I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Barclay’s now allows partial redemptions of travel charges on their Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard®. I had previously reported that bonus points (or “miles”) could only be credited toward charges if the rewards balance was sufficient to offset the charge in full. I opened the Barclaycard Arrival™ World MasterCard® (earns 2x points on travel and restaurant purchases) — which is marketed as a travel rewards credit card — in January.
I have had problems with the bank not properly posting 2 times points for travel charges. This has required numerous calls to customer service. I seem to get a different answer each time about how to redeem points. With my last set of charges, I noticed that I was allowed to make partial redemption of points toward “eligible” travel expenses in increments of $25. This enhances the utility of the bonus points awarded for opening the card.
I continue to have difficulty with travel charges not being awarded 2 times points as advertised. For instance, on my last statement, hotel charges at chain hotels were credited with 2 times points, while charges at an independent motel were not properly credited.
At some point, it is not worth the hassle of frequent calls to customer service to make rewards adjustments per the terms of the card. What has your experience been with the Arrival card?
You can apply for the Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard® here.
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My tolerance for hounding customer service is very low. I would just close a card that gave me that much trouble.
No kidding. These people need to get their act together.