I recently got the new Amtrak/MBNA affinity card because of the option to transfer points from Amtrak to UA (and CO). It's an excellent card and I really like MBNA - and there is no annual fee. Therefore, it provides a great alternative to the FirstUSA VISA.

However, I wanted people to know that it really takes a long time to get the points over to UA. With my FirstUSA card, the miles usually post within a week after the closing day of my statement. With Amtrak, first it takes about 2 weeks for the points to post in your Amtrak account, and then it takes another 4-6 weeks for the points to transfer from Amtrak to UA. So it could be as much as two months from the time you make the charges on the MBNA card until you get the miles posted to MP.

Still I think it is well worth it - especially if you are not Premier and max out your monthly or annual limit on the FirstUSA card - because there is no annual fee and because you are dealing with MBNA instead of FirstUSA.

One other point - there is a 100,000 point per year limit on the Platinum version of this card and a 50,000 point per year limit on the "regular" version.