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Two weeks ago, Barclaycard rebranded its flagship card as the Barclaycard Arrival PlusTM World Elite MasterCard®.
The card still comes with the same 40,000 bonus miles after spending $3,000 in the first 90 days and double miles on all purchases, which adds up to over $500 in free flights after meeting the minimum spending requirement.
The new features are:
- Longer time period to redeem miles for statement credits. You now have 120 days from the date of a travel purchase to use Arrival miles to remove the charge from your statement.
- Expanded definition of travel purchases. You can still redeem miles for flights, hotels, and car rentals. You can now also redeem for amusement parks, trains, taxis, ferries, campgrounds, and more.
- Chip and PIN capability. This is America’s first major card with the world’s standard account safety measures. Chip and PIN is sometimes the only way to purchase certain things abroad–for instance train tickets in Northern Europe.
I have a trip to Brazil coming up next month, so I want to test out the chip and PIN system on the Barclaycard Arrival PlusTM World Elite MasterCard®.
Today I called Barclaycard at the number on the back of my card.
I told the agent I had heard the Arrival Plus now had chip and PIN capabilities, and I’d love to be sent a new card with a chip for an upcoming trip.
She told me my new card would arrive in 7-10 business days. There is no cost to receive a new card.
I then asked to set my PIN. She said a random PIN could be sent to me, or I could set one over the automated system.
The automated system warned that repeating or consecutively-numbered PINs like 1234, 1212, or 1111 would be rejected. I set my PIN in a few seconds, and hung up.
This two minute call might make my trip to Brazil easier and will certainly make my next European trip easier.
The Barclaycard Arrival PlusTM World Elite MasterCard® will be my go-to card abroad because it has no foreign transaction fees and earns an astounding 2 miles per dollar (which I value at 2.28 cents) on all purchases.
- Have you asked for your new Arrival Plus yet?
- Have you used its chip and PIN capabilities?
Just getting started in the world of points and miles? The Chase Sapphire Preferred is the best card for you to start with.
With a bonus of 60,000 points after $4,000 spend in the first 3 months, 5x points on travel booked through the Chase Travel Portal and 3x points on restaurants, streaming services, and online groceries (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs), this card truly cannot be beat for getting started!
Editorial Disclaimer: The editorial content is not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuers. Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of the credit card issuers, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuers.
The comments section below is not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser’s responsibility to ensure all questions are answered.
You are incorrect…
The Chase Sapphirere Prefered has the chip…
The CSP is not chip and PIN like the Arrival Plus. Chip and signature cards are not usable in Europe when chip and PIN cards are required.
@Algis, I haven’t upgraded my CSP yet, is it a Chip and PIN or Chip and Sign?
I already signed up for this card and have 46k points waiting to be spent
i have to pay the second half of a beach rental via vrbo.com. do you know if i can redeem my points to cover this expense as a travel one and get 10% back? thanks
@Mariana, this likely won’t work. I am a property manager with several listings on VRBO and our charges process as “real estate related” not travel.
Algis, the Sapphire is not Chip and Pin, so the Barclays card has a big advantage.
And Scott, an “astounding 2 miles per dollar”? Astounding, really?
Just for your info….chase sapphire preferred is a chip & pin….just used it in Paris at the Louve and Apple store at the Louve….best WiFi in Paris…
Correction…… Scott was correct.
I just spoke with the Sapphire rep and was informed that it is chip & sign….
Although it worked fine for me in Europe…sorry for the mis statement…
It would not have worked in certain machines unfortunately.
Scored it off your website yesterday and World Elite Mastercard on its way. It has some interesting upgrades for airlines I hope you’ll test run for us:
http://www.mastercard.us/travel/world-elite-summary.html
Thanks for the post!
Unfortunately those benefits of the World Elite MasterCard are all basically worthless. For instance, check out the wording of the Austrian Airlines upgrade: “A special invitation is extended to World Elite MasterCard cardholders to fly in Business Class at the cost of a full economy price ticket. Valid on Austrian USA gateway flights to/from destinations worldwide. ”
A “full economy price ticket” is not the cheap fare you find on expedia. It is the obscenely-expensive fare that probably costs more than just buying the cheapest business class ticket.
The benefits of the Arrival Plus are numerous, but free upgrades from the World Elite MasterCard program are not among them.
Oh well it was a beautiful idea there for a moment.