign vendor, for a car rental in Europe.
So I had to get that temp. suspension lifted and re-charge the transaction.
I called Sunday night and they said it's the weekend, those will go through. It's not 3 PM PST on Monday and those transactions are still pending.
On top of that, I received an email reminder about my spend deadline to get the miles. But the way they delay and block transactions, I guess I better charge well ahead of time to meet the spending requirements.
Sep 8, 2014, 8:59 pm
#1047
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: USA
Programs: All of em...
Posts: 1,265
Barclays does seem to be on the slow side, but that should be your general rule for minimum spends. I would always recommend charges minimum 1 week out.
Sep 10, 2014, 10:55 am
#1048
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 44
FYI - don't know if this is common knowledge or not, but I just paid my $89 annual fee using points, and it was treated as a travel expense. I applied 8,900 points. However, I did not see the 10% rebate, yet.
Sep 10, 2014, 11:35 am
#1049
Join Date: Jun 2011
Programs: Hyatt dia
Posts: 64
I applied for this card a couple of nights ago and got a pending decision.
Is there a line I can call to try and get an expedited decision? I have some international travel coming up and hope there isn't too much of a delay.
I have 2 US Air cards (one 14 months old, other about 8 months old), think I have a good chance of approval?
Is there a line I can call to try and get an expedited decision? I have some international travel coming up and hope there isn't too much of a delay.
I have 2 US Air cards (one 14 months old, other about 8 months old), think I have a good chance of approval?
Sep 10, 2014, 2:30 pm
#1050
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: The Phoenix Desert
Programs: Hilton Cubic Zirconia, Marriott Fools Gold
Posts: 1,692
I applied for this card a couple of nights ago and got a pending decision.
Is there a line I can call to try and get an expedited decision? I have some international travel coming up and hope there isn't too much of a delay.
I have 2 US Air cards (one 14 months old, other about 8 months old), think I have a good chance of approval?
Is there a line I can call to try and get an expedited decision? I have some international travel coming up and hope there isn't too much of a delay.
I have 2 US Air cards (one 14 months old, other about 8 months old), think I have a good chance of approval?