topic Re: Barlcay Arrival + SM in Credit Cards

Barlcay Arrival + SM

Skye12329 — Mon, 04 Aug 2014 02:28:06 GMT

So i am done collecting cards, however i sorta get the feeling that cap1 might close my card (dont ask why because i would not know to be honest) however in the event they do (Just in case). I would then be in the market for a new MC. I was thinking Barclay Arrival but was wondering how do their miles work? I would go for the WEMC is it like CSP where it transfers to the company for the ticket?

Also my sister will be 18 next month and i know some suggested discover or SM for her first. So i was wondering how hard would SM be to obtain for a college student? Because that would be a good starter card for i think, she is getting a car soon.

Re: Barlcay Arrival + SM

Anonymous — Mon, 04 Aug 2014 04:57:47 GMT

Barclays Arrival is more like a cashback card than it is like the CSP. Basically, with the WEMC, you earn 2% "miles" for each purchase, and you can use the miles to redeem against travel purchases (and keep 10% of the redemption back as as a bonus).

So, if you spend say $1000, you earn 1,000 miles, You can then redeem this against a travel purchase for $10 (and get 100 miles back).

Pros and cons against transfer cards like CSP. But after the first year, unless you spend about $40K a year, Fidelity Amex works out better than this.

Re: Barlcay Arrival + SM

Josh2942 — Mon, 04 Aug 2014 05:06:36 GMT

Its not a cash back card becasue if you spend 1000 dollars and get $10 thats in miles. In cash that would $5. You dont want to redeem miles for cash. It brings it down to .05 cents per mile. The CSP would be better

Re: Barlcay Arrival + SM

Anonymous — Mon, 04 Aug 2014 05:11:15 GMT

@Josh2942 wrote:
Its not a cash back card becasue if you spend 1000 dollars and get $10 thats in miles. In cash that would $5. You dont want to redeem miles for cash. It brings it down to .05 cents per mile. The CSP would be better

It's a cashback card in the sense that these are not points/miles that you can use in a frequent flier/loyalty program, but cash equivalents. In other words, it IS a cashback program where the rewards are maximized by redeeming against travel purchases. Even in some pure cashback programs, such as Fidelity Amex, you get different rates depending how you redeem (putting into a Fidelity account gets one rate, redeeming as statement credit or into another bank gets a lower rate)

Re: Barlcay Arrival + SM

Kenny — Mon, 04 Aug 2014 05:22:09 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Barclays Arrival is more like a cashback card than it is like the CSP. Basically, with the WEMC, you earn 2% "miles" for each purchase, and you can use the miles to redeem against travel purchases (and keep 10% of the redemption back as as a bonus).

So, if you spend say $1000, you earn 1,000 miles, You can then redeem this against a travel purchase for $10 (and get 100 miles back).
Pros and cons against transfer cards like CSP. But after the first year, unless you spend about $40K a year, Fidelity Amex works out better than this.

If you're talking about the Arrival, one would earn 2k "miles" for $20 travel redemption. $10 for Cash Statement (bad use of the Arrival card.)

Re: Barlcay Arrival + SM

Kenny — Mon, 04 Aug 2014 05:23:35 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Josh2942 wrote:
Its not a cash back card becasue if you spend 1000 dollars and get $10 thats in miles. In cash that would $5. You dont want to redeem miles for cash. It brings it down to .05 cents per mile. The CSP would be better
It's a cashback card in the sense that these are not points/miles that you can use in a frequent flier/loyalty program, but cash equivalents. In other words, it IS a cashback program where the rewards are maximized by redeeming against travel purchases. Even in some pure cashback programs, such as Fidelity Amex, you get different rates depending how you redeem (putting into a Fidelity account gets one rate, redeeming as statement credit or into another bank gets a lower rate)

Exactly. They've opened redemptions up to the annual fee too which is interesting and something that I might consider doing depending on if it's at the 2% or 1% redemptions. If it counts as a 2% CB amount then I'm down for using it towards the AF if not then I'll just continue redeeming for travel related cashback.

Re: Barlcay Arrival + SM

Anonymous — Mon, 04 Aug 2014 05:35:44 GMT

@KennyRS wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Barclays Arrival is more like a cashback card than it is like the CSP. Basically, with the WEMC, you earn 2% "miles" for each purchase, and you can use the miles to redeem against travel purchases (and keep 10% of the redemption back as as a bonus).

So, if you spend say $1000, you earn 1,000 miles, You can then redeem this against a travel purchase for $10 (and get 100 miles back).
Pros and cons against transfer cards like CSP. But after the first year, unless you spend about $40K a year, Fidelity Amex works out better than this.
If you're talking about the Arrival, one would earn 2k "miles" for $20 travel redemption. $10 for Cash Statement (bad use of the Arrival card.)

Right, typing too late! Spend $1000, earn 2000 miles, worth $20 for travel and get 200 miles back.

Re: Barlcay Arrival + SM

Anonymous — Mon, 04 Aug 2014 17:32:42 GMT

@Skye12329 wrote:
So i am done collecting cards, however i sorta get the feeling that cap1 might close my card (dont ask why because i would not know to be honest) however in the event they do (Just in case). I would then be in the market for a new MC. I was thinking Barclay Arrival but was wondering how do their miles work? I would go for the WEMC is it like CSP where it transfers to the company for the ticket?

Also my sister will be 18 next month and i know some suggested discover or SM for her first. So i was wondering how hard would SM be to obtain for a college student? Because that would be a good starter card for i think, she is getting a car soon.

I don't think Barclay is friendly to those with extremely short credit history. For your sister I'd recommend Discover for sure.

Also you may look into cards designed specifically for college students, such as Citi Dividend for College Student, Citi TY Preferred for College Student, etc.