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 23, 2014, 12:38 pm
#1127
Suspended
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Bay Area
Programs: DL SM, UA MP.
Posts: 12,729
Maybe mobile payment schemes like Apple Pay will help skip this morass of chip and PIN, chip and signature, etc.
Certainly would have been easier to pull out my phone than my wallet and then hunting for the right cards.
Certainly would have been easier to pull out my phone than my wallet and then hunting for the right cards.
Sep 23, 2014, 12:48 pm
#1128
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: San Diego, CA
Programs: GE, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 15,507
One could argue that the US is still mostly skipping contact EMV (except as a backup) and going straight to contactless, but that's probably a discussion more for the EMV and contactless threads.
Sep 23, 2014, 12:53 pm
#1129
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 1,762
No, the fear is largely related to how rarely the chip is used in the US - most people don't travel much and when they do, rarely use unattended kiosks.
I know that, at least, American Express has publicly said they plan to switch to chip and PIN following US EMV migration.
I know that, at least, American Express has publicly said they plan to switch to chip and PIN following US EMV migration.
Of course we all understand, I think, the worthlessness of using signatures as a card verification method.
Sep 23, 2014, 12:56 pm
#1130
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: San Diego, CA
Programs: GE, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 15,507
Where did you see Amex saying that? But here's what I really don't get. Many merchants may opt for signature only chip readers following through on what they're being told will be so in the USA. Now you're going to tell them a year or two later you have to go to pin pads also? It seems to me, and of course it's only speculation because I'm not a fly on the wall nor is anybody else here, that too much effort has gone into implementing a chip and signautre system and trying to soothe everybody's feelings that it's really nothing all that different to move in a short time to chip and pin. I don't remember the UK doing a two step transition; I think they went from mag strip directly to chip and pin (although I'm not completely sure).
Of course we all understand, I think, the worthlessness of using signatures as a card verification method.
Of course we all understand, I think, the worthlessness of using signatures as a card verification method.
Sep 23, 2014, 1:02 pm
#1131
Join Date: Feb 2006
Programs: HH Gold (again), US/UA/DL non-elite, ZE Presidents Circle, WN reluctant no fee convert.
Posts: 1,449
IHG charge turned into a Rewards buy
Sincerely seeking advice.
Ran through my HH points with hotel stays on recent trip. DH had a few points in IHG program because he would overnight in Dubai on his returns back to his overseas work locations. Used 5K points to reduce the cost of a room reservation at HIE.
As others familiar with IHG (I was not) the amount of the difference to cover the room cost is processed by the remaining points necessary to cover the cost of the room. It's probably covered elsewhere in a post or thread here on FF but I thought I was just paying the difference of the remaining cost of the room, not buying points. I used the Arrival and noticed the charge later posted as "IHG Rewards Club" not HIE.
No lectures please, I know I should have applied for the IHG Visa to offset this problem and really points out the lack of better planning. We were house hunting and didn't want too many inquiries so I chose carefully what CCs to apply for recently. Marriott had not awarded my bonus points for CC min. spend, so I turned to a program that had a point balance.
How do I approach this with Arrival as I see some of you have successfully requested manual redemption requests? We will not be reimbursed by his business for our house hunting endeavors/expenses.
Other than that, we covered a majority of our lodging/airline fees/rental car expenses with points and redemptions. I even had one hotel bill split over three ways to have "dangling" points across three Arrival cards cover one night.
TIA for replies.
Ran through my HH points with hotel stays on recent trip. DH had a few points in IHG program because he would overnight in Dubai on his returns back to his overseas work locations. Used 5K points to reduce the cost of a room reservation at HIE.
As others familiar with IHG (I was not) the amount of the difference to cover the room cost is processed by the remaining points necessary to cover the cost of the room. It's probably covered elsewhere in a post or thread here on FF but I thought I was just paying the difference of the remaining cost of the room, not buying points. I used the Arrival and noticed the charge later posted as "IHG Rewards Club" not HIE.
No lectures please, I know I should have applied for the IHG Visa to offset this problem and really points out the lack of better planning. We were house hunting and didn't want too many inquiries so I chose carefully what CCs to apply for recently. Marriott had not awarded my bonus points for CC min. spend, so I turned to a program that had a point balance.
How do I approach this with Arrival as I see some of you have successfully requested manual redemption requests? We will not be reimbursed by his business for our house hunting endeavors/expenses.
Other than that, we covered a majority of our lodging/airline fees/rental car expenses with points and redemptions. I even had one hotel bill split over three ways to have "dangling" points across three Arrival cards cover one night.
TIA for replies.
Sep 23, 2014, 1:28 pm
#1133
Suspended
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Bay Area
Programs: DL SM, UA MP.
Posts: 12,729
In every case, there was a PIN pad in every terminal that I used this Arrival Plus card.
Problem was, it always came up signature except in the unattended cases, despite that the pad was right there for me to enter the PIN.
I should have tried some of the self-service lanes at some of the markets, rather than always go to the manned ones, but I'm pretty sure it would have required someone to come along and take my signature.
Problem was, it always came up signature except in the unattended cases, despite that the pad was right there for me to enter the PIN.
I should have tried some of the self-service lanes at some of the markets, rather than always go to the manned ones, but I'm pretty sure it would have required someone to come along and take my signature.
Sep 23, 2014, 9:27 pm
#1134
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 4,166
In every case, there was a PIN pad in every terminal that I used this Arrival Plus card.
Problem was, it always came up signature except in the unattended cases, despite that the pad was right there for me to enter the PIN.
I should have tried some of the self-service lanes at some of the markets, rather than always go to the manned ones, but I'm pretty sure it would have required someone to come along and take my signature.
Problem was, it always came up signature except in the unattended cases, despite that the pad was right there for me to enter the PIN.
I should have tried some of the self-service lanes at some of the markets, rather than always go to the manned ones, but I'm pretty sure it would have required someone to come along and take my signature.
Sep 24, 2014, 1:17 am
#1135
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 3,537
And the UK is the GOOD country for this stuff...
Sep 24, 2014, 11:11 am
#1137
Join Date: Oct 2013
Programs: Hyatt Globalist No More..., Hyatt Explorist, Hilton Diamond, SPG Platinum, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 4,375
Mods: Can we separate out a thread about chip-and-signature. This thread is getting very heavy with that information (which isn't specific to Arrival) instead of information specific to the Arrival card.
Sep 24, 2014, 11:59 am
#1138
Suspended
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Bay Area
Programs: DL SM, UA MP.
Posts: 12,729
But later I was able to get it to work at another station, though it may have been a different card.
The purchase was just under 7 Euro so it may have been a case of the transaction amount being low enough not to require any kind of authentication.
Sep 25, 2014, 3:53 pm
#1139
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 299
It is specific to Arrival because the Arrival is Chip and PIN, but apparently it's not working as intended in some cases.
Sep 25, 2014, 5:49 pm
#1140
Join Date: Sep 2013
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 3,677
And this next comment is totally related to only the Arrival card:
In my case, it was too thick to fit into the cc slot in the ticket machine for the city tram in Nice, France. Watched the locals insert theirs and get their tix, but it just would not go in the slot. Wouldn't take cash either, so I had to go walking around looking for a place to get coins.