Quite true, and it also depends on the gift card brand etc. End of that section states "Redeeming miles for travel statement credits offers the best value," which looks to be $0.01/mile. Not sure what, if anything, we can read into that. I'm primarily looking for a way to set my expectation low, so I can be pleasantly surprised after all the surmising :)

Hmm...this might be a great card for tax payments, yes!

im looking for another card to spend $25k/year on income taxes since this will be my last year with DL and their AMEX.

DoC reports that there will be no signup bonus and the card will not be available for those who had Arrival+/- before. Conversions from other Arrival cards will not be allowed. This card should be called "Dead on Arrival".

I seriously doubt they will not have any signup bonus. Even awesome cards like Amex EDP, Blue Plus and Aspire had signup bonuses. No conversion and also restricting to those with Arrival cards makes no sense.

It seems to me they are taking a different approach to getting their card to be "top of wallet" so to speak. it seems pretty obvious that setting $1-3k minimum spend is not getting people to use a card all the time, but incentivizing them to spend >$15k might make the card profitable and keep people away from churning. maybe a different approach than 5/24 but still trying to hit the same result.

That's possible. Also, by not giving signup bonus, they are reducing the upfront marketing cost required to get people, and that way they can give out a higher ongoing rewards still achieving the same or even a higher ROE. Still I think that without a signup bonus, they would need at least one or two very strong/exclusive partners like Lufthansa, JAL, AA, etc. and a 1 to 1 transfer ratio. And why block product change or people who already have Arrival when there is no signup bonus?

Who would get this card with $150 AF and no signup bonus, when Amex BBP exists without any AF and a lot of useful transfer partners? $50k per year spend is adequate for most people.

Whether this succeeds or not, I am really looking forward to this launch as I am very intregued.


We all can trace this back to the massive devaluation of airlines frequent flyer programs. When these programs were solid, they had a lock on rewards card spending.

Credit card companies clients (airlines and hotels) were semi happy and customers (card holders) were very happy.

When AA devalued its program massively, I was expecting two or three things to happen......more issuance and spending of transfer program cards, foreign airlines issuing new cards and hotels getting their game up.
Chase was the first issuer to realize that once these programs were devalued their clients were very happy but not cardholders and this could seriously impact spending on airline credit cards.

So, they launched CSR, which ended up being the most successful launch in CC history. This was followed by Amex Blue Plus with 2x spending up to $50K. And then Amex Aspire. And foreign airlines like Cathay, Iberia, Aer Lingus and Avianca have launched (or will be launching) their own US credit cards.

All three cards are game changers and has benefited us directly and indirectly. CSR forced Amex Platinum to up its game. You could argue that the Blue and Cobalt is what laid the groundwork for the rumored Barclays card. And the Aspire is forcing Marriott to partner with Amex for a premium card.

Whether we get the new Barclays card or not, lets hope it succeeds. My long term bet is that we will see more Amex Blue/Barclays type spending cards, Hyatt also launching a premium card, and eventually airline frequent flyer programs adding more benefits -- they will have no choice.

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This is all so strange, so you can't convert and you can't apply? It just doesn't make sense. I'm sure conversions will be a thing. However what I'm curious about is A+ already has two points per dollar, so what happens to existing A+ members? Do they get the Premier locked in at $89 a year? Do they just keep their $89 a year card?

It does not sound as if this is a permanent restriction, and the application eligibility language is weak

No sign up bonus, high annual fee means bust. Buzz will die quickly on this. Only ones you'll see pushing it will be bloggers who might get some sort of referral bonus, or those with nothing to talk about. My wife and her side of family haven't had any Barclaycard relationship in years and were hoping this might become a top of wallet card, but are no longer interested. So many other incentives out there. They are decent spenders too and keep cards. I still have a Chase Sapphire Reserve, they got me interested with a great initial bonus and continued perks and won me over (I kept the card). Plus I have Cap 1, which gives me unlimited 2x and seem easier to get travel credits when redeeming than Barclay. Moving on.

So,, is the card available, I'm confused ......

Will it be readily available or will it be hidden?
how do people get it in the end? if it's rumored to be so closed off.....

Not yet. Entire discussion is based on blog articles which are based on leaked materials.

What are your thoughts Mia on this rumored card? Assuming it has not signup bonus as Reddit and DoC are reporting, do you see this card becoming a major success in the long run. I can see the logic from ROE perspective. Barclays is essentially passing on the benefits of much lower initial marketing expense to its cardholders in form of higher spending rewards, but would people sign up and spend if you had unique partners and 1:1 transfer bonus?