Hey there! I'm probably not the best person to respond. I do have the Flagship, but I do not have the Arrival. As for as points redeemed for travel goes, the Flagship is limited to flights or flight + car. I imagine that your Arrival has more options. Don't second guess yourself. I think you've made the right move.
NFCU Flagship $32K | NFCU Cashrewards $42K | Discover IT $39K | SECU Visa $20K | Chase SW $24k | CSR $15K | Chase Bonvoy $11.5K | Chase Freedom $11.5K | Chase Amazon Visa 8.5K | AMEX Bonvoy $18.1K | AMEX Hilton Surpass $15K | AMEX Hilton Aspire $24.4K | AMEX Gold | Aviator Red $16K | Uber Visa 10k | Citi TY Premier $24.6K | BoA Premium Rewards 35k | BoA Cash Rewards Visa $31.5k | BoA Cash Rewards MC $23k | US Bank Cash+ $10k | USAA AMEX $6K | Cap1QS $11K | BJs MC $27.6K | Walmart MC $5.1K | Loft MC $25,000 | Macy’s Store/Amex $20K/$1K | BR Visa $10K | JCP $1K | VS $3.2K | Home Depot $5K | Lowes $8.5K | Target $14.5k
Digital, I'm glad you asked this question because I was wondering the same thing. From the research I have done, the airlines redemption looks to be the same between Barclay and NFCU, but I am not sure there - Barclay may offer more airlines since you can "Choose any airline, any time." NFCU offers flight+car and cruise redemption options (not extensive by any means and it starts at 100,000 points), but that seems to be all. Barclays say you can "shop for the hotel, resort, cruise, train or car rental you want" and NFCU definitely does not offer hotels and trains.
Barclays seems to offer more redemption options with the Arrival card. Like you, I am not sure on the ease of redemption (or if there are minimums, like with NFCU). For now, in general, as long as your spend supports the AF, it will be worth it. Plus, don't forget the signup bonus that puts you way ahead of where you started with the Flagship card (unless you got the 65,000 point bonus they offered). Better cards come along all the time. Something else may come along to top the Arrival. For now, you have to look at what makes sense to you and your needs/goals at the moment and go from there.
Aloha,
Have Both... Arrival wins hands down on Travel. They also give you back 10% of the points when you use your points to pay off Travel purchases.
