Thankfully it's back. I sent a communication asking about it and got the most unhelpful reply that had nothing to do with my question.

LOL-- classic Barclays custmer service at its best. At least the website is fixed and no points dissapeared!

The day I hoped would never come...

"Beginning in late January 2014, the redemption process for your Travelocity Rewards American Express Card will be changing and will include exciting, new rewards opportunities".

"You'll soon be able to redeem points for statement credits..."

"Statement credits are just the beginning. You'll also be able to redeem points for gift cards and merchandise"

...I mean one could just take it at face value and ignore it and think, well, they also say "you'll be able to redeem your points for statement credits towards eligible Travelocity purchases - plus other rewards - at MyTravelocityRewards.com"

Going to do some more research but as someone with points in the mid 6 digits (believe me, redemptions were going to start happening this March) I have a feeling I'll be doing some very solid vacation planning over the next week.

Sorry, I should clarify - I basically just received a letter in the mail today with the above quotations.

Hopefully they will still be worth the same amount, esp for us who are grandfathered in from the old card. If they are, it might be a good thing since they will no longer have to be redeemed in blocks of points, and can be done as statement credits after the fact like the Capitol One Venture Card.

JudyJFLA

I got the same letter yesterday, too. For the moment I'm going to assume it means that they are ditching the (constantly buggy) redemptions through travelocity.com and making us redeem through some other portal.

Hopefully that's all this means.

Agreed. If there were changing the redemption amounts, I feel they would have mentioned it in the letter. (Though, with Barclays horrendous customer service, nothing would surprise me.)

The letter basically just says that you will request reimbursement for charges rather than redeem points at the time of making a Travelocity purchase. That said, half the time when I make a Travelocity purchase on Travelocity, it doesn't post as a Travelocity purchase. I wonder if that's going to be a problem.

If the 20,000 points = $400 redemption option was axed, this card wouldn't be at all competitive, especially for the second and third generations of the card.

I know, that is my fear on the $400 = 20000 points value will not be the same, as other levels not in multiples of 20,000 points are worse values.
As I have just been stockpiling points, i wanted to ask if cruises are still not available for booking, or are they back since they are on the site when you click from the Barclay account site. Thanks.

JudyJFLA

I would love for cruises to appear. I'm optimistic, but I'm not willing to bet the house, either.

If I were to guess, my hunch is that they'll go to a redemption strategy like the Capital One Venture card. On that card, you have to redeem enough points to cover the whole purchase, or you can't redeem any at all. Contrast that with the Travelocity card where I can redeem 40,000 pts and pay $174 to cover a $974 charge.

I just checked the current Travelocity Credit Card sign up page and they still list the following:

http://i.imgur.com/Qt3fZR5.jpg

I HOPE this means the current lucrative reward redemption rate will remain after these changes.

However, what always concerns me is that often when a company promotes an "enhancement"; they usually end up taking away a valuable benefit (i.e. many frequent flier programs). :confused:

There are a lot of programs that redeem at 0.02 per point. (Or, conversely, earn at 2pts/$).

I think most everyone in this thread is concerned that they'll modify the earning tiers, i.e. kill off the remaining 4pts/$ users that are out there.

Does anyone have a current usable contact or phone number for escalating redemption and points earnings issues?

Looks like we have to apply for a statement credit now. Max for 4% back is $5200, but it looks like the ticket price can be higher. Most of my saved names and ff#s are gone.
I wonder how log it will take for a credit now. What a pain.

The form:

Travelocity Rewards Card Redemption
To redeem points toward a statement credit, please pay for your booking with your Travelocity Rewards card and provide the following information.

1. Travelocity Rewards Card Information

First Name (as it appears on card): *This question is required.

Last Name (as it appears on card): *This question is required.

Billing Address: *This question is required.

City: *This question is required.

State: *This question is required.
-- Please Select
Zip Code: *This question is required.

Email Address: *This question is required.

Phone Number: *This question is required.

Last 4 Digits of Card Number: *This question is required.

Purchase Date: *This question is required.
calendar
Trip ID: *This question is required.

Total Trip Price: *This question is required.

Number of Points to be Redeemed: *This question is required.
-- Please Select

Where did you see this? I don't see this on the Barclay's website.

It was when I went to Travelocity.com and tried to book a ticket.

Looks like it could just be temporary until the finish the new travelocity site.
I found this to book the old way.

http://www.travelocity.com/content/s...ards-card.html

Redemption Update
As a valued Travelocity Rewards American Express® card holder, we want you to know we're making exciting changes to the Travelocity website to improve your travel planning experience.

For a short time, when booking travel and redeeming points with your card be sure to use this page to search for travel. We suggest you add this new URL to your Favorites list for future use.

You may also book your trip and redeem points toward eligible travel by calling 888.872.8356.

Thank you for being a loyal Travelocity customer. We look forward to helping you plan your next adventure.