Can I Get the Barclay Arrival Plus if I have the No-Fee Arrival?

Dozens of people are asking:

I currently have the no-fee Arrival card. Can I apply for the Arrival Plus card while still holding the no-fee version?

Answer: No, not with instant approval.

It used to be possible to have multiple Arrival’s at the same time, but that was changed over a year ago. At some point over the past year or so, there was a change in the system whereby the no-fee Arrival and the Arrival Plus are considered the same product, and the system won’t approve you for Arrival Plus if you currently have any version of the Arrival card.

If you currently have any version of the Arrival card, no hard pull will be done for the new application. 

[Some people report that Barclay never hard pulls for a denial, but that’s quite YMMV based on the comments to this post. With regards to applying for a second Arrival, it’s unanimous that no hard pull will be done.]

Manual Approval

While the system will instantly deny the Arrival+ application if you hold any version of the Arrival card, that doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t get approved for the card.

A friend applied for the Arrival+ while holding the no-fee version and was able to get approved for the card by calling in. And a reader reports the same.

It might simply be a bug that the system mistakenly considers both cards to be the same product. Or maybe it’s on purpose. In any case, it is possible to get approved by explaining to the rep that it’s a different card, but it will likely be more difficult to get approved if you currently hold the no-fee version.

Important: While my friend was able to get approved, I don’t know for certain he’ll get the signup bonus. Logically, he should get it, but there is one troubling data point which might indicate that the system won’t automatically apply the bonus is such a scenario. Update: A reader reports getting confirmation on the signup bonus being attached.

How long after cancelling the Arrival/Arrival+ can I signup for a new card?

That’s the million dollar question, and I can’t give an exact answer. Traditionally, it’s been said to wait six months to apply again. However, there are indications (1, 2) that as little as two months is fine and can be instantly approved. There’s also one report indicating instant approval after 16 days.

More recently, reports came in with an approval after just four days or even one day, although they needed a recon call to process the application and pull their credit.

We don’t have any information as to how long the 50,000 bonus will be around.

Conclusion

Lots of people like downgrading their Arrival+ to the no-fee version instead of cancelling, either to save the points or for the chip/PIN or due to a 10,000 points downgrade bonus offer Barclay is wont to offer. But keep in mind that you won’t easily be able to get the Arrival Plus at a future date if you do so.
    Chuck
  • On September 18, 2016, 14:29

View Comments (32)

  • 06/09/17 - Received Arrival Plus
    06/09/18 - Downgraded to Arrival
    ... 6 months
    03/19/19 - Applied for 60K Aviator Red (Instant Approval) + 70K Arrival Plus (Went to Waiting)

    Called recon right away for the Arrival Plus - Agent said system flagged that I already have Arrival Plus and no credit was pulled but I told her it's actually the No Fee Arrival that I have and I would really like to get the 2x on spend; She said ok we'll go ahead an pull the credit; 10 mins later APPROVED!

    Now waiting to see if the 2 Barclay inquiries will be combined. Thanks DOC!

    • So you didn't close your downgraded Arrival and still got the Arrival+ ? If so, sweet! I cancelled my downgraded Arrival about 10 days ago and am mulling when I should pull the trigger to get the 70k...

      • I am in the same situtation. Just closed my downgraded Arrival and wondering how soon I can can apply for the Arrival+. When did you apply and were you instantly approved?

  • Hi,

    I had a Barclays arrival plus and I downgraded it in April 2018 to Barclays rewards card. I am not sure if it means the same as Barclays no fee arrival card. My question is will able to apply for a Barclays Arrival plus again now. I also have a Barclays cash forward card which has no fee. I have 750 plus credit. Any input is highly appreciated.

    Thanks in advance.

    • I believe the Rewards card is separate and that you are eligible to apply for the Arrival Plus card.

  • Another datapoint:

    Had an Arrival- that I'd downgraded from an A+ a few years ago. Closed it 11/26 via SM, applied for the A+ 12/13. Was pending until today when I got an approval email.

    I'm right at 5/24- doubt I would have been approved if I'd been over.

  • I had the barclay arrival + card in 2014 and closed it. Haven't had one since, would I qualify for the bonus if I opened it now?

  • I closed Barclay Arrival+ back in June hoping to reopen in Sept for another bonus but got rejected for having too many new accounts open recently. That was my only Barclay product. Is it possible to reopen the closed card and downgrade to a no fee Barclay so I can maintain relationship with the bank? Or do I just wait it out... and reapply for some other Barclay card in the future when the bonus is right?

  • Was declined for the Arrival Plus due to having the "maximum allowable number of this product with us. A credit bureau report was not used in making this determination."

    Guess I"ll cancel the no fee and apply at some future date.

  • I have the no fee Barclay card and received a targeted "pre-selected" mail offer for the Arrival + which I applied for and received notice that I would be advised in 30 days if application is approved.

    Should I cancel my no fee now for better chance at the Arrival + or is it too late?

  • Can one apply for both the Barclay arrival plus card for 50k bonus and Barclay Hawaiian airline miles 50k bonus card on same day to avoid getting 2 different credit report inquiries?

    what is condition of multiple card applications for Barclay brand cards?

  • DP: Closed Arrival no-fee yesterday, applied for Arriva+ today and was rejected. Called Recon, they suggested applying over the phone with the rep. Did so, and app was rejected again (no HP either time). Called Recon again, and agent was able to manually run the app/pull credit and got approved.

  • There was another downgrade option when I PC'd to Arrival no-fee. I could also PC to Barclay rewards card. I chose Arrival no-fee to keep the leftover points (+1000 points). Perhaps it was wiser to PC to Barclay rewards.

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