Milezjunkie

Nice job Mykle. You can tell there is something wrong with an airline or a credit card company when they are offering 35K miles with the first use and the thread on Flyer Talk doesn't fill in the hundreds in a week. Citibank is great with their CC offers with American Airlines and you see the frenzy their thread has generated. 35K miles is still a good deal but it generated little interest on FT. I contacted Barclays via ema and asked if I could either reopen my account without an annual fee or if I had to reapply (and if I reapplied would I be eligible for the bonus miles). They responded some nonsense telling me how to apply for a card. They completely misunderstood my point in emailing because the bank outsources to India. I will stay away from US from now on!

miffSC

Also... good job Mykle. Maybe if we all make a concerted effort and write expressing displeasure with Barclay's, it will at least let US know that some of us are dissatisfied with their choice of partners. Mykle's letter was very well written and to the point.
I don't think that leaving US is the solution to this problem. The problem lies more with the credit card company. It is just unfortunate that Barclay's MC is the 'baby' of one of the marketing managers of US. In this case, I wouldn't throw the bathwater (US) out with the baby (Barclay's).

I'm grateful that I still have and use my US BOA Visa card.

Edit: Letter written.

Tiki

I'm thinking about threatening to cancel my US MC but I am worried they might call my bluff and push the "cancel" button too quickly. I need to keep it as long as Grand Slam is playing so I don't want them saying "Ok fine, its' cancelled" before I have a chance to think about it. Would it work if I say I am thinking about cancelling it but need to find out their offer or is that too obvious?

It's a $49 10K platinum card, I didn't qualify for the premier/fancy-schmancy card.

cbellero

Lufthansa USA has a co-branded card with Barclays. The experiences concerning bait and switch on application and the arbitrary changes in interest rates sound very familiar to me as a holder of the Lufthansa-branded card. Barclays is not a bank that i enjoy dealing with.

miffSC

Call and have them waive your fee and drop you to the 'lowest' no-fee card. That way you can have your card and use it too (for Grand Slam).

Oh, the answer to my letter:
Your email has been directed to a specialty area for additional research
and handling. Once completed, we will reply to your request.

FlyIgglesFly

I'll add to chorus line of displeasure. I currently have the no yearly fee, basic card...after applying for the larger bonus, more benfits, annual fee card about 4 years ago. I've kept it, but only because there's no annual fee, so why cancel and lose available credit on the credit report, right?

In early '09 they changed my limit from ~$3,000 to $250. No notification at all, I just happened to notice it after I paid the card off. I'd recently lost a job, and racked up a bit of debt before getting a new one, and I guess they took that time to consolidate their outstanding liabilities. I called them up, yelled at someone from Bangalore for a bit, got transferred to a supervisor in the States, and got my old line back.

I only use it now for US purchases. I've had much, MUCH better care with my CITI cards for AA miles. And since there seems to be no luck with retention bonuses...I'll just sit idle, letting them make nothing off of me and taking in $5-10K miles/yr.

tothetrail

How do I figure out which card I was approved for? I clicked past the approval screen and didn't pay attention to which one I got.

Here's my welcome email:

Congratulations! You’ve been approved for the US Airways Dividend Miles MasterCard.

Use your US Airways Dividend Miles MasterCard to earn Dividend Miles* toward future travel on US Airways or with one of 25 airline partners. As a cardmember, you will receive the following benefits:

* Annual companion certificate redeemable for up to two $99 companion tickets
* Redeem award travel for 5,000 less miles — award travel starts at just 20,000 miles for cardmembers
* First Class check-in and Zone 2 Boarding
* One complimentary US Airways Club® day pass annually
* Earn 10,000 Miles towards your preferred status, when you spend $25,000 during the calendar year
* Your miles can be combined with miles earned with over 150 partners. Visit dividendmiles.com for more details.
* Miles can be redeemed to over 900 destinations worldwide with 25 airline partners, including Star Alliance™ member airlines

Milezjunkie

I read some other posters on the other thread and their email states in the first or second bullet that they will receive 35,000 bonus miles with their first purchase. I could be wrong but it doesn't look like you got the 35K mile offer. Another victim of the Barclays Bait and Switch.

tothetrail

Yes, now I see that post with the bullet point about the 35,000 Bonus Miles.

I was able to "Check Application Status" and here's what I got, (my bolding):

Congratulations! On 02/22/2011 you were approved for the
US Airways World MasterCard with a Revolving Credit Line of $XX,XXX.00

You'll receive your card, pin, and cardmember agreement within the next 10 days. Set up online access now. Select GO to create a username and password.

So, it definitely says World. It looks like you have two card options, World ($49 fee) and Premier World ($89 fee.) But it also states on the link on the US Airways Website that with the World card you get one $149 companion flight, and with the Premier World card you get two $99 companion flights.

Looking for a Lower Annual Fee?

* Up to 20,000 Bonus Miles
* Up to 10,000 Bonus Miles with balance transfer in the first 30 days
* One $149 Companion Flight Per Year
* Earn Miles on Every Purchase

Click here to apply for the
$49 Annual Fee World MasterCard


My email states I will receive two $99 companion tickets. And nowhere does it say anything about being approved for a Platinum card. It'll be interesting to see what I actually "get."

mrredskin

applied and approved a few minutes ago.

also with SPG Amex, CO One Pass MC, DL Amex, and Citi PPE MC open. And after canceling both AA cards recently.

one less hit for potential grand slam this year, thankfully.

GamecockFan

I got the same email and the Premier World card is what came in the mail.

tothetrail

"Preferred" World or "Premier" World?

GamecockFan

My mistake. Premier World MasterCard.

GamecockFan

SN: Don't use a Sharpie pen to sign your card, it just smears right off.

tothetrail

Nice! Thanks, hopefully I'll get the same!