Originally Posted by wahooflyer
Most people don't travel internationally as much as we FlyerTalkers do, and most people don't pay attention to all the fine print in their cardholder agreement as much as we do.
You're right, that has to be the business model. MBNA expects to get more revenue from the ignorant or casual international travelers than they lose from the rest.
But I wouldn't be so sure. The latter groups, including many FTs like me, will ditch MBNA right away. From my viewpoint, in six months time MBNA has gone from providing good benefits (UA miles via Amtrak) at a low cost to providing few benefits at a high cost. And the folks likely to leave include many who were in the target group for those other financial products I mentioned.