My experience with Barclay Arrival World MC compared to the CSP

[lexrjSD]

Been using the card for 2 weeks and its been nothing but great surprises:
-Points post right away, no need to wait for the statement to close and paid. It makes a lot easier to track if your points are posting correctly, unlike Chase.
-Website is clean, simple and fast. Not as great as AMEX which in my opinion it's the best, but it's far better and faster than Chase.
-I had the pleasant surprise of finding out that Barclay has the exact same Faster Rewards Mall as Chase, which is great for racking up some points.
-The only thing CSP is better so far was the looks of the card, which is cool but not important to me.

Overall I'm very happy with my switch, it feels even better knowing that I'm going to get an extra 1% reward on around $600/mo.

[bigbang91]

Amex is even slower than chase.Reward posts after 2 statements

[FutureBillionaire]

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@bigbang91 wrote:
Amex is even slower than chase.Reward posts after 2 statements

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I'm interested in this card, but I have a feeling that they will tell me I already have too much credit. 

Amex is definitely slower than chase.  This is another plank in my soapbox that I stand on and scream to anyone who will listen that American Express is overrated. They charge you an annual fee for prestige and perks that you might not ever use.

[lg8302ch]

I have also only positive feedback for my Arrival card. What I like best is that you can combine Expedia and Priceline and still erase purchase with points from Barclays. It is my favorite card

[bigbang91]

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@FutureBillionaire wrote:

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@bigbang91 wrote:
Amex is even slower than chase.Reward posts after 2 statements

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I'm interested in this card, but I have a feeling that they will tell me I already have too much credit. 

Amex is definitely slower than chase.  This is another plank in my soapbox that I stand on and scream to anyone who will listen that American Express is overrated. They charge you an annual fee for prestige and perks that you might not ever use.

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at least the BCE has no annual fee, and the complimentary membership to shoprunner is great. Thus, they are generous lol!

[elvigy]

I've also been VERY pleasantly surprised by this card. A generous CL, nice website, immediate posting of points all add up to a great experience so far. I also like the travel community that you can link your account to and earn extra points that way. I haven't had to use their customer service yet so no comments on that but overall this is turning out to be a great card.

[wiivile]

I think this sums it up: The Arrival is a better earnings card, the CSP is a better redemption card. Being able to fly roundtrip to Europe, South America, etc, for 60,000 points is invaluable, and something the Arrival just can't do. On the other hand, 2x points on everything will help you earn faster. Too bad the Arrival and CSP can't team up like the Freedom and CSP can. Why doesn't Chase have a 2x points card??

[Anonymous]

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@wiivile wrote:

I think this sums it up: The Arrival is a better earnings card, the CSP is a better redemption card. Being able to fly roundtrip to Europe, South America, etc, for 60,000 points is invaluable, and something the Arrival just can't do. On the other hand, 2x points on everything will help you earn faster. Too bad the Arrival and CSP can't team up like the Freedom and CSP can. Why doesn't Chase have a 2x points card??

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With the way I redeem UR points, I value them conservatively at 2 cpm (redemptions are usually closer to 3-6 cpm, and will probably stay that way even with the recent devals), so that means the Freedom is a 2.2% cash back card in my eyes. Between the bonus categories on Freedom, CSP, Ink, and Palladium, my average earnings multiple per dollar spent (not including sign-up bonuses) is 3.1x, equivalent to a 6.2% cash back card. Wayyy better than the Arrival card's 2.2%, and that's being conservative with my UR valuation.

If you play your cards right, there's no question that you can get more value via UR and MR. The Arrival card is, however, good for people who want to keep things simple.

[elvigy]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@wiivile wrote:

I think this sums it up: The Arrival is a better earnings card, the CSP is a better redemption card. Being able to fly roundtrip to Europe, South America, etc, for 60,000 points is invaluable, and something the Arrival just can't do. On the other hand, 2x points on everything will help you earn faster. Too bad the Arrival and CSP can't team up like the Freedom and CSP can. Why doesn't Chase have a 2x points card??

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With the way I redeem UR points, I value them conservatively at 2 cpm (redemptions are usually closer to 3-6 cpm, and will probably stay that way even with the recent devals), so that means the Freedom is a 2.2% cash back card in my eyes. Between the bonus categories on Freedom, CSP, Ink, and Palladium, my average earnings multiple per dollar spent (not including sign-up bonuses) is 3.1x, equivalent to a 6.2% cash back card. Wayyy better than the Arrival card's 2.2%, and that's being conservative with my UR valuation.

If you play your cards right, there's no question that you can get more value via UR and MR. The Arrival card is, however, good for people who want to keep things simple.

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But you're counting 4 cards (Ink, Freedom, CSP and Palladium), combining all those rewards and then comparing to one single card. So yeah, Chase may offer a better overall package with multiple cards vs. what you can set up with Barclaycard, but one card vs. one card, the CSP is equal to or only slightly better than the Arrival. It kind of depends on how you travel. I would not get the best usage from CSP for my travel habits since I don't stick to any particular hotel chain nor airline.

Edited for clarity and typos.

[Anonymous]

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@elvigy wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@wiivile wrote:

I think this sums it up: The Arrival is a better earnings card, the CSP is a better redemption card. Being able to fly roundtrip to Europe, South America, etc, for 60,000 points is invaluable, and something the Arrival just can't do. On the other hand, 2x points on everything will help you earn faster. Too bad the Arrival and CSP can't team up like the Freedom and CSP can. Why doesn't Chase have a 2x points card??

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With the way I redeem UR points, I value them conservatively at 2 cpm (redemptions are usually closer to 3-6 cpm, and will probably stay that way even with the recent devals), so that means the Freedom is a 2.2% cash back card in my eyes. Between the bonus categories on Freedom, CSP, Ink, and Palladium, my average earnings multiple per dollar spent (not including sign-up bonuses) is 3.1x, equivalent to a 6.2% cash back card. Wayyy better than the Arrival card's 2.2%, and that's being conservative with my UR valuation.

If you play your cards right, there's no question that you can get more value via UR and MR. The Arrival card is, however, good for people who want to keep things simple.

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But you're counting 4 cards (Ink, Freedom, CSP and Palladium), combing all those rewards and then comparing to one single card. So yeah, Chase may offer a better overall package with multiple cards vs. what you can set up with Barclaycard, but one card vs. one card, the CSP is equal to or only slightly better than the Arrival. It kind of depends on how you travel. I would not get the best usage from CSP for my travel habits since I don't stick to any particular hotel chain nor airline.

Edited for clarity and typos.

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I was just giving a real-world example of why UR or MR is the way to go. To be clear, I would take a CSP, Ink Plus, or Ink Bold card over an Arrival card any day because even on non-bonus category spending, 1 UR point is worth at least 2 cents to me, giving those cards a 2% cash back equivalent floor. Once you account for the bonus categories, it's game over. IMO, the CSP is a far, far superior card to the Arrival if you use your points right.

If you don't want to think about it, and want one card to keep things simple, the Arrival may be a better choice, especially if you don't use United, Hyatt, or Southwest.