MBNA, yay or nay?!

hasnain721

Hi,

I am about to apply for a credit card from MBNA, mainly because they give out emirates skywards miles. However the reviews from trustpilot really, really put me off in terms of their appalling customer services.

Anyone here have a credit card from them? What are their customer services like? Would you recommend them?

The only other option I have is Amex BA credit card. The problem with that is my landlord doesn't accept Amex but they accept Visa. The other option is Virgin white credit card.....but then it is also operated by MBNA!!


Thanks!

bengalknights

MBNA customer services have always been on the balls for the 3 times ive had to call them.

What really makes MBNA stand out is the fact that every few months they send you a new promotion

Candyapple

I've been with MBNA for years, never had any bad customer service from them. They are quick to answer the phone, always been put through to a UK call centre whenever I have called them and they give generous credit limits. What's not to like?

If you actually read the Trustpilot reviews properly, you'll find a lot of them are down to the customer's incompetence and that's why they're giving them a poor review.

Look at the first one - MBNA cancelled his card because a) there may have been a fraud warning flagged up b) they did a customer review and decided they didn't want his custom anymore. Perhaps he wasn't using his card as much? It happens.

Second review - something obviously flagged up in his credit file that caused MBNA to decline the increase. Rather than deal with root cause, they'd rather moan about MBNA. And so on and so on.

hasnain721

bengalknights wrote: »

MBNA customer services have always been on the balls for the 3 times ive had to call them.

What really makes MBNA stand out is the fact that every few months they send you a new promotion

Do you mean that in a good or a bad way?!

What do you mean by new promotions every few months? Could you kindly give an example please?

Thanks.

bengal-stripe

hasnain721 wrote: »

What do you mean by new promotions every few months?

MBNA is very generous with 0% balance/money transfers. As soon as one promotion has ended, shortly after they offer a new one.

I probably have a promotion going on for 10 months of the year (usually lasting for 12 - 14 month each.)

Round_The_Bend

I'm another very satisfied MBNA customer. As others have noted, high credit limits, excellent online and, on the very rare occasions that I have called, phone service, very good balance transfer/purchase offers and they allow you to have several MBNA cards, so that you can make use of their various perks. For me, they're one of the very best credit card companies out there, probably the best.

Helvetica_Van_Buren

Satisfied MBNA customer right here.

Big credit limits; regular 0% balance / money transfer offers - what more do you need?

SuperHan

Another one here who's never had anything to complain about.

I could even go as far as to say that they have given the best customer service of any finance product provider I've had to deal with.

than_prutt

I've had MBNA Virgin Atlantic credit card since 2009 and never ever had any problem with either the card or their customer service. Last time I called their CS team was when I missed a payment by 2 days because I was abroad. Problem solved with £12 fee refunded without a fuss. The only thing I had to pay was the interest for those 2 days. Highly recommended!!

Marchitiello

I have had MBNA cards for a long while and recently also got the Emirates cards as I had been a Skyward member for a while. However the miles earning rate is not great on the VISA and overall Skywards are very difficult to accrue to the level needed for upgrades /free flights unless you really fly with them 10+ times a year, and also expire.
As you mention that your alternatives were BA Amex and Virgin MBNA, I guess you are just after any AirMiles scheme, and therefore I would recommend the Lloyds Avios duo. It has a £24 annual fee but if you do any decent spending, the earning rate helps to quickly write it off. Alternatively there is a TSB version with no fee but lower earning rate

fozmcfc

I'm another satisfied MBNA customer.

As others have said, constantly offering 14 months 0% balance transfers or money transfers (which can be more handy than a balance transfer).

The only thing that's a bit frustrating is I usually get offered them with a fee of 4.5% for BT and 5.0% for MT, which means a bank loan for me, could well be cheaper. Or in my case my Post Office credit card, which recently offered me a repeat balance transfer for 18 months, with a 1.5% fee.