Despite not having any transfer partners, the Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite MasterCard is still a great tool for getting award flights. In addition to a 40,000 mile sign-up bonus, this card has great earning capabilities and the flexibility to redeem your miles for most of your travel expenses.
Barclaycard Arrival Plus gives you two miles for every purchase, plus a 10 percent rebate on every mile you redeem for travel. You effectively get a 2.2 cent per dollar value on every purchase.
Barclaycard miles are redeemed after the fact, which means you must charge your travel expense on the card first and then redeem at a trade-in value of a penny per mile so a $500 ticket would cost 50,000 miles.
When Should You Use Barclaycard Arrival Plus Redemptions
The strength of the Barclaycard Arrival program is in its flexibility. You can redeem your miles for almost any travel-related purchase even taxis and public transit in New York and other cities.
For purchasing airfare, it’s best to use Barclaycard Arrival miles if you don’t have any program miles with the airline of your choice. Barclaycard Arrival miles work well for buying tickets on smaller airlines and foreign carriers.
Arrival miles are also good to use when the lowest or saver redemption rate is not available for an award flight using another program’s miles, but the cash ticket price is low.
Partner Transfers:
- None
How to Book
Unlike some other programs, Barclaycard doesn’t have a dedicated booking portal. That means you are not stuck using a particular travel website. You can book your flight with almost anyone and still get a full statement credit.
You can use a travel agent, airline website, or your favorite travel booking website, like Expedia, Orbitz or Priceline.
Just find the lowest price available on a flight that works for you, and be sure to use your Barclaycard Arrival Plus MasterCard for the purchase. If you have enough miles in your account, you’ll be able to wipe out that charge.
How to Redeem
You can easily redeem your Barclaycard Arrival miles on the program’s website, as long as the charge you want to be credited equals or exceeds $25. You can’t redeem less than 2,500 miles.
Your miles and eligible travel charges automatically show up in your Barclaycard account.
When you sign on to your account, you will be met with the welcome screen. Click “manage rewards”
On the next screen you will see two options: “travel statement credits” and “cash back statement credits.” Travel statement credits are the best value since the cash back credits are only worth half as much. For example, 5,000 miles get you a $50 travel credit, but only a $25 cash back credit.
To choose the travel statement credits, click “redeem now”
The next screen will show your eligible travel expenses from the last 120 days. In this case, it’s a reservation made on Orbitz:
Click “redeem now” and confirm the redemption. That’s it, you’re done.
It doesn’t matter where you buy your travel or on what carrier. You will be able to redeem your miles for any charge that is coded as a travel expense.
Important Miles Redemption Considerations
- You can’t redeem miles for charges less than $25
- Travel purchases made within the last 120 days are eligible for redemption
- Non-travel charges are eligible for redemption at travel rates if they are coded as travel, such as buses, subways, hotels, Uber rides, ferries, and taxis.