Barclaycard Arrival adds new ways to redeem miles through Jan. 31

It's no secret that many credit cardholders didn't travel much, if at all, in 2020, and thus may be approaching a full year of not using their reward points as expected. As a result, we've seen travel-focused rewards credit cards work to find new ways to continue to add value to cardholders during this strange, difficult year.

For 2020, American Express added several new monthly statement credits to The Platinum Card® from American Express, Chase added new ways to redeem Ultimate Rewards points while not traveling at a value equal to travel redemptions, and now Barclays has introduced new, temporary options to redeem miles earned with the Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite Mastercard.

The information for the Barclaycard Arrival Plus card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

This card has closed to new applicants but remains a popular option held tightly in many wallets -- mine included.

Normally, the miles earned with this card can be redeemed at a rate of 1 point equals 1 cent toward travel charges of $100+ made on the card within the last 120 days.

But, as reported by Doctor of Credit, until Jan. 31, you can also redeem miles at that same rate toward qualifying gas, grocery and restaurant purchases made in the last 120 days with a minimum of 5,000 miles for a $50 credit. This is great because typically non-travel redemptions on the card (such as gift cards or other statement credits) only were possible at a decreased value of rate of 1/2 cent value per mile redeemed.

Additionally, the minimum threshold to redeem against a travel charge has been reduced from $100 to $50.

As usual, you'll also earn 5% of redeemed miles back to use on a future redemption. This means an eligible $50 (5,000 mile) redemption will net you 250 miles back into your account to use next time.

So, if you are sitting on some Arrival miles you'd like to redeem, it's time to use the card for some gas, grocery or restaurant charges and then redeem the miles against those eligible charges by Jan. 31, 2021.