Julie the Newbie

Hi there, I am new to earning air miles and wish to get your input. I am considering getting the (new?) MBNA WorldPoints card. I have had other MBNA cards for years and have been thrilled with their great customer service. What do you all know of this card, its drawbacks, etc. in relation to air miles?

I will explain my useage plans... I need a miles/points card that will allow us to earn points for travel all over the world really... Europe, Middle East, Hawaii, Austr/NZ, and Western US. Thus, I think I would prefer to not be pinned down to one airline. We will be charging all of our bills and monthly expenses to the card to earn points... this amount will typically be somewhere in the neighborhood of $2,500/mo., maybe $3,000. We will be paying the balance every month so interest rates are not a concern. We have A-1, perfect credit.

Here is a link to the promo site for this card:
https://www.applyonlinenow.com/USapp..._MC=A000000XPE

I have read previous posts and have seen that the AmEx Starwood card is very popular, however it is kind of unappealing to me since it's AmEx and many places won't take it. I did a search on the forums here and couldn't find anything on the MBNA card in question (maybe that's because it is new, I think?) so if you could fill me in on what you know it would be much appreciated. Thank you for your help!

Julie

coplatua1k

Unless things have changed MBNA picks the airline you fly with the program. So you have no control. My personal favorite is AMEX Platinum, I know you said its not as universal but it has a few extra perks.

Julie the Newbie

coplatua1k, thank you for your reply. That is something to consider. However it's not a priority for me. I really don't care who I fly with so long as I get there! ;-) From what I understand they likely pick the cheapest through a company owned by Travelocity(??). It's all fine by me, unless there's something I'm missing...

Julie

CountinPlaces

I think you will find that the overwhelming majority of FlyerTalker's would agree that a "bank" sponsored credit card is far less valuable than an airline one. The two exceptions are Diners Club and American Express with the latter most often associated with an airline or hotel.

An excellent review of the major credit cards has been prepared by our own pgary at his site . It is an excellent resource that he should receive recurring kudos for.



[This message has been edited by CountinPlaces (edited 08-13-2003).]

Julie the Newbie

CountinPlaces, thank you. What a fabulous wesbsite! I'll dig deeper into it in the next day or so and let you know if I still have questions. I was wondering why bank cards aren't as good and why Diners or other AmEx, but likely I'll find just that answer at his site. I didn't find that site when I was searching for info... thanks!

Julie

cecelia

MBNA had a great deal going with no interest balance transfers until Feb/Mar of 2004. Nice card to use for transferring a big savings bond charge from one of your other rewards points cards.

pinniped

Julie: it sounds like you might actually be a good candidate for a home-grown points card. Most FTers (including me) tend to align to an airline program card, but in the future I will likely switch to home-grown points.

My biggest questions on these cards are:

- Redemption rules: is it just a fare cap, or do they also have a 21-day advance rule or other rules? If my fare cap is $300 for a U.S. ticket, but I find a last-minute fare for $350 on my favorite airline, can I call the agent, give exact flight numbers, spend the points + $50 and get an e-ticket issued immediately? Even if the rules are a little tighter than this, do I know my exact airline and flights before I commit to using the points, and can I alter my parameters slightly to get *my* airline (within reason)?

- Earning caps: sounds like you are going to do about $30k a year. A lot of cards are capped right around that level.

- When was the last time the bank overhauled the awards program? I'm convinced this is the #1 way banks make money on these programs. What are the chances that they will obsolete your favorite award type tomorrow?

- Points Expiration: as long as you continue to use the card, do points ever expire? Do they require one redemption per 3 years? 5 years?

- Any (reasonable) hotel/car awards? I have actually seen a couple cards that had acceptable (not great) car awards.

TTT103

I previously had a Worldpoints card through MBNA before they actually called in Worldpoints. When MBNA increased their point requirements and lowered their maximum allowable fares I dropped the card and converted to their Amtrak card which allows you to earn miles in United and Continental; however, they are capped each year. The cap does not bother me becuase my primary card is the Starwood AmEx which I feel provides the best earning value out there despite the poor level of service from AmEx. I only use my MBNA card as a back-up where AmEx is not accepted.

With all of that said, I decided to switch back to the Worldpoints card next month instead of using the Amtrak card for a few reasons. I will still be using my Starwood as my primary card; however, I have been finding that it is becoming more and more difficult yo book airline award tickets due to blackout dates. I like the flexibility that Worldpoints provides in that they will use any airline that has an available seat. To be honest with you, I have more frequent flyer miles than I know what to do with (not really) so my goal is hotel points. MBNA is extremely flexible with hotel stays uisng points. I have stayed at Hiltons when Hilton awards were blacked out through HHonors. They also obtained a week for me at Disney World in their Animal Kingdom Lodge. The nice thing about Worldpoints is that you can still earn frequent flyer miles or hotel points on your flights/stays.

You indicated that you were interested in the MBNA card primarily for airline travel. I have only once used those points for airline travel. As someone previously mentioned you do not have the option to choose the airline. MBNA books you on the lowest fare; however, they are somewhat flexible with times of travel so I was able to book the flight that I wanted.

The last time I redeemed points was when MBNA contracted with Carlson Travel. I do not know if they still use Carlson, but if so the rep's are fantastic. Some of the rep's do not like to play games with discount codes for hotel stays, but some go well above and beyond the call of duty.

If you can live with their dollar caps on the awards, I would highly recommend the card. Again, I still use my Starwood AmEx as my primary card, but the Worldpoints card is a great back-up.

Julie the Newbie

Thanks so much for your replies! This is very helpful to me so keep them coming. I have a question...

If I have a non-airline card like the MBNA WorldPoints card for instance, and earn a free ticket with the card, can I then earn miles from the airline even though the ticket was 'free'? I'm just trying to understand the nuts and bolts of how this works, and can't seem to find that "Air Miles for Dummies" book anywhere.... ;-)

And yes, to my knowledge MBNA is still using Carlson who owns Travelocity.

Julie

EmoryFlyer

Hi Julie....I just got this card a couple of months ago. BIG POINTER: GET THEM TO GIVE YOU A BETTER APR THAN WHAT IS LISTED ON THE WEBSITE (even if you pay off in full every month -- just in case).

My girlfriend got a mailer from them about this card with a rate of 8.9% APR AFTER the intro special. I was intrigued with this and went online to research. I was disappointed that the online rate was higher. Since I have had an MBNA card in good standing for over a year, I figured I would call customer service to see if I could get this deal too -- NO PROBLEM! Perhaps the expiration date for this reduced-APR offer has already come, but you should try to get it anyway. MBNA DOES have great customer service -- if you've been a good customer of theirs you should fight for the best rate.

Just my 2 cents....good luck!

[This message has been edited by EmoryFlyer (edited 08-13-2003).]

TTT103

Yes you can using Worldpoints miles because Carlson/MBNA actually pays for the airline ticket. Hotels and car rentals are handled slightly different. Carlson books you at the hotel of your choice and deducts the points from your account. However, they do not pay the hotel. Instead they issue you a credit on your MBNA Mastercard to offset the hotel charge. The hotel has absolutely no idea when you show up that you used Worldpoints for the stay since you are in essence charged for the room. As such, you need not battle with the hotel to earn HHonors, Starwood, etc. points. When MBNA first started this program they actually mailed a check to the hotel, but I guess that this turned into a real mess.

Julie the Newbie

Neato! More brownie points for MBNA. Thanks for the good news! I guess I kind of had my mind made up but just wanted to be sure there wasn't anything bad I didn't know about.

However, even though I was favoring MBNA I was thinking of checking out Starwood to find out how many of the regular places I would be charging at accept AmEx, but those blackout dates would be rather annoying... Anyone else had those kind of issues occuring a lot w/Starwood?

BigLar

Julie - I understand your enthusiasm, but lets' get down to earth a bit.

$30K spend typically gets you 30K miles. Maybe a 10K miles signup bonus.

A "standard" domestic round trip is usually 25K - off-season (some airlines) would be 20K. So, you mught have enough for two people to make a r/t once a year.

However, a growing dirty little secret of the airline/FF game is that these "standard" awards are getting harder to get (tightening up availability, reduced capacity since 9/11, etc.). With some airlines, you can get a "rule-buster" ticket, at twice the standard rate.

Internationlly, 50K miles is the normal threshold for a coach ticket. Business class 80K-100K, First 100K-150K. This is typically US-Europe. For Asia. S Pac, etc. expect to pay more.

So ... yes, it can be done. I do it, most of the others on this board do it. But it's not like paying for your newspaper with a credit card and then flying to Tahiti every year!

My advice - listen to the folks who have already replied. Start earning some miles. Read the other forums to get a feel for how the programs work and which one(s) would be right for you. Then you go, girl!

Julie the Newbie

Well, I'm not sure what I said to make you think that I think my hubby and I are going to travel the world every year on air miles! Actually, I would be perfectly thrilled with *one* ticket to Hawaii or Europe after saving points for a year and a half or two. That's all. I'm really not expecting that much... I've never flown any other way than coach and I figure that will remain so I don't know what I'm missing. ;-) Basic math tells me I won't be one of the FT big boys here. Just figured I might as well try to earn a ticket while paying the bills so-to-speak. Seriously, am I missing something?

Uuugh, edited second time for typos! [This message has been edited by Julie the Newbie (edited 08-14-2003).]

[This message has been edited by Julie the Newbie (edited 08-14-2003).]

BigLar

Well, I wasn't trying to be a buzzkill! Just making sure you were being somewhat realistic.

To quote you :

"I need a miles/points card that will allow us to earn points for travel all over the world really... Europe, Middle East, Hawaii, Austr/NZ, and Western US"

Sounds somewhat ambitious.

But - if you are willing to moderate you plans, there is a lot you can do. Again, get a card, start earning some miles. If it's an affinity card, pick an airline you can live with. Check out the airline specific forums here. For example, it is rumoured that on Continental (CO) you can never get a standard award. Delta (DL) has other rumors rampant, too. Read and ask before you commit anything bigtime.

Your goals of a transcon or two, or a European trip are actually quite do able; you will need to plan, but, hey! that's half the fun.

And finally, since I don't think anyone else did it - Welcome to FlyerTalk!!