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Barclays Arrival Plus, now 70K w/$5k spend

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 youre actually earning cash back with the card since you cant 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 youre 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 Zrich
  • 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)

Print Wikipost

Barclays Arrival Plus, now 70K w/$5k spend

Old Apr 4, 2019, 9:46 pm
  #4216  
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: SEA
Programs: Bonvoy Gold
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Originally Posted by philemer
I don't have to redeem 'miles' for 100% of my airline charge do I?

Example: I have 80K 'miles' and a $740 airline charge. Can I just redeem 70K 'miles' and save the rest for a $135 charge? (80K-70K=10K plus 3500 rebate=13550 remaining).
Correct, you are never forced to redeem miles in excess.
EkekoBWI is offline  
Old Apr 4, 2019, 10:00 pm
  #4217  
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Originally Posted by EkekoBWI
Correct, you are never forced to redeem miles in excess.
I don't want to redeem in "excess", I want to redeem less. Like maybe 70K for a $740 charge.

Thx
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Old Apr 5, 2019, 8:00 am
  #4218  
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Programs: AA, ALASKA Airlines, Delta, United, Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific
Posts: 22
Buying Air Miles Count towards Travel Purchase?

Looked through this thread but didn't see anything specific to using this card to purchase Alaska, American, Delta, or United Miles to count as a travel purchase? Obviously above $100.00 Thanks.
Craig Gillhaus is offline  
Old Apr 5, 2019, 8:09 am
  #4219  
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Originally Posted by Craig Gillhaus
Looked through this thread but didn't see anything specific to using this card to purchase Alaska, American, Delta, or United Miles to count as a travel purchase? Obviously above $100.00 Thanks.
AA cards are noted in the WIKI as Successful.

Also, MMS has a post on his experiences purchasing miles & GC here: https://millionmilesecrets.com/guide...e-redemptions/

Last edited by philemer; Apr 5, 2019 at 12:06 pm
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Old Apr 5, 2019, 12:03 pm
  #4220  
mia
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend; Moderator: American Express, Capital One, Citi, Chase, Credit Card Programs, Diners Club, Signatures
 
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Originally Posted by Craig Gillhaus
....Miles ....
Originally Posted by philemer
AA cards are noted in the WIKI as Successful.
Craig is asking about purchasing miles, rather than gift cards. Many airlines outsource miles purchase function to Points International, but AA is one that does this in house. This creates the possibility that Barclays will see it as an airline transaction, but I have no direct experience.
philemer likes this.
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Old Apr 5, 2019, 2:20 pm
  #4221  
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Programs: AA, ALASKA Airlines, Delta, United, Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific
Posts: 22
MAY 12, 2014?????

I hope someone else has a more recent experience. Thanks.
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Old Apr 5, 2019, 3:01 pm
  #4222  
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The frequentmiler blog had a more recent article on this so I'd search around on his site.
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Old Apr 15, 2019, 7:51 pm
  #4223  
 
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: USA
Posts: 164
Presently have plain Arrival, I downgraded 4 yrs ago from Arrival Plus I got 6 yrs ago. Applied online, it went into pending, I phoned, rep approved. Doubt I put $100 on the card last 18 mos. Rep first told me sorry, you already have this card, I told him I had the no fee card, he checked, did a credit check, said yes, moved 25k from no fee card over to new arrival+. This is a keep for one year only card. Then rinse, repeat...maybe.
acker is offline  
Old Apr 15, 2019, 9:26 pm
  #4224  
cnn
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 123
Applying by phone

A strange question but anyone knows Barclay can take credit card applications via phone ? Thanks
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Old Apr 15, 2019, 10:51 pm
  #4225  
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 433
Any reports of anyone successfully getting the annual fee waived after the first year ?
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Old Apr 15, 2019, 11:07 pm
  #4226  
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Originally Posted by rover4618
Any reports of anyone successfully getting the annual fee waived after the first year ?
? Barclays retention offers (all cards)
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Old Apr 15, 2019, 11:12 pm
  #4227  
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 433
Originally Posted by philemer
Thank you Sir.
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Old Apr 19, 2019, 7:57 am
  #4228  
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 1,784
Originally Posted by cnn
A strange question but anyone knows Barclay can take credit card applications via phone ? Thanks
I hope you have a really good reason to even think about a phone app. You know when you do an online app, and there is that whole long list of TC that you ignore? Well when you do a phone app, you can't just say "yes, I read that", you have to wait while the CSR slowly reads it all to you. Takes nearly forever. I did that once, never again.
mia, cnn and EkekoBWI like this.
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Old Apr 20, 2019, 9:12 am
  #4229  
 
Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 78
Data Point to add to Wiki: Booked a French TGV (SNCF) train ticket online with Arrival+ for $109.65. The Rewards center is giving me the option to redeem for statement credit.
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Old Apr 20, 2019, 12:48 pm
  #4230  
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I've had the card for a month and so far, I'm not all that impressed with their customer service.
  1. Attempted to add my card to Google Pay right after activating it. I was required to call in (which is a bit annoying, but fine). After a fair bit of time on hold I finally got a live person that asked me security questions from public records...who then got someone else on the line to ask me a different set of security questions. Fortunately, the first person was then able to activate the virtual card after that. Total time on the phone: 22 minutes.
  2. A large purchase at Home Depot resulted in a "please call us" message on their online banking. I spent 30 minutes on hold before getting someone who was able to clear the fraud flag on my account. Fraud is one of those things you'd think would have a low wait time (if nothing else, to reduce their fraud losses due to delays).
  3. Tried to use Google Pay at my work's cafeteria yesterday and it declined. Later, when I called Barclaycard to ask if my account has any issues, they couldn't see any transactions from that morning and claimed that it declined "on the merchant's end". This despite the Google Pay app actually showing the transaction with the word "declined" next to it and the Barclaycard mobile app sending me a declined transaction push notification later that day.
Note that these calls were all during typical business hours on the West Coast (or shortly thereafter in the case of the Google Pay activation), so it's not a function of me calling in the middle of the night or something. Anyway, we'll see how the rest of the first year goes but I'm thinking this is going to be one of the cards that gets downgraded or cancelled once the AF hits.
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