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
Oct 16, 2014, 9:41 pm
#1261
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Florida
Posts: 29,762
Yes. I asked CSRs whether Expedia / Travelocity / Bookings etc are classified travel expenses and were told all the 3rd party booking sites are.
Oct 17, 2014, 5:39 am
#1262
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 84
Also this is probably mentioned somewhere earlier but the bonus points post the instant you meet the minimum spend which is awesome!
Oct 17, 2014, 9:16 am
#1264
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 4,166
In general points will post once the charge posts to your account, no need to wait till the statement closes.
Oct 17, 2014, 10:07 am
#1265
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Omaha Nebraska
Programs: United, delta, AA, Alaskan, Frontier, Hilton Gold, Hyatt, Chase Sapphire
Posts: 318
Barclay Arrival cards and groupon?
Have Arrival plus and can you get the 20000 point Arrival card. Will you get the points? Also will a groupon travel purchase work as a travel expense?
Oct 17, 2014, 11:06 am
#1266
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 113
Got an interesting email this morning about my card...anyone else get this recently?
During a recent review of your Barclaycard Arrival Plus MasterCard account, our security team has identified that your credit card may be at risk for fraudulent use. As a result, we are reissuing your credit card with a new account number. You'll receive a new Barclaycard Arrival Plus MasterCard credit card within the next 2 weeks. You can continue to use your current card until your new card arrives. Remember, with $0 Fraud Liability, you are not responsible for any unauthorized transactions made with your account.
Oct 17, 2014, 12:16 pm
#1267
Join Date: Oct 2013
Programs: Hyatt Globalist No More..., Hyatt Explorist, Hilton Diamond, SPG Platinum, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 4,375
Oct 17, 2014, 12:59 pm
#1268
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 84
Someone mentioned having a problem getting their RewardsBoost points...I didn't get mine for a LivingSocial purchase so I called in. The rep was pretty unhelpful but eventually created a case for a specialist to review the points I received on the purchase. Way too much effort for 14 points, if I have to do this again I'm not going to bother using it.
I also tried to get a travel redemption for a $70 EZPass (toll road charges) charge and didn't get it. I asked why subway fares counted as a travel charge and not toll road charges and the rep said those weren't travel charges either, even though I had just redeemed two of them this morning.
Gonna try again tomorrow but EZPass may just not work.
I also tried to get a travel redemption for a $70 EZPass (toll road charges) charge and didn't get it. I asked why subway fares counted as a travel charge and not toll road charges and the rep said those weren't travel charges either, even though I had just redeemed two of them this morning.
Gonna try again tomorrow but EZPass may just not work.
Oct 17, 2014, 1:12 pm
#1269
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Wine Country, Finger Lakes
Programs: LFFRS BOD
Posts: 1,355
Oct 17, 2014, 3:39 pm
#1272
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: SF
Programs: UA, VX, QF, EY, VA
Posts: 756
There was a lawsuit a few years ago - https://www.ccfsettlement.com/home/ - about how the fees for foreign transactions were hidden by the card networks. To my recollection, that hidden 1% Mastercard fee was required to be clearly published as part of the card's FTF now...
What you should be seeing now is a transaction post in USD based on the published exchange rate used my Mastercard on the settlement (posting) date of the transaction, not the actual purchase date.
So if I bought something for GBP 10 on 1-June-2014 that posted to my account on 3-June-2014, using https://www.mastercard.com/global/cu...ion/index.html I should see: 10/0.595912 = USD $16.78 on my statement.
If you're seeing a difference between the Barclay card and a Visa card, it should be because of a combination of Visa using a different published exchange rate and/or the transaction posting on a different date.
This all supposes you take the transaction in the LOCAL currency. If you instead ask the merchant to process in USD directly, you are subject to a Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) fee charged by the merchant's bank, which can easily be 3%+ on top of any other fees. We have an entire thread on DCC: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/credi...er-thread.html
If you're seeing something different from what the Mastercard conversion tool predicts, it would be interesting to see if there is a pattern. Maybe Barclays is bending the rules. (Or they are still passing along that hidden 1%)
What you should be seeing now is a transaction post in USD based on the published exchange rate used my Mastercard on the settlement (posting) date of the transaction, not the actual purchase date.
So if I bought something for GBP 10 on 1-June-2014 that posted to my account on 3-June-2014, using https://www.mastercard.com/global/cu...ion/index.html I should see: 10/0.595912 = USD $16.78 on my statement.
If you're seeing a difference between the Barclay card and a Visa card, it should be because of a combination of Visa using a different published exchange rate and/or the transaction posting on a different date.
This all supposes you take the transaction in the LOCAL currency. If you instead ask the merchant to process in USD directly, you are subject to a Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) fee charged by the merchant's bank, which can easily be 3%+ on top of any other fees. We have an entire thread on DCC: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/credi...er-thread.html
If you're seeing something different from what the Mastercard conversion tool predicts, it would be interesting to see if there is a pattern. Maybe Barclays is bending the rules. (Or they are still passing along that hidden 1%)
1. CSP Visa (supposedly 0% FTF)
2. SF Fire CU Visa (supposedly 0% FTF)
3. Citi AA Exec WEMC (0% FTF)
4. Barclays Arrival+ WEMC (0% FTF)
At exactly the same time for exactly the same amount (in AUD) that...
* Both Visas convert at the published Visa rate plus exactly 1% (ISA?).
* Both MCs convert at the published MC rate exactly.
I saved $30USD on the transaction on the Arrival+ vs the CSP.
Perhaps YMMV based on the currency, but at this point in time, I'll be using the WEMC cards when traveling for the better rate.
Oct 17, 2014, 9:14 pm
#1273
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 5
New Barclay member...few questions
Hey all
I applied for and received the Barclay arrival+ card (with a pretty good credit limit). I received it slightly over 2 weeks from applying. I have a few quick questions...
1) I got it for 14.99%. I don't know much about this card yet. Is that a good percentage for this MasterCard? I've seen worse on other cards, however don't know where that sits with this one.
2) I see it gives you a "complimentary" trip it pro subscription. Is this for a limited time or for as long as I have the card? I noticed the regular subscription is $49/yr. If this is only a promo for the first year then I'm not going to activate that subscription.
Thanks much!
I applied for and received the Barclay arrival+ card (with a pretty good credit limit). I received it slightly over 2 weeks from applying. I have a few quick questions...
1) I got it for 14.99%. I don't know much about this card yet. Is that a good percentage for this MasterCard? I've seen worse on other cards, however don't know where that sits with this one.
2) I see it gives you a "complimentary" trip it pro subscription. Is this for a limited time or for as long as I have the card? I noticed the regular subscription is $49/yr. If this is only a promo for the first year then I'm not going to activate that subscription.
Thanks much!
Oct 17, 2014, 11:04 pm
#1274
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: SAN
Posts: 61
I also got this email today and I also made a purchase at Target within the past few days. In addition, Barclay's marked two of my other purchases as potential fraud (they weren't) so I thought maybe they were giving me a new card because of that.
Oct 17, 2014, 11:09 pm
#1275
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: SAN
Posts: 61
I'm quoting an old post here, but I've confirmed via doing transactions on:
1. CSP Visa (supposedly 0% FTF)
2. SF Fire CU Visa (supposedly 0% FTF)
3. Citi AA Exec WEMC (0% FTF)
4. Barclays Arrival+ WEMC (0% FTF)
At exactly the same time for exactly the same amount (in AUD) that...
* Both Visas convert at the published Visa rate plus exactly 1% (ISA?).
* Both MCs convert at the published MC rate exactly.
I saved $30USD on the transaction on the Arrival+ vs the CSP.
Perhaps YMMV based on the currency, but at this point in time, I'll be using the WEMC cards when traveling for the better rate.
1. CSP Visa (supposedly 0% FTF)
2. SF Fire CU Visa (supposedly 0% FTF)
3. Citi AA Exec WEMC (0% FTF)
4. Barclays Arrival+ WEMC (0% FTF)
At exactly the same time for exactly the same amount (in AUD) that...
* Both Visas convert at the published Visa rate plus exactly 1% (ISA?).
* Both MCs convert at the published MC rate exactly.
I saved $30USD on the transaction on the Arrival+ vs the CSP.
Perhaps YMMV based on the currency, but at this point in time, I'll be using the WEMC cards when traveling for the better rate.