shadrock

Wht do you recomend for the best credit card available? I have a MBNA platinum rewards card which used to have 6.9% rate and other good benefits. I usually pay in full each month but sometimes carry a balance when needed. They are raising their rate to 8.9% so I thought I might shop around a bit. Any recomendations?

iccky

I personally like my citi dividends rewards card, get %1 cash back on all purchases and %5 cash back on groceries and gas. A lot of other cash back cards claim to give higher rates of return, but usualy the rate goes on a sliding scale with the less you spend, the lower your percent cash back is. Since I pay it off every month, it's like getting paid to use the card.

One other thing I've noticed is that MBNA has a much easier to use web interface then Citibank. Not a big deal, but if you do everything online like i do it makes a difference.

Averett

shadrock, call up MBNA and complain. Threaten to switch your business to another card. I bet they'll keep you at your 6.9%, if not lower it. It won't hurt to try.

I have an MBNA card which was at 15.99%. I called up and said I had offers in the mail to switch to lower APR cards. They ended up lowering my card to 13.99%. Might not seem like much, but it's something.

__________________
Absence is to love what wind is to fire. It extinguishes the small, it enkindles the great.

punx1325

I have an American Airlines Citibank credit card, my interest rate sucks ass I think 13.99%, but I do get free trips. And besides I pay off every bill every month, just so I get a better credit rating.

__________________
If something seems too good to be true, then it probably is....

smooth

I have an MBNA card, as well.

I wouldn't complain, as that doesn't always get the best results in my experience.

What I have done is that following:

"I have been with you for X amount of time and I appreciate the excellent customer service you have given me. I understand you are raising your rates, but I hope you understand that, as a consumer, I need to ensure I have the best possible rate for my finances, as well. I'm hoping you can speak with someone to reduce my rate since I want to remain a customer of MBNA over (other card offer)."

That always works for me. They aren't going to drop it to the amazing 0 or 1% you got in the mail, but they will keep it at the 6% and usually even offer a 3% or something for 6-8 months.

__________________
"The theory of a free press is that truth will emerge from free discussion, not that it will be presented perfectly and instantly in any one account." -- Walter Lippmann

"You measure democracy by the freedom it gives its dissidents, not the freedom it gives its assimilated conformists." -- Abbie Hoffman

Grondar

I don't currently have a credit card (I'm 22, and in college). I have debated getting one so that I could work on getting a credit rating, but haven't yet.

If I did get a card, I would pay it off every month, and would be using it just so that I could start to get some credit rating for down the road..

Would MBNA be a good option for me, or is that a card that should be reserved for those that already have decent credit and aren't "new" to the credit card scene?

Also, providing I would go with MBNA, is there a big difference in regards to which card you choose? For instance, I was looking at the National Wildlife Federation card, and it seems to offer the same things as the others.. The only difference I saw was a mention of each dollar also accounting for a "Point" which could be used towards other purchases.

For those of you that do use MBNA, do you recommend any card types over others, or is it mostly a "graphical" issue. I really like wildlife and nature, and thus the NWF card looked good to me, but I am not sure if I should make my decision on more important matters than what "Association" is tied to the card.

Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.

I am new to credit cards, and my folks have raised me with the mindset that I should only buy what I can pay for, and I agree with that generally, but I also realize that in the not too distant future I am going to benefit from having a good credit rating, and I may already be getting a delayed start at achieving one.

Thank you.

__________________
"Yes, I rather like this God fellow. He's very theatrical, you know, a pestilence here, a plague there. Omnipotence. Gotta get me some of that." -Stewie

smooth

I love my MBNA card. They are very curteous and are a very well established institution. If they accept your application, you can't go wrong with them, in my experience.

You can build a postive credit rating very quickly by making all of your everyday purchases on the card. I never carry balances from one month to the next.

With MBNA, I have been a customer long enough that if I ever needed to, I can do up to 2 payment vacations per year. I just let them know that I won't be making a payment this particularl month and it rolls over to the next. Like I said, I haven't ever had to use it, but sure is nice.


As for the graphical stuff, I have a pretty cool tiger on my Discover card that copped me a free mini-fridge in Vegas because the hotel desk guy had a thing for tigers. He started to explain, but then ended it with, "but you understand, so I don't need to tell you!" I just shook my head yes and scooped up the mini-fridge up to our room!

So who knows? Get both. You might also find that one place won't take Discover but will take Mastercard (MBNA) or vice versa. 2 is a very practical amount of credit cards. Anything can happen on a trip, even demagnetized strips or when your card views some activity and wants to verify whether it's suspicious.

__________________
"The theory of a free press is that truth will emerge from free discussion, not that it will be presented perfectly and instantly in any one account." -- Walter Lippmann

"You measure democracy by the freedom it gives its dissidents, not the freedom it gives its assimilated conformists." -- Abbie Hoffman

Konichiwaneko

amex has been a goodsend for me. Member since 1994 and i'm only 23

__________________

hokieian

Alot of things that I have read say that paying off your balance every month can actually hurt your credit score. It seems counterintuitive, but I think lending agencies actually want to see some amount of debt on your record. Of course, if you have excellent credit already, carry on. If everyone paid off their entire balance every month, no one would wind up in the severe credit problem that the majority of Americans find themselves in.

Missy

[QUOTE=iccky]I personally like my citi dividends rewards card, get %1 cash back on all purchases and %5 cash back on groceries and gas. A lot of other cash back cards claim to give higher rates of return, but usualy the rate goes on a sliding scale with the less you spend, the lower your percent cash back is. Since I pay it off every month, it's like getting paid to use the card.QUOTE]

I have the same card as well and like it a lot. I used to pay for my Graduate School tutition on this card (and pay it off every month) and got tons of cash back. I might call them and tell them I got one of those MBNA flyers in the mail with the low interest rate and see if I can get them to drop my rate. I think I have 9.8% or something.

jenjen

I like the American Express Optima Card. No annual fee and you get cash back. And my dad was able to get me one, which is good since I don't make any money!!!

aliali

Chase perfect card has a good rebate program--3% on Gas everywhere and 1% on everything else. No limits or spending requirements to get these percentages. The rebate is in cash and is available to you immediately. I just switched to this card after my Fleet cash card was bought out by Bank of America two months ago.

quakegod

Anyone try out the United or Alaska cards? I'm wondering if this is a better deal than a pure cash back card...