MBNA unclear 0% interest rate

Fingerbobs

CliveOfIndia said:

This is very common.  Some cards will charge 0% interest on purchases made at any time during the promotional period, but in my experience it's far more common for the "purchase window" to be limited to the first 60 or 90 days of opening the account.

I would have said the exact opposite. MBNA is very much an oddity in this respect. With most 0% purchases cards, the 0% rate applies to all purchases until the 0% period ends.

0% Balance Transfer cards, on the other hand, are very different, and the 0% rate typically only applies to balances transferred within the first 2 or 3 months. Maybe that's what you're thinking of?

Nebulous2

I tried to look up the specific offerings given by MBNA, and I couldn't find them. They wanted personal information to tailor the offer. As I have one of their cards which I never use, I didn't pursue it. 

My experience of purchase cards has been limited, as I generally apply for BT cards. I had a 15/18 month purchase card from Virgin that worked throughout. 

My recollection though is that some of the cards I have taken out for BTs have also offered 0% on purchases for transactions made in the first period. 

I'm not sure that providers market cards as BT cards or purchase cards, in the way MSE group them. They tend to make marketing offers on features they think people will want and hybrid cards offering a bit of several different things are common. 

It's a warning to know what you are applying for, though the process of applying can be daunting for people who don't often do it. 

CliveOfIndia

Fingerbobs said:

CliveOfIndia said:

This is very common.  Some cards will charge 0% interest on purchases made at any time during the promotional period, but in my experience it's far more common for the "purchase window" to be limited to the first 60 or 90 days of opening the account.

I would have said the exact opposite. MBNA is very much an oddity in this respect. With most 0% purchases cards, the 0% rate applies to all purchases until the 0% period ends.

0% Balance Transfer cards, on the other hand, are very different, and the 0% rate typically only applies to balances transferred within the first 2 or 3 months. Maybe that's what you're thinking of?

I'm just going by personal experience.  You're right, with a BT offer it's far more common for the offer to be limited to transfers made during a specific window.  But over the years I've had 0% purchases that last the full duration of the offer, and some that have a limited window.  Admittedly, it's been a fair few years since I've had a 0% purchase card, so the market in general may very well have changed in recent years

BeatrixK

Yes this also happened to me today. Have been getting interest free credit cards (0% on purchases) for years now - changing over when the deal ends etc. and this has never happened to me before. Noticed interest payment on my MBNA card and phoned them - told me re: the 60 day thing. Honestly never noticed it as it was advertised at 24 months. Usually good at picking up anything that doesn't look right. I told the call centre that I thought the deal was a bit misleading. Seems that a few others have also been caught out. He offered to cut my interest payment by half. I paid most of the balance off today. Will be cancelling it.

martinbainbridge1975

I took an MBNA card recently and I saw the purchases made in the first 60 day term highlighted, and was confirmed in the paperwork that followed.