It isn't a travel rewards card per se, but you can use the 2% cash back on travel.
(Note, though: the way their cash back works, you get 1% back at the time of purchase and another 1% when you pay. So there may be some delayed gratification on the rewards if you're carrying a balance).
This site, creditcardtuneup.com/, helps pick the best card based on your spending patterns. I consistently get the Barclay Arrival card as the best card for us and our spending patterns.
We love our US Bank FlexPerks Signature Visa. Your points take you to a travelocity-powered site (so no Southwest). Any flight under $400 is 20,000 points, $401-600 is 30,000, etc. And you get a $25 credit for each ticket that can go towards a baggage fee or inflight food/beverage purchases.
Post by EmilieMadison on Mar 2, 2015 10:44:39 GMT -5
I have a Barclay Arrival Plus card and it's fantastic, especially for travel. The rewards are in the form of points which can be used to get statement credits for almost ANY travel related expenses (airfare, train, bus, car rental, etc), and when you get statement credit for travel, you also get 10% of your points refunded to you. One of the best things is that you can use the points for any airline, etc so you're not tied to any one method of using your rewards and it translates to actual dollars, not frequent flier miles. It also has chip and pin, along with no foreign transaction fees, which are a great benefit if you travel to Europe.
We use it for everyday purchases and pay it off every month. They usually offer a bonus of between 30,000 and 40,000 points if you spend $3K in the first 90 days or something. With that, and with our regular spending, we have already earned over $1000 that we can use to pay for travel expenses, or for general statement credits, just since last fall.
There are some multipliers in there too (extra points for extra things so you end up with more points than dollars spent). I just haven't kept up with exactly what they are.
Also, another really nice benefit is that you have so many airline options and can still earn frequent flier miles while you're using your rewards.
So with the Barclay card it says 40,000 is equal to a $400 credit. Do you not figure out flights based on mileage then? I thought if you had acquired 40,000 miles you could use that to buy flights up to that number of miles.
You have to buy the ticket with the Barclay card first and then log into your BC account and request a reimbursement. For example, I have 6,700 points and just logged into my account and found a $66 travel expense, select that, and $66 is applied to my account (plus the 10% bonus mileage for redeeming on travel).
Post by carolinagirl831 on Mar 2, 2015 13:22:03 GMT -5
I love my Barclay Arrival Card and my Capitol one Visa Venture- both are very user friendly and can be used with any travel related things.. not specific to certain brands
I'll also throw out the AmEx BlueSky. We've had it for years and love it. You earn points with every purchase and then trade those points in for travel reimbursements. It's good for any airline, hotel, or car rentals, so you are never tied to any specific brand.
So with the Barclay card it says 40,000 is equal to a $400 credit. Do you not figure out flights based on mileage then? I thought if you had acquired 40,000 miles you could use that to buy flights up to that number of miles.
Nope, because the card basically reimburses you for your expenses. Say you have 50,000 points and you decide you want to go on a trip. You use your Barclay card to purchase the airline ticket on whichever airline you choose. Lets say the fare is $400. Once you get your statement, you log into your Barclay account and apply for a statement credit for travel expenses. They will apply a credit of 40,000 points, or $400, to your account- your ticket is free! AND, they will put 10% of your points back since it was a travel expense. So instead of being left with 10,000 points, you will have 14,000. You can get statement credits for non-travel expenses, but the "exchange rate" of points to dollars isn't quite as good, and you dont get any points returned.
ETA: I forgot to include the fact that you earn points when you buy the ticket in the first place lol