Update: I no longer recommend the Barclaycard Arrival Plus, since there are more rewarding cards for everyday spend, and the benefits have been reduced; what used to be a 10% miles rebate on redemptions is now only 5%. See instead the current Best Travel Credit Cards page for current best offers.
—-Old Post—-
How do you redeem Barclaycard Arrival miles for travel? While I covered this briefly in Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite MasterCard: Top 10 Tips to Maximize Rewards from the 40,000 Bonus I still get questions on how it works.
I just now used 47,500 Arrival miles to get $475 off a flight, so here's a simple step by step with tips:
1. Log into Your Barclaycard Arrival Plus Account and Click on “Manage Rewards”
2. Find Travel Statement Credits and Click on “Redeem Now”
Once on the next screen, find “Travel Statement Credits” on the left hand side, and click on the green “Redeem Now” button.
3. Find an Eligible Travel Transaction to Redeem Your Barclaycard Arrival Miles For
You'll need to have used your Barclaycard Arrival Plus Mastercard to make a travel purchase within the past 120 days. This is longer than it used to be: as I mentioned in New Barclaycard Arrival Plus with Chip and PIN: Top 5 New Benefits, it increased from 90 days.
4. Decide How Many Miles to Redeem
You can redeem in increments of 2500. The nice thing is that you don't have to have enough Barclaycard Arrival miles to rebate the entire transaction; you can use all or some of your miles to rebate some of the transaction (unlike, for example, the Capital One Venture card, where you need to have enough points to be able to rebate the entire transaction).
5. Redeem and Get 10% of Your Miles Back as a Rebate
After you confirm your rewards redemption, you instantly earn back 10% of your miles, which is a great feature. That's what gives you an effective 2.22% cash back when redeeming for travel with the Barclaycard Arrival Plus, as opposed to just 2%.
FAQ
Are These Miles or Points?
Although called “miles” the Barclaycard Arrival Plus miles work more like points, since they don't transfer out to any partners. Think of the card as a cash back card, which gives you an effective 2.22% cash back when redeemed for travel.
Do You Earn 2X on All Spend or Only 2X on Travel Spend?
You earn 2X on ALL spend.
What is the Total Bonus of the Barclaycard Arrival Plus after Meeting the $3000 Minimum Spend?
You earn 2X on the $3000, giving you 6000 miles, plus after meeting the minimum spend, you earn the 40,000 signup bonus for a total of 46,000 miles.
What is 46,000 Miles Worth?
46,000 miles equates to $460. That said, you need to redeem your miles in increments of 2500 miles. So if you have exactly 46,000 miles, you would be able to redeem up to 45,000 of them, to rebate $450 of a travel purchase.
How Does the 10% Rebate Work?
After you redeem miles to rebate a travel purchase made with the Barclaycard Arrival Plus, you'll instantly earn a 10% rebate. So on a 45,000 mile redemption, you receive 4500 miles back into your account, to be redeemed against another travel purchase.
Can You Get the Barclaycard Arrival Plus Bonus Again?
It's possible–readers have reported being approved for another Barclaycard Arrival Plus and earning the bonus again, just as it's possible to get another 40,000 bonus for the US Airways MasterCard. I recommend waiting at least 6 months before applying again.
It's also possible, if you were upgraded to a Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite MasterCard, that you could earn the bonus again even for what is effectively the same card. This happened to my husband, but I'd guess this is very much “your mileage may vary” and don't know how many people this has worked for.
What's your experience redeeming Barclaycard Arrival Plus miles / points?
Related Posts
New Barclaycard Arrival Plus with Chip and PIN: Top 5 New Benefits
Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite MasterCard: Upgrade for Existing Cardholders?
1 Year Free Leaders Club Membership with World MasterCard Credit Cards
Need Award Booking Help? Our fee is as low as $75 per ticket if you book your hotel or cruise through us.
If you enjoyed this, join 200,000+ readers: please follow TravelSort on Twitter or like us on Facebook to be alerted to new posts.
Become a TravelSort Client and Book 5-Star Hotels with Virtuoso or Four Seasons Preferred Partner Amenities!
Editorial Disclosure: The editorial content on this site is not provided by the companies whose products are featured. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or evaluations provided here are those of the author's alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the Advertiser.