Here at PointsAway, we’re dedicated to helping readers divine the best ways to put miles and points to work to make travel dreams come true. But sometimes, there just isn’t a points or miles option that makes sense, and a new route to free travel is needed. A number of popular travel cases come immediately to mind:

• Flying on a carrier without a frequent flyer program, such as Allegiant Air.
• Taking a cruise vacation, often a good opportunity to earn bonus miles but a poor redemption option in nearly every program.
• Staying at an unaffiliated hotel or resort not operated or partnered with a major hotel brand like Hilton or Marriott.
• Taking advantage of all-inclusive vacation packages, such as those that include food and drink, theme park tickets or other amenities.
• When a great sale price is available for a cash stay, flight or other travel expense.

Thankfully, there’s a great offer out there that can allow you to save a bundle even in these unique cases when miles and points either aren’t an option or would be better saved for a more valuable redemption down the road.

You’ve Arrived At Free Travel

The Barclaycard Arrival+ World MasterCard offers an opportunity to earn miles good toward any eligible travel expenses. Miles are worth 1¢ each, and all purchases earn 2 miles per $1.

The Arrival+ card offers an excellent 40,000 bonus miles – worth $400 – after $3,000 in spending during the first 90 days.

Best of all, there’s a 10% Travel Redemption Bonus that refunds a tenth of the miles used for any redemption back to your account the very next day. That means the $400 travel bonus is really worth $444. After using that credit toward two redemptions.

Add on to that 2x miles earned meeting the $3,000 minimum spend requirement and you’ll have $510 to work with at minimum over two redemptions.

The card’s annual fee of $89 is waived for the first year, so there’s no cost for this great offer. Earning 2x miles everywhere is a great feature, making this a strong addition to a smart credit card portfolio.

You may prefer to use other cards at times based on certain categories of spending, but you’ll be hard-pressed to find a single card that pays out double points anywhere, including at pharmacies, discount and wholesaler stores like Sam’s Club, on auto insurance payments, for utilities and in other cases off the beaten path of favored categories.

Redeeming Miles for Free Travel With Arrival

To redeem miles, cardholders simply make travel purchases using their Arrival+ card and then either call the number on their card or go to Barclaycard’s website and visit the “Manage Rewards” tab on their account.

Cardholders can use their miles toward any travel purchase greater than $25 in value made within the past 90 days. A statement credit is issued for the requested amount and 10% of the miles used are credited back to your account by the next day.

The card has no cap on earning or redeeming miles, features no foreign transaction fees and all the extra protection of World MasterCard, including up to $200,000 of travel accident insurance, reimbursement for expenses if your baggage is delayed or misdirected and trip cancellation/interruption coverage.

Finally, cardholders also are given free access to TripIt Pro, a great service that helps travelers track points and miles balances, share their itineraries with others, set seat alerts that help you avoid getting stuck in a middle seat and alerts you if the price of your flight has fallen since booking, making you eligible for a partial refund.

Overall, we strongly recommend considering adding Arrival to your card portfolio. It’s a no-nonsense option offering a tremendous bonus for travelers confused by miles and points programs. It’s also a great way to save a bundle when points and miles blind spots arise or when a great discounted cash rate is available for your trip. Use the link in this post to apply and we’ll be eligible for a referral credit.

Barclaycard Arrival+ World MasterCard

Card Sign-Up Bonus Offers

40,000 miles after $3,000 in purchases within the first 3 months.
Apply Now

Card Features

• Barclaycard miles have a value of 1¢ each. Spend money on travel through any eligible outlet (ie- airlines, hotels, cruise lines, sites like Expedia or Kayak, etc) and then call Barclaycard to request a statement credit based on the mileage in your account. For example, the 40,000 mile bonus is good towards $400 in travel expenses.
• 10% Travel Redemption Bonus on all awards. For example, you’ll receive 4,000 additional miles after using the 40,000 bonus miles.
• Free TripIt Pro membership.

Earning Points

• 2 points per $1 on all purchases.
• No annual cap on earnings.
• No foreign transaction fees.

Fee Information

• $89 annual fee, waived for the first year.
• 4% balance transfer fee.
• 5% cash advance fee.
• 0% foreign transaction fee.
• Up to $35 late payment fee.