Barclaycard Arrival Plus Retention Offer
Most of the best rewards credit cards have annual fees. Some like my Chase Ink Plus are a no-brainer when it comes to renewal time, while others like say a Barclaycard Arrival+ probably aren’t keepers in my opinion, especially after all of the changes they made to the card.
Still, I always try to pursue retention offers that entice me to keep a card. My Arrival+ annual fee will be charged in the next month or so and it isn’t quite time to call retention yet, however I don’t have to. The bank sent me a proactive retention offer.
Your Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ MasterCard® account anniversary will be here soon! To thank you for being a cardmember, we’re giving you a special opportunity to earn even more miles.
Earn 5,000 bonus miles when you spend $750 or more in new purchases with your card each month in January, February and March.
Best of all, this is in addition to the 2X miles you already earn for using your card for all your purchases.
This offer is similar to an offer that Aviator Red cardholders have received, although it specifically mentions the cardmember anniversary as the reason for receiving the offer.
Analysis
This offer gives 5,000 miles which equates to $52.50 when cashed in including the 5% redemption bonus. If I paid the $89 annual fee then I would still be in the hole $36.50. Also, Arrival+ miles aren’t the easiest to redeem now that you have to redeem towards travel expenses of $100 or more. For straight cash the miles are only worth half.
I think this is a brilliant offer for the bank since it entices you to keep the card past the anniversary date and spend on it for three months in a row. Bank studies have shown that having and using a card regularly will change your patterns and build brand loyalty. For me even at a $36.50 annual cost I will probably have to pass since I earn 2.625% cashback on a no annual fee card. Of course, if they offer a retention deal when I call to cancel, I’ll be all ears.
Have you received a proactive retention offer from Barclaycard or another bank? Share the details in the comments!
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I don’t have Arrival Plus but when I called to cancel (or rather get a retention offer on) my Aviator Red, they offered to waive my annual fee with no spend requirement. Took it
I was going to cancel this card too but Barclays offered to give me an $89 credit so I kept it for another year.
Are you sure it doesn’t mean 5,000 each month, totaling 15,000? The way it reads is not clear.
It is 5,000 total. Here are the terms:
You will earn 5,000 bonus miles after you charge $750 or more in net retail purchases (purchases that are not returned or rescinded) each month from January 1, 2017 through March 31, 2017. If you do not spend over $750 in any of the 3 months of the promotion you will not be eligible for any bonus miles as part of this offer.
Even the subject of the email says: “Earn 5,000 miles with your card!”
I believe that Barclays pulls TU. At least they did when I applied for my U.S Airways Mastercard three years ago. That is something to consider.
Exactly. They are the only major bank who pulls TU for me so I have no issue with taking on the hard pull.
Retention season is just starting for me. Southwest Plus and Premier in January, Cit Premier in Jan, Aviator Red and Ink in Feb. Will most likely let SW Plus go.
I’ve been tempted to grab my first Arrival + but have yet to pull the trigger. I know the 50K high for this card, but for some reason I am hesitant. I usually like to achieve more than $500 for a credit pull. Did you get a lot of use out of this card? Do you churn the Arrival+?
I have had 3 Arrival Plus cards in 3 years. I don’t use the card that often, although I used to when traveling to Europe. Since Barclaycard pulls from TU for me (and most other people), I have no issue with settling for $500 for a hard pull.
Good point about TU. I’ve only applied for 2 cards since March, well 3 counting my failed attempt at the Chase Reserve. I feel inspired for a mini-app-0-rama. After reading Greg’s post about BOA, I feel inspired to run some apps. Thinking about getting nother Arrival too but was waiting to see if the bonus increases.