BaggerOne

Against all the negative reviews I've seen of Barclays, I decided to get the card and start to use it for all my purchases. We have some big trips coming up on USAir so I thought the bonus + everyday use miles would come in handy...

...if I received them they would have been!

I am the type of person who pays my credit card balance off every month and do a considerable amount of spending. A lot of spending. I decided to not use my other credit cards and to rely solely on the USAirways Barclays Bank Premier World MasterCard. First month, 9k+ in miles! GREAT!

Didn't show up. Paid the balance off in full after having to call up and get a balance because their online system wouldn't allow me to register my account initially. I called up to figure it out and there was an over 15 minute hold. I called, got my balance, and made a payment for the balance in full.

I called to find out where my miles are - their online system said I accumulated 9300 miles... their phone system said the same.. their customer service person when I finally got them on the phone said I had received 49,300 miles -- but usairways said I only received 40,000.

So I spoke to a supervisor and they said while the money was taken out of my bank, it took a couple/few days to post - and it was 2 days late apparently. I forfeited the miles. Brand new card customer.... I couldn't believe it. There was nothing they could do.

I cooled off a bit then called back and asked for a different supervisor. Same thing. Nothing they could do. They kept saying "i'm sorry....." but in reality they weren't sorry. Their policy was their policy and there was nothing they were WILLING to do.

Enfuriated, I asked to cancel my account so they transferred me. This woman asked me to go through why I was cancelling my card... so I did... a third time.... in the end she said she was willing to give me 5,000 miles if I spent $1,000 in the next 90 days. HA! I spent $15,000+ with them in less than 60 days! The transaction fees they made off my purchases alone should have told them that I was someone they wanted to keep. But they didn't care. I told them in no uncertain terms that the 9300 miles I EARNED. I wasn't going to entertain a 5,000 miles if I continued to use their card when I had already earned those 9300 miles. I cancelled the card. Maybe I should have kept it and taken the 5,000 miles - but I was absolutely enraged at the lack of customer service from these people.

I love USAirways... I absolutely HATE Barclays Bank. All they had to do is just give me the miles for the purchases I made. That's it. Instead they had to treat a new (GOOD) customer this way and they will never get my business again. Ever.

I guess I should have listened to all the people who said how horrible they were.... I though I'd be the exception. I was very wrong.

tommyleo

Let me get this straight. Are you saying that Barclays didn't give you the miles because you paid your balance late?

Has anyone else had this problem?

lkar

Did you get a paper statement? If not, it's a good reminder never to say yes to paperless statements until you have online set up. If you did, it's kind of your own doing. It is all our responsibilities to pay our bills on time.

I believe several banks deny the points if you make a late payment. Some, like Amex, make you pay a fee to reinstate miles.

I know you are angry, but there are some thing that are uncler.

1) Was your payment late? If not, you have been hard done by. But it sounds like you were late. If you weren't late, fixing it to avoid a ding on your credit report is more important than a few miles.

2) Is this truly Barclays, policy?

If both answers is yes, your point seems to be that they should have cut you a break or made an exception because you spent 9k in a month. Why? They gave you 40,000 miles and offered you 5k for goodwill. You should have taken the deal. 4300 miles is a small price to pay to learn a valuable lesson about paying on time to ensure the miles. If you like the card and like the miles, it seems like you let emotion keep you frim making a rational decision.

BaggerOne

Tommy - yes. If you are even one day late past your due date, Barclays Bank will NOT submit your miles for the month.

lkar - no, I didn't get a paper statement. I did the application over the internet and I don't even believe they gave me the option.. they could have, but I didn't. It literally was a BRAND NEW card for me. And when I received an email, I went to their website as I stated - and THEIR ONLINE SYSTEM didn't recognize me. I don't know why... I did it today just to make sure it wasn't something *I* did and low and behold - it worked. Too little too late.

And if there was a fee to reinstate.... SURE, I would have paid something small. But to not even have ANY flexibility??? That's the textbook definition of POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE IMHO.

I didn't get a paper statement - and I don't believe I was given the option. Either way, I received an email when the bill was due, but the email (like my other cards) didn't even tell me what the payment was. It said to log into their system... which I did and it said I needed to register my account... which I tried to - and the system said it couldn't find my account. I called their customer service immediately and it said 15+ minute wait. I waited as long as I could, but after a while, I couldn't wait any more. I gave up. Frustrated, admittedly. I called back and received my balance, paid it, but it was 2 days late by the time the money actually hit the account. I paid it on the due date via ACH/EFT but it didn't go in right away. And again, they were unwilling to look past it or do anything to assist.

> 2) Is this truly Barclays, policy?

Yes. Absolutely. USAirways says that all points accrued are at the SOLE DISCRETION of Barclays Bank. Period. End of story.

And maybe I should have taken the "deal" but I can get real hard cash back for my credit union's Visa. I don't need Barclays pathetic customer service. $75 for every $1,000 spent at my bank. I can then use the VISA Check Cards wherever I please. "If you like the card" -- I don't like having the miscommunications from their customer service people telling me that I accrued miles when in fact I forfeited them. The first customer service person I got on the phone had no clue.... and their automated systems all said I did, in fact, receive the 9k in miles. What they didn't say was that they didn't actually reward my account with them. And the overseas call center is a joke. Pathetic.

I didn't like the card. I wanted the miles, but I'm not dealing with paying an annual fee and a joke of a customer service department to get it. God help me if I ever needed to do anything REAL like dispute a charge or something. I've read the horror stories from others online about charges that they couldn't get removed.... Clearly this bank does NOT put customers first.

lkar

Sounds like you weren't completely sold on the card anyway, so, in the end, it's probably the right result. I think many of us who fly US hold the card to get the 10k EQM, but it's not our go to card other than to get those miles every year. I need the EQM. I'll put up with crappy customer service.

Barclays can definitely be inflexible, there's little doubt about that. But, the reality is that in the mileage game we sort of hold the issuers' feet to the fire on bonuses, I think sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. Also, they aren't the only ones. I had a late payment by a day or two with Amex a few years ago, and they made me pay a fee to "reinstate" my membership rewards points. No exception, and I've been a customer for over 20 years. And, airlines are notorious for not making exceptions if you let you mileage lapse.

Barclays is a small player, in a pool dominated by Chase and Amex, and they really do have some issues. You got 40k for moving some spend for a month, learned you don't like Barclays, and now can move on to cards you like better. All in all, probably a win. Though, next time, take the 5k miles and cancel a month or two later. It's painful to see 5k miles for $1k spend sitting on the table like that unclaimed!

BaggerOne

I stand corrected.... I got a formal call and apology from Barclays Bank stating that I was absolutely not the type of customer they wanted to upset and stated that there would be some internal conversations about what the overseas call center did - and how to prevent it from happening in the future. I was further encouraged by the fact that she was also going to talk to the technology team about ensuring a way to get their online system (that told me i had earned more miles than were deposited) and their telephone system (which said the same) to actually reflect the accuracy of the information and if miles were forfeited - to have some indication of that.

They agreed to deposit the miles if I gave them a second chance.

While I wish the problems didn't occur in the first place, I was very impressed that they took the time to review my specific situation and reach out to me to try and make things right. I have agreed to give them another chance and rest assured I will be signing up for any type of auto-withdrawl auto-pay system they have to avoid this problem in the future! Hell, i'll set up an auto-reoccuring payment of $100 just to make sure this doesn't happen again and even if i dont use the card, so what.. they'll have $100 and i'll just have a $100 credit.

josephstern

Oh man - I am having an issue with some bonus miles from last year.

These guys are beyond useless.

I think I need to cancel this card already. It's just intolerable at this point.