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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 31, 2017, 5:01 pm
  #4006  
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You'll have at least 30 days to close the card after your stmt. hits. Maybe more but at least 30 days. You're fine.
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Old Nov 1, 2017, 11:53 am
  #4007  
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I'm going to move this to our Credit Card Programs forum, where you're most likely to get the best responses.

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Old Nov 2, 2017, 11:16 am
  #4008  
 
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OP can PC to the no fee Arrival card. $25 minimum travel redemption instead of $100.

No FTF. Have to call to do it.
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Old Nov 3, 2017, 1:53 pm
  #4009  
 
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I also might suggest you do something like reload your EZ pass bill...something that codes as travel but you can make an exact amount. You can redeem exact amounts of points if it completely erases a charge. So I might reload my EZPass $116. You’ll get 232 points back plus the 11368 you have gives you 11,600 points even. Erase the $116 charge and you’ll only abandon the 5% redemption bonus.
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Old Nov 19, 2017, 9:48 pm
  #4010  
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
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So we had some conversation about a possible 6/24 rule for a short time, then it completely stopped, and there haven't been any updates to the wiki. Has that been disproven somewhere, or was it just suddenly so accepted as to not warrant any more attention? I'm looking at getting another one of these cards, but am definitely over 6/24.
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Old Nov 28, 2017, 8:20 am
  #4011  
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
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WN flight finally posted 5 days after booking. Amount is $540, but the highest amount I can redeem for is 52,500 and then 2,500 increments lower. I have 53,630 points. They no longer allow you to redeem for the exact amount?
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Old Nov 28, 2017, 7:04 pm
  #4012  
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Originally Posted by Superorb
WN flight finally posted 5 days after booking. Amount is $540, but the highest amount I can redeem for is 52,500 and then 2,500 increments lower. I have 53,630 points. They no longer allow you to redeem for the exact amount?
I believe you have to have enough points to cover the full amount in order to be able to use exact amount. If you dont, it is up to the last incremental.as $525 is $25 x 21. If you have more than 54000 pts then you would be able to redeem 54000.
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Old Nov 28, 2017, 8:36 pm
  #4013  
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 433
Originally Posted by bobert24
So we had some conversation about a possible 6/24 rule for a short time, then it completely stopped, and there haven't been any updates to the wiki. Has that been disproven somewhere, or was it just suddenly so accepted as to not warrant any more attention? I'm looking at getting another one of these cards, but am definitely over 6/24.
I'm with you and would like to see it as part of the Wiki
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Old Nov 29, 2017, 9:43 pm
  #4014  
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
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Originally Posted by Happy
I believe you have to have enough points to cover the full amount in order to be able to use exact amount. If you dont, it is up to the last incremental.as $525 is $25 x 21. If you have more than 54000 pts then you would be able to redeem 54000.
^^ Yup, that's what it was. I had $1k from a bank opening deposit post today and sure enough the entire amount was redeemable and I redeemed for the refundable ticket that I'll cancel in a few weeks.
Superorb is offline  
Old Nov 29, 2017, 9:45 pm
  #4015  
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 4,166
Any recent DPs on retention offers for Arrival+ cards? Nothing posted since February, and nobody seemed to get AF credits either.
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Old Nov 30, 2017, 9:28 am
  #4016  
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
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Originally Posted by Superorb
^^ Yup, that's what it was. I had $1k from a bank opening deposit post today and sure enough the entire amount was redeemable and I redeemed for the refundable ticket that I'll cancel in a few weeks.
What happens then? I'd expect that when you cancel the ticket the airline will refund the charge to your arrival card. Does Barclays just ignore the fact that the charge was refunded, and let you keep the statement credit? Or is there a chance they would claw that back?
RobertHanson is offline  
Old Nov 30, 2017, 2:55 pm
  #4017  
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 4,166
They don't claw back. This is a known trick to redeem your points without paid travel. From what I've read even after you refund the ticket the charge will be available to redeem against till it expires.
Superorb is offline  
Old Nov 30, 2017, 3:17 pm
  #4018  
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Now a 40K offer

Was going to apply for my wife today but link directs to a 40K offer. Anyone know of an active 50K link?
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Old Nov 30, 2017, 6:19 pm
  #4019  
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Originally Posted by Superorb
^^ Yup, that's what it was. I had $1k from a bank opening deposit post today and sure enough the entire amount was redeemable and I redeemed for the refundable ticket that I'll cancel in a few weeks.
So Barclay A+ posted the bank funding as purchase, did it automatically go thru at the time of funding or you have to call in to clear?
Did you set the CA to 0?
Happy is offline  
Old Nov 30, 2017, 6:56 pm
  #4020  
 
Join Date: Jun 2016
Posts: 2,257
Originally Posted by RobertHanson
What happens then? I'd expect that when you cancel the ticket the airline will refund the charge to your arrival card. Does Barclays just ignore the fact that the charge was refunded, and let you keep the statement credit? Or is there a chance they would claw that back?
Originally Posted by Superorb
They don't claw back. This is a known trick to redeem your points without paid travel. From what I've read even after you refund the ticket the charge will be available to redeem against till it expires.
wont claw back. i discovered this accidentally too when i had to alter travel plans and thus cancelled a hotel reservation (which took my first night charge as deposit). this first night charge remains eligible for A+ points redemption even after the refund posted back to the cc
gnomey is offline  


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