Barclay Miles question

[Jaylima91]

Hello everyone. Okay, so I was recently approved to the Barlcayscard Arrival+ and I know they offer some nice travel benefits. Here is my question, what rate would i get if i redeem the miles for statement credit as oppose to travel. I keep hearing you get less cash if redeemed for statement credit but I am not understanding how.

[B335is]

Statement credit is really bad with the Arrival+  2,500 miles = $12.50 and you get no redemption bonus.  2,500 miles = $25 travel credit plus 10% bonus points are added to your account.

[Jaylima91]

So pretty much the rate is much lower when redeeming for cash. I thought the 40k bonus points would be worth $400 statement credit. Guess I was wrong.

[B335is]

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@Jaylima91 wrote:

So pretty much the rate is much lower when redeeming for cash. I thought the 40k bonus points would be worth $400 statement credit. Guess I was wrong.

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Yeah it's not like CSP 40k bonus.  I tried with my Arrival+ and it was like $265 statement credit for 40k points.  Kind of disappointing I know.  Fortunately quite a few things qualify for travel related charges.  Tolls and taxis worked for me.

[Jaylima91]

Yeah definitely not like the CSP. Oh well, thankfully i can use it for my travel needs

[CreditPacMan]

I just got the arrival+ too .. a follow up question: The $400 travel credit works when you buy a ticket ? I mean do you only get the full $400 when you make a flight reservation? 

[IWOL]

You can redeem the points against more than just flights. There is a list on the site I believe that shows all the things that qualify

Hotels and flights for sure plus stuff like Amtrak, cruises etc. When they changed it to the Arrval Plus they added a lot more things to the list that can be redeem exes for travel.

OP......if you want cash back instead of using the points for travel redemption you would be better off with the Fidelity AMEX which gives you 2% cash back on all purchases and no annual fee. You could downgrade the Arriva Plus to the no fee Arrival after the first year.

if you want to convert the points to cash you might be able to buy for example a Southwest gift card and get the full redemption value of $25 per 2500 points and then sell the gift card on Craigslist or ebay. You won't get they full value but maybe 80 to 90% which would be better than the. 50% Barclays will give you for a statement credit.

[Jaylima91]

I did some calculations. If you redeem the miles for statement credit then it's like you're using a 1% cash back card. If redeemed for travel then it's a 2% cashback card. Not as bad as I thought but still better to redeem for travel.

[nachoslibres]

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@Jaylima91 wrote:
I did some calculations. If you redeem the miles for statement credit then it's like you're using a 1% cash back card. If redeemed for travel then it's a 2% cashback card. Not as bad as I thought but still better to redeem for travel.

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Actually, it is 2.22% effective cash back when redeemed against travel because they give you 10% of your "miles" back which you can use immediately on other travel charges.  Then, when you redeem those 10% miles you got back they give you 10% back of those, so in reality you are earning 2.2222222222222........% cash back on all your purchases as long as you redeem for travel.

And yes, it is 1% cash back if you just get a statement credit, which is horrible.  You are paying $89 for the priviledge of earning 1% cash back - which almost every other card will match or beat - and many of those don't have an annual fee.

As far as the comparison to the 2% cash back no AF Fidelity Amex, the Arrival+ beats out the Amex if you spend over $40k a year on the card (.02x = .0222x - 89, solving for x gives you $40,455 which is the break even point on the Arrival+ compared to the Fidelity Amex) AND you want to spend you rewards on travel.  If someone were to spend $40k a year and didn't travel often and didn't want to travel, a cash back card like the Fidelity Amex would be a better product for them.