Downgrading My Barclay Arrival+ Card

The annual fee on my Barclay Arrival+ card just posted, and since the card hasn’t been getting any use, I called in to downgrade. Two separate front-line reps insisted that there is no option for downgrade available on the account. I pushed to speak to a supervisor, and he was able to find the downgrade option to the no-fee Arrival card.

Using this option, I’ll save the annual fee with my rewards balance remaining intact. The rep told me that there’s even a 1,000 points downgrade bonus to boot for downgrading from the Arrival+ to the no-fee card (requires a purchase of any amount). Presumably, they are trying to encourage downgrade versus cancellation.

It used to be possible to downgrade to the Barclay Rewards card while keeping all points intact. The benefit in choosing that method is that points on that card can be cashed out at 1 cent-per-point without needing a travel charge to offset. However, that card is no longer available for signup, and the rep insisted that it’s not available for downgrade either, so I took the no-fee Arrival as my downgrade option.

Within days, the $89 fee got credited back leaving my balance at $0. (Oddly, it still shows me owing the minimum monthly payment, but SM confirmed with me that since my balance is $0 I don’t owe anything.) In the login it’s still showing as Arrival+. I’ll wait until the downgrade is fully complete – I believe the rep said I’ll be getting a new card – then I’ll make a small $1 purchase to trigger the 1,000 points downgrade bonus.

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Josh
Josh (@guest_1626220)
May 30, 2023 17:03

They closed my no annual fee since I hadn’t used it in a ~year dang

Chris
Chris (@guest_1529710)
January 9, 2023 17:29

Just attempted to downgrade this card and got the “we are unable to do so at this time” from both the customer service rep and supervisor. Have to love how they somehow “don’t have the ability” to change the card back down to the regular Arrival. Ahh have to love banks. $89 or burn the credit score…..

Adam
Adam (@guest_1231646)
July 30, 2021 10:40

July 2021: Could not downgrade, asked to transfer to a supervisor. Supervisor offered a one time courtesy credit for the annual fee and added the rep wanted to “set expectations that this courtesy credit may not be used next year”. I hope that DP helps someone. Supervisor did say “I used the card in a responsible manner”, so maybe they are looking at your usage. I just had heavy usage due to a recent trip, so it looked like my card was active.

Heyser
Heyser (@guest_1184655)
April 30, 2021 00:24

Called the other day and also today, both told downgrading to no annual fee version is no longer an option, even transferred to a manager. Had no option but to close my account to avoid annual fee. This card only give 2.05% cash back only when redeeming rewards for travel, with a $89 annual fee, while other cards provide unlimited 2% cash back without annual fee. Barclays really need to rethink how to improve this product.

Rich
Rich (@guest_1073137)
October 14, 2020 22:16

14NOV20: My Arrival+ Barclaycard $89 Annual Fee posted, so I contacted customer service to attempt a downgrade to the no annual fee Arrival+ Barclaycard. The customer service agent was unable to help; however, I asked to speak with a supervisor. I stated to the very polite supervisor, I would like to downgrade from the Arrival+ to the no-fee card which offers a 1,000 point bonus after a single purchase. He was taken back by my knowledge of this card and politely placed me on hold. He came back and waived the annual fee. Unfortunately, I was not able to downgrade but a credit for the annual fee more than met my expectations based on the comments. I would chalk this up as win.

Matthew
Matthew (@guest_1044704)
August 28, 2020 14:10

Called today, had a lot of spend this last month after a trip to Turkey. Usually have $100 or so of spending every month on it from AU in England. No AF waiver available or downgrade available. Asked for a supervisor, but told there would be no different answer. 5 mins call. Will try one more time I guess. Still had 70k+ points on the card, but just redeemed them all except for ~500. Would like to keep the card for PIN access, but not worth $89 a year. I do like how it’s pretty much double cash without any foreign transaction fee, but don’t and won’t be traveling enough to realize that gain. I will just put anything overseas on the Hilton biz for an extra free night after $15k. Well, if they take Amex…

Rusty
Rusty (@guest_1044072)
August 27, 2020 14:16

Rusty here again, update from my post on July 25th. Called the number on the back of the card, was through to a person within 5 minutes at about 2PM EST on a Thursday.

No options available to downgrade or waive the fee, even after talking to supervisors. I had enough points in the account to apply to the annual fee + $100 of credit, so it was worth keeping instead of cancelling.

Matthew
Matthew (@guest_1044697)
August 28, 2020 14:02

Based on a DP I read, you can still cancel after redeeming miles for the AF and get the AF refunded completely (I think it’s still 60 days?).

Link
Link (@guest_1024407)
July 27, 2020 18:56

Called 7/27 once, no wait for rep. Mentioned 3+ year relationship. No options to downgrade. Didn’t ask for a supervisor. Canceled with some points I could have applied to AF (but deemed not worth it)

Rusty
Rusty (@guest_1023112)
July 25, 2020 13:42

Called today, No options available to downgrade, even after talking to supervisors. The supervisor informed me that I could call again later and see if there are other offers that appear later on, so I’ll try again next week. I have about another month so I’ll keep the card in the meantime.

Also, got on the line with a representative within 5 minutes, wait time was minimal at 1:30 PM on a Saturday.

Jay - ⒿⒶⓨ 🙈 🙉 🙊
Jay - ⒿⒶⓨ 🙈 🙉 🙊 (@guest_1020900)
July 22, 2020 10:35

Another DP of no options available (talked to multiple supervisors in the US), so ended up closing the card.