Barclay annual fee refund delay
 

SM'ed Barclay to close some cards. They now say card can be reopened within 15 days so they won't refund AF until after those 15 days. This is a negative change that forces you to pay the AF and then deal with refund in the cases payment is due soon after cancellation.

Any data points on whether they indeed take the 15 days to post AF refund, and if so any luck getting that expedited?

Last time I cancelled a Barclays, the AF was reversed within a few days. No clue if that's still the case.

Sounds fishy. I'd phone them tomorrow.

This person was successful getting the fee waived if that is of interest: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/cred...up-75k-12.html

I did it recently. Yes, AF refund took about 2 weeks, I didn't pay anything, so it said I was late after statement closed, the another statement closed, and now it says I don't need to pay anything.

I closed my aviator card on 12/31 and the AF hasn’t been refunded yet. The terms they read me did include the me toon of the 15 day period during which I could reopen the account.

My Hawaiian credit card statement closed earlier this month with the $99 annual fee. After the AF posted, I closed the card and the annual fee has been refunded. The statement balance is $99 while the current balance is $0.

I tried to pay the statement balance but the website didn't allow me to. It says that the amount I tried to pay ($99) is more than the current balance (zero).

It seems like I don't have to pay. Just want to confirm with the larger audience here. I don't want to get hit with a late or interest charge.

Thank you.

You shouldn’t have to pay anything as the current balance is zero, but you could confirm that with Chat - I just used that feature in their app a couple of times this week to first ask when I get my AF credit (after closing the Aviator) and then requesting a refund check once it had posted. Chat was very painless and quick.

AF Posted 12/31/25.
Called 1/6/26 to ask abouit AF waiver, non found on my account. Opted to cancel both Barclays cards. Was told about 15 day period.
1/21/26 showed AF charge removed.

In my experience, I suggest giving yourself a 15 day buffer between AF posting and statement close date for the charge to be removed.