Barclay (Princess Credit Card)

[lexyplexy]

Has anyone had trouble redeeming points for statement credit? I have been in contact with the credit card company, they have promise to fix it but it has been 5 days. I was just wondering. I am aware you can not help but just curious.

 

Thank you

[Colo Cruiser]

44 minutes ago, lexyplexy said:

Has anyone had trouble redeeming points for statement credit? I have been in contact with the credit card company, they have promise to fix it but it has been 5 days. I was just wondering. I am aware you can not help but just curious.

 

Thank you

This has been going on for at least a couple of years.

There is another long thread (every 6 months or so) here on CC about this in the last few months.

Tried to find it but the CC search function is bunk. 🙄

We got rid of this card years ago for all the BS and hoops one has to go through to maintain it, the horrendous customer service just to take advantage of so called perks. 

[frugaltravel]

Don't you just earn 1% on purchases toward credits with this card? If so, getting a pure 2% cash back card seems like a much better deal. Simple. Easy to cash out. Can save the $ toward a cruise or use it for anything else.

 

[rocklinmom]

Thank you for the heads up! I have their Princess Visa also and will be redeeming points soon for cruise OBC. If they are having technical issues with redeeming your statement credit, I could have problems as well so glad to know ahead of time. I hope Barclays gets their act together soon. 

[CATGUY7]

I haven't had any issues with them.  But just now, when I went in to check on a statement credit I had redeemed, I found that the Redeem Credits screen takes me to Add Additional Cardholder.  I can't get past that.  And I can't see any way to contact them other than a phone call.  I think I'll wait it out, and then rethink my choices.

[CRUISEWITHH]

14 hours ago, lexyplexy said:

Has anyone had trouble redeeming points for statement credit? I have been in contact with the credit card company, they have promise to fix it but it has been 5 days. I was just wondering. I am aware you can not help but just curious.

 

Thank you

I also have been having problems redeeming my points this week.  Same answer from the agent.  "They are fixing it"  I am going to be pretty upset if they don't get it fixed by the end of the day today (Friday) since my payment is due soon and I was counting on getting a statement credit on this statement.

 

May have to request a supervisor.  5 days if just too long for a fix to be made.  Wondering who they hire as their tech? 

 

[MamaFej]

3 minutes ago, CRUISEWITHH said:

Wondering who they hire as their tech? 

 

Given the attitude the the first customer service rep gave us (see post #2) who was literally telling us he would not lock our card down when we asked while points were simultaneously being stolen from us, it sounds like they hire people who are in on the thefts/scams.

[Kimba2]

14 hours ago, frugaltravel said:

Don't you just earn 1% on purchases toward credits with this card? If so, getting a pure 2% cash back card seems like a much better deal. Simple. Easy to cash out. Can save the $ toward a cruise or use it for anything else.

 

Well the Princess card triples the points on any Princess Cruise or Princess related purchases (airfare booked with Princess, on board purchases and room charges).  So, for example, I don't bring cash for the Casino any more - I charge my room for Casino money and get triple the points for what I lose.  And, I only use the card for Princess Cruises and Princess related purchases.

 

Never had any problems with redemption until this past week when I also tried to redeem my points as statement credit and haven't been able to do so.

[JoAnneNYI]

Gee, glad I did my credit 2 weeks ago! Had no problems doing it online. There were lots of problems when they switched  to a new software 2 years ago or so.  I have two phone numbers saved that may be useful if still in service.  866-928-3106 and 866-872-6248

Edited January 17, 2020 by JoAnneNYI
grammar

[dmccadden]

I had the card for about 8 years didn’t use it for about 5 years and had spent 15 k or enough for $150.00 obc. Called the number on the card and had no problems using points for a cruise this February. It shows in my cruise document on line.  Only time I had to do this and have since canceled the card. Very easy!

[CruiseVA]

I stopped dealing with Barclay years ago, I accidentally entered the wrong account number when I "paid" my $2000 credit card bill. That's when I found out that they have a "slush fund" that they put those payments into, instead of just refising to accept the EFT to which I said *****!  Finally got it handled, then canceled them. This was about 20 years ago...

 

I have the Chase Sapphire Reserve, it gives me 3x points on travel & dining and many other benefits. It's pricey, but, the perks more than pay for the cost. Plus Chase is a pleasure to deal with. I "lost" (as in misplaced)  my card once & used the App to lock it, then when I found it I unlocked it.

Edited January 18, 2020 by CruiseVA

[MamaFej]

I LOVE the CSR as well. It pays for the high annual fee many times over each year. The Barclay card we have did garner us a great sign-up/early spend bonus, but their lousy customer service and security mean we will be leaving as soon as we get our points back and redeem them. If they don't return our points, I will go ballistic on social media. I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt for now.

[frugaltravel]

8 hours ago, Kimba2 said:

Well the Princess card triples the points on any Princess Cruise or Princess related purchases (airfare booked with Princess, on board purchases and room charges).  So, for example, I don't bring cash for the Casino any more - I charge my room for Casino money and get triple the points for what I lose.  And, I only use the card for Princess Cruises and Princess related purchases.

 

Never had any problems with redemption until this past week when I also tried to redeem my points as statement credit and haven't been able to do so.

If you only use it for Princess charges at 3x points that is not bad - though I get 3x points on any travel-related charge (including Princess), free travel insurance and much more.  There is no one credit card that is right for everyone.  But most people are not as wise as you to just use your Princess card only for Princess charges.  Their loss.

[frugaltravel]

3 hours ago, dmccadden said:

I had the card for about 8 years didn’t use it for about 5 years and had spent 15 k or enough for $150.00 obc. Called the number on the card and had no problems using points for a cruise this February. It shows in my cruise document on line.  Only time I had to do this and have since canceled the card. Very easy!

What a shame.  Any basic 2% cash back card would have earned you $300 cash, which you could have used instead of half of that as an OBC.  Glad you canceled that card!

 

[frugaltravel]

4 hours ago, CarelessAndConfused said:

I'm not trying to criticize anyone here or elsewhere but I never understand why people sign up with these types of cards when there are amazing promotional cards to be had with ease.  For example, I just signed up for a new Southwest card (probably at least a dozen that I've churned in the past 10 years), and that will give me 40,000 points for spending a measly $1,000 in the first 3 months and another 35,000 if spending $5,000 total in the first 6 months.  The spending will be easy.  So that is 75,000 points I will get (plus the 5,000 points for the spend).  Those 80,000 points will be worth about $1200-1300 for me.  Same could be said for various other cards to varying degrees but I don't want to bore anyone to death.

The main reason to sign up for such "low reward" credit cards like cruise line cards is for the intial bonus.  Then put the card in a drawer if there is no annual fee or cancel it after the first year.

 

If you travel with a partner, opening two Southwest credit cards and earning the 110K points early in the calendar year gives you a companion pass for almost two years.  That means your companion pays only taxes for any ticket when you travel, even with award tickets!

 

[NMTraveller]

22 hours ago, frugaltravel said:

Don't you just earn 1% on purchases toward credits with this card? If so, getting a pure 2% cash back card seems like a much better deal. Simple. Easy to cash out. Can save the $ toward a cruise or use it for anything else.

 

Or an airlines credit card.  We have not paid for overseas travel in the last 3 years.  We find that the cruise cards do not have that much value.

[NMTraveller]

4 hours ago, CarelessAndConfused said:

I'm not trying to criticize anyone here or elsewhere but I never understand why people sign up with these types of cards when there are amazing promotional cards to be had with ease.  For example, I just signed up for a new Southwest card (probably at least a dozen that I've churned in the past 10 years), and that will give me 40,000 points for spending a measly $1,000 in the first 3 months and another 35,000 if spending $5,000 total in the first 6 months.  The spending will be easy.  So that is 75,000 points I will get (plus the 5,000 points for the spend).  Those 80,000 points will be worth about $1200-1300 for me.  Same could be said for various other cards to varying degrees but I don't want to bore anyone to death.

Get a second card (business) on Southwest and then get the companion pass with the bonus.  That doubles your value of Southwest miles.  Two credit cards on Southwest should be pretty close to getting a companion pass.

[frugaltravel]

7 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

Or an airlines credit card.  We have not paid for overseas travel in the last 3 years.  We find that the cruise cards do not have that much value.

It depends on which airline.  Most airline cards only give you 1x points for purchases other than from their airline.  I have not paid for overseas travel for years either, but I use generic points cards from Chase and AmEx that earn at a much higher rate than airline cards.  I find them much more beneficial than an airline affinity card.  Then I can transfer points from Chase or AmEx to an airline.  Example - Alaaska Air wanted 35K miles from Anchorage to Honolulu round trip.  British Air wanted 26K miles for the same trip.  But I could transfer 19K points from AmEx to British Air, get 26K British Air miles and book that same flight.  That is something you can't do if one's miles are all tied to one airline.  Very often prices for the same flights using partners are often less than booking directly with the US airline, especially on international flights.

 

Edited January 18, 2020 by frugaltravel

[NMTraveller]

25 minutes ago, frugaltravel said:

It depends on which airline.  Most airline cards only give you 1x points for purchases other than from their airline.  I have not paid for overseas travel for years either, but I use generic points cards from Chase and AmEx that earn at a much higher rate than airline cards.  I find them much more beneficial than an airline affinity card.  Then I can transfer points from Chase or AmEx to an airline.  Example - Alaaska Air wanted 35K miles from Anchorage to Honolulu round trip.  British Air wanted 26K miles for the same trip.  But I could transfer 19K points from AmEx to British Air, get 26K British Air miles and book that same flight.  That is something you can't do if one's miles are all tied to one airline.  It doesn't take into account that very often prices for the same flights using partners are often less than booking directly with the US airline, especially on international flights.

 

I don't see the value in USA trips for the cards.  Mostly for European trips.  For example most credit cards will give you around 60000 points for signing up.  We then use those points on a trip to Rome, etc in lieu of seats that would have costed around $2k.  Nothing like getting a credit card and a $2k flight to go with a new card.  It is becoming more difficult to redeem the miles,  but we have done very well.  It helps if you have multiple cards on multiple airlines and can choose the best deal with points.

 

The Southwest card has the value for US trips especially with the companion pass.  You many only have one point per dollar on this card.  Add the companion pass and it is the equivalent of 2 points per dollar.

 

My wife does have a generic points card also.  It adds some different airlines into the mix.  Our flights are always on points.

Edited January 18, 2020 by NMTraveller

[Casey12]

1 hour ago, CruiseVA said:

 

 

I have the Chase Sapphire Reserve, it gives me 3x points on travel & dining and many other benefits. It's pricey, but, the perks more than pay for the cost. Plus Chase is a pleasure to deal with. I "lost" (as in misplaced)  my card once & used the App to lock it, then when I found it I unlocked it.

I also have this card. Best card out there.

[NMTraveller]

50 minutes ago, frugaltravel said:

If you travel with a partner, opening two Southwest credit cards and earning the 110K points early in the calendar year gives you a companion pass for almost two years.  That means your companion pays only taxes for any ticket when you travel, even with award tickets!

 

YES.

 

I believe it is 125k to earn the companion pass this year,  but the credit cards are also paying higher bonuses when you sign up for them.  We only book award tickets and my wife flies for free (minus small taxes).

 

The issue with Chase is the 5/24 rule.  You can't apply for too many cards.  IMHO not worth applying for a low bonus card.

Edited January 18, 2020 by NMTraveller

[frugaltravel]

42 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

I don't see the value in USA trips for the cards.  Mostly for European trips.  For example most credit cards will give you around 60000 points for signing up.  We then use those points on a trip to Rome, etc in lieu of seats that would have costed around $2k.  Nothing like getting a credit card and a $2k flight to go with a new card.  It is becoming more difficult to redeem the miles,  but we have done very well.  It helps if you have multiple cards on multiple airlines and can choose the best deal with points.

 

The Southwest card has the value for US trips especially with the companion pass.  You many only have one point per dollar on this card.  Add the companion pass and it is the equivalent of 2 points per dollar.

 

My wife does have a generic points card also.  It adds some different airlines into the mix.  Our flights are always on points.

 

I shy away from such blanket statements.  For example there was good value in my use of AmEx points for my ANC to HNL round trip flight.  I also had great value in using AmEx points via British Air for an American Airlines flight relatively last minute for just one night.  YMMV.  

 

If you are paying $2K for an economy ticket to Europe you must be booking from some really small city.  I haven't seen those prices, even in summer, for years.  Not to say using miles to Europe is not a good deal.  I am flying premium economy to Europe in less than 2 weeks and only using 50K miles round trip.  Business class using miles is a much better deal than using miles for economy class in almost all cases.  Again YMMV.

 

Edited January 18, 2020 by frugaltravel

[frugaltravel]

1 hour ago, CruiseVA said:

I have the Chase Sapphire Reserve, it gives me 3x points on travel & dining and many other benefits. It's pricey, but, the perks more than pay for the cost. Plus Chase is a pleasure to deal with. I "lost" (as in misplaced)  my card once & used the App to lock it, then when I found it I unlocked it.

It will become more pricey this year.  The annual fee is going up $100 - immediately for new applicants and for renewals starting in April.

 

[NMTraveller]

44 minutes ago, frugaltravel said:

 

I shy away from such blanket statements.  For example there was good value in my use of AmEx points for my ANC to HNL round trip flight.  I also had great value in using AmEx points via British Air for an American Airlines flight relatively last minute for just one night.  YMMV.  

 

If you are paying $2K for an economy ticket to Europe you must be booking from some really small city.  I haven't seen those prices, even in summer, for years.  Not to say using miles to Europe is not a good deal.  I am flying premium economy to Europe in less than 2 weeks and only using 50K miles.  Business class using miles is a much better deal than using miles for economy class in almost all cases.  Again YMMV.

 

I am pretty sure that a Southwest flight with companion pass would have beat most other trips to Honolulu on points.  I could be wrong.

 

I don't book last minute flights.  I tend to book the shortest flights that fill up the fastest to get the bulkhead seats right at 330 days.

 

This is an interesting conversation for me.

 

My question is?  How do you book through the partner airlines to get to American and United.  I see their partners.  However when I book through their websites I have difficulties.  For example suppose I book through Air Canada to get to United.  United may not have a SuperSaver flight and I am stuck on a long flight up to Canada to get down to Argentina.  To get to American Airlines flights I found the same, I could go through Qantas but Qantas was not a good value in points unless flying to Australia.  With the partner airlines you have to find the supersaver flights which do not seem to be available around the holidays.

 

My experience on British Airways is that they tend to have high taxes coming into and out of Heathrow.  Yet I am flying on an AA/British Airways flight out of Heathrow in first class for less points than economy.

 

$2k is a rounded up number.  It could be $1600 - $2k.  

 

A generic card may be in my future.  I just have not figured out how to get to the big 3 without the supersaver fares.  

 

I just cancelled a Quantas/AA flight that was 18k points to SFO for a Southwest flight that was 7k points and 2.5 hours shorter. I see the value in the Big 3 for overseas trips and the value in Southwest with companion pass for US.

 

Of course if you are at a Southwest, Delta, AA, or United hub you will choose that airline.  I am not at a hub.

Edited January 18, 2020 by NMTraveller

[satxdiver]

I have not had any problem redeeming points with Barclay.  I just did it for a cruise last year and doing it for a cruise coming up in a few months.  I only use the card for purchases with Princess.