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Unremarkable cards - MBNA Credit Card
MBNA 

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Unremarkable cards (MBNA)

NFH.

Member Name: NFH.

Product:

MBNA
Date: 09/10/02 (231 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: High credit limits, Low promotional APRs (for making a profit)

Disadvantages: High 2.75% commission on foreign transactions

I've never really understood where MBNA's competitive's edge is. They offer few perks (other than giving to charity and Thomas Cook cashback) and they charge a hefty 2.75% commission when you use their cards outside the UK. You can now access your account online though and download in Microsoft Money, which is a nice improvement.

I was getting a bit annoyed with all the "credit card cheques" they keep sending me. But suddenly, they sent me some with a letter saying that I had 1.9% APR on those cheques for 6 months. When I realised I could get 2.9% in my bank account, I advanced over £13,000 (right up to my credit limit) and deposited the money in my bank account for a few months. I made a nice tidy profit on the interest rate differential.

The only reason to get such a card I think could be for the high credit limits they give. If you want a card with nice perks such as cashback, look elsewhere.

If you get the Thomas Cook MBNA card, don't bother using it abroad in order to get cashback, because you'll pay 2.75% commission to receive 1.5% cashback. You might have thought a "Thomas Cook" card would be ideal for spending abroad but it's not. You'd be better off with a Nationwide Visa card or Frizzell/Liverpool Victoria.

Summary:

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Overall rating: Useful

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Last comment:
Grummy

- 06/08/09

When I worked at MBNA, there motto was that they wanted to be the most respected banking service, and they wanted that through the quality of the service they provided, which is why they stuck with UK all centers. They do have a lot of deals, and one thing they do which many cards don't is transfer money direct from the card straight into your account, which can on occasion prove useful.
also note that MBNA issue the cards for A&L, BT and Virgin too, so if you think they do better deals, its still MBNA.
It is the quality of teh brand of Bank of America that tehy use as their edge, they like to promote themselves as better for everyone, friendlier, kinder and fairer, and sometimes they can be, but not always.
However, having worked there, I have seen the range of cards available and they can compete with others on that level too, its just they choose to promote good service instead.


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