We reported earlier this month some major changes to the Barclay Arrival Plus card. The negative changes were:
- Redemption bonus dropping from 10% to 5%
- No more TripIt Pro subscription
- Minimum redemption going from $25 to $100
- Changes to what counts as “travel”
The Barclay Arrival Plus card was no longer open for signups (coming soon!) but now it is back available
The landing page is located here (public link, not affiliate), and the changes are as we expected. There is still the 40,000 bonus mile offer, and you will only earn 5% back (instead of the current 10%). I did check through the terms and conditions and it is now a $100 minimum redemption instead of $25 (though there is a possible workaround for redeeming smaller transactions with the Barclay Arrival card). Also no mention of TripIt Pro, so it’s safe to assume that’s gone.
Barclay Arrival card worth getting, but probably not worth hanging on to
The annual fee is $89, and it IS waived the first year, so with the 40,000 bonus miles as a signup bonus, this card is probably worth getting. But it’s not one that I would consider worth paying the annual fee. My wife and I both had the card, but I’ve already canceled mine in lieu of paying the annual fee, and I will cancel hers when the annual fee comes up.
Thanks to Credit Card Nirvana on Twitter for letting me know!
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Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
I just got my letter about this today and am SUPER disappointed because this was my “everyday spend” card. My husband and I each have a Barclay Arrival Plus account but I think once my annual fee comes up I’m going to cancel them. Now i need to find another credit card with a good sign-up bonus for our trip to England/Scotland next year!
This is also my everyday spending card when night trying to manufacture spend. In your opinion would Capital One Venture, or Saphire preferred be a better everyday spend card than Barclay Arrival? Or something else?
That’s a great question and probably deserves its own post. I always recommend picking what trips or redemptions you’re looking for, and picking the cards that will help you get there. Feel free to email me if you have specific questions – I’m happy to help!
I just signed up for this card and was approved. In my confirmation email there is no mention of the sign up bonus after spending the $3,000. Should I be concerned that I didn’t qualify for the bonus since I used to be s Barclay Card holder (not arrival plus but Apple Visa)?
It depends on the link that you signed up with. If your signup link mentioned the bonus, I wouldn’t think that would be an issue but if you’re concerned you can always call Barclaycard and ask for a confirmation.