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Barclaycard Arrival is a credit card rewards program with a very untraditional rewards strategy, compared to American Express Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards. They don’t offer any bonuses when you redeem for travel, and they don’t have any transfer partners. But if you want to accrue miles to pay for your travel, and you don’t want to spend time researching awards, this could be the rewards program for you.
Here’s everything you need to know about Barclaycard Arrival.
| Credit Cards | Barclays Arrival World Mastercard Barclaycard Arrival Plus® World Elite Mastercard® Barclays Arrival Premier World Elite Mastercard |
| Redemption Options | Travel statement credits, non-travel statement credits, gift cards, merchandise |
| Transfer Partners | None |
| Rewards Value | $0.022 per mile |
See the best credit card sign-up bonuses here
Earning Arrival Miles
The main attraction to the Barclaycard Arrival rewards program is the rate in which members earn miles with Arrival credit cards. American Express Membership Rewards® cardholders typically earn one point for every $1 spent, which they can then redeem for travel at 100 points per $1. That ends up being a $0.01 value per point. With Barclays, you earn 2x miles and get 5% of your redeemed miles back, which gives a $0.022 value per mile.
You can also earn bonus Arrival miles by shopping at Barclaycard RewardsBoost. The online mall features 700 stores and up to as many as 12 miles per $1 spent with your Barclaycard.
Unfortunately, all Barclays credit cards that earn Arrival miles are closed to new applicants.
Redeeming Arrival Miles
Arrival miles aren’t normal miles in the rewards world sense. Unlike American Express Membership Rewards® and Chase Ultimate Rewards®, Arrival miles can’t be transferred to other airline and hotel partners. Instead, they act much like cash and are used to offset travel expenses, like flights, hotel stays, cruises, cab fares and more. That means you have spending flexibility, and you don’t have to deal with blackout dates and award availability. Plus, it’s a very easy and straightforward redemption process.
The minimum to redeem is 2,500 miles, or $25. You can use your miles as soon as a purchase posts to your account, or you can wait up to 180 days. Once you’ve selected an item to redeem, Barclays will tell you how many miles you’ll get back with the 5% rebate. But be patient, these can take up to a couple weeks to credit.
You can also redeem Arrival miles for non-travel related awards – statement credits, gift cards and merchandise – but for a lesser value per mile.
Barclaycard Arrival Tips & Tricks
Best Value Awards. The most valuable Arrival miles redemptions are travel statement credits at $0.01 per mile with a 5% redemption rebate.
Worst Value Awards. Using your Arrival miles for non-travel statement credits lowers your rewards value by about $0.005 per mile. In general, you will need 5,000 Arrival miles to redeem for $25 in statement credits or gift cards.
Credit Card Pairings. Barclaycards that earn Arrival miles have fixed rates, so they go perfectly with a card that features rotating bonus categories. For example, the Discover it Cash Back Card or Chase Freedom FlexSM. Use one of these cards when you make purchases in the high-earning bonus categories and charge all other spending to your Barclaycard.
CHASE FREEDOM FLEX℠
The Chase Freedom Flex℠ credit card is going to earn you a $200 bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. The welcome bonus comes in the form of 20,000 Ultimate Rewards points. This card has no annual fee.
Bottom Line
Barclaycard Arrival offers a great alternative to the more popular rewards programs because it’s simple, straightforward and flexible. We recommend it for big spenders and frequent flyers who aren’t fans of restrictions.
Looking for a rewards program with transferable rewards? You’ll want to go with Amex Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Capital One Rewards or Citi ThankYou Rewards instead.
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