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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 Oct 8, 2014, 3:11 pm
  #1216  
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
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Will an IHG stay count for a Statement Credit?

OK, I just read the Wiki again, and I'm still confused. It states that hotel stays booked thru various third party sites counts, and that IHG stays using miles and $ does not. But nothing at all about just straight booking thru the hotel websites themselves. Maybe because that's assumed to be obvious?

I have an Enter the Night promo from IHG that only makes sense if I can pay it off with Arrival statement credits. Will that work?
Brugge is offline  
Old Oct 8, 2014, 3:45 pm
  #1217  
 
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Originally Posted by Brugge
OK, I just read the Wiki again, and I'm still confused. It states that hotel stays booked thru various third party sites counts, and that IHG stays using miles and $ does not. But nothing at all about just straight booking thru the hotel websites themselves. Maybe because that's assumed to be obvious?

I have an Enter the Night promo from IHG that only makes sense if I can pay it off with Arrival statement credits. Will that work?
I was able to redeem a paid Holiday Inn stay.
fyugioh is offline  
Old Oct 8, 2014, 4:22 pm
  #1218  
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
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will be cancelling my card upon renewal.
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Old Oct 8, 2014, 4:43 pm
  #1219  
 
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Originally Posted by winsteven13
will be cancelling my card upon renewal.
Me too, but wouldn't mind getting it again a year later, as long as waived fee and sign up bonus still applied.
Brugge is offline  
Old Oct 8, 2014, 4:43 pm
  #1220  
 
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Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
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Originally Posted by fyugioh
I was able to redeem a paid Holiday Inn stay.
Excellent. Thanks....
Brugge is offline  
Old Oct 8, 2014, 10:25 pm
  #1221  
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 696
Best use of 70k miles barclay arrival plus?

I have 70k miles on my barclay arrival plus master card. What's the best use of those miles? I see under my travel redemption, it has amount of dollars that I paid for my recent travel expenses. Should I just redeem that or wait until I make a big travel purchase? Or can I transfer those miles to other programs? Just trying to find ways to best use of those miles.
flybie is offline  
Old Oct 8, 2014, 11:04 pm
  #1222  
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
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Originally Posted by flybie
I have 70k miles on my barclay arrival plus master card. What's the best use of those miles? I see under my travel redemption, it has amount of dollars that I paid for my recent travel expenses. Should I just redeem that or wait until I make a big travel purchase? Or can I transfer those miles to other programs? Just trying to find ways to best use of those miles.
The best way is to redeem the points for travel expenses.
fyugioh is offline  
Old Oct 9, 2014, 12:44 am
  #1223  
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Originally Posted by alexmt
I had my card return "Not Accepted" at Walmart tonight, apparently the fail slip said to use the magnetic stripe (according to @jamar who was in the queue with me). Swiped it on the second try, it worked, did NOT tell me to use the chip. Something very odd ... and insecure.
So sticking the card in a slot somehow makes it more secure than swiping
skibum7732 is offline  
Old Oct 9, 2014, 5:44 am
  #1224  
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
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Originally Posted by skibum7732
So sticking the card in a slot somehow makes it more secure than swiping
Yes. Sticking it in the slot requires the use of a PIN. Swiping does not. CHIP & PIN cards should not be able to be swiped; that's the whole point.
dnwaldmann is offline  
Old Oct 9, 2014, 8:16 am
  #1225  
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 3,677
Originally Posted by dnwaldmann
CHIP & PIN cards should not be able to be swiped; that's the whole point.
European ccs don't have a magnetic stripe, and can't be swiped. But not enough POS terminals in the US are set up for pin yet, so even "chip + pin" cards issued in the US have to work both ways.
Brugge is offline  
Old Oct 9, 2014, 8:22 am
  #1226  
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
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Posts: 3,677
Originally Posted by flybie
I have 70k miles on my barclay arrival plus master card. What's the best use of those miles? I see under my travel redemption, it has amount of dollars that I paid for my recent travel expenses. Should I just redeem that or wait until I make a big travel purchase? Or can I transfer those miles to other programs? Just trying to find ways to best use of those miles.
You get double the credit for travel statement credits than you do for cash back. So that is the best use. You have several months after you make a travel charge to get it refunded, so generally the best way is to pick the first one and pay it off with a statement credit. Then work your way up. Minimum is $25 charge to pay off. Only other factor is that you can only refund a charge one time, so if you refund $5 from a $200 charge, you can't go back and refund the other $195. But that only comes into play if you have a large credit coming up soon. Otherwise, just pay off everything as it comes along.
Brugge is offline  
Old Oct 9, 2014, 8:35 am
  #1227  
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Originally Posted by Brugge
European ccs don't have a magnetic stripe, and can't be swiped. But not enough POS terminals in the US are set up for pin yet, so even "chip + pin" cards issued in the US have to work both ways.
Wait, when did this happen? I'm pretty sure they still have magstripe precisely because the US still does.

Originally Posted by dnwaldmann
Yes. Sticking it in the slot requires the use of a PIN. Swiping does not. CHIP & PIN cards should not be able to be swiped; that's the whole point.
No it doesn't. US issued cards will (mostly) require a signature even with a chip.
tmiw is offline  
Old Oct 9, 2014, 10:27 am
  #1228  
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 825
Originally Posted by tmiw
Wait, when did this happen? I'm pretty sure they still have magstripe precisely because the US still does.



No it doesn't. US issued cards will (mostly) require a signature even with a chip.
At walmart, I had to insert for the chip and then sign.
exarkun is offline  
Old Oct 9, 2014, 10:53 am
  #1229  
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 4,166
Originally Posted by Brugge
European ccs don't have a magnetic stripe, and can't be swiped. But not enough POS terminals in the US are set up for pin yet, so even "chip + pin" cards issued in the US have to work both ways.
Yes they do, I was just there a few months ago and almost everywhere had mag readers except for unattended kiosks like subway ticket machines.
Superorb is offline  
Old Oct 9, 2014, 2:29 pm
  #1230  
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 3,537
Originally Posted by skibum7732
So sticking the card in a slot somehow makes it more secure than swiping
Absolutely, because the chip doesn't present enough data to copy the card.
AllieKat is offline  


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