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MBNA's RCI MasterCard Problem
I was signed up for this MBNA RCI MasterCard when I bought a Pahio condo. I was to earn points on each purchase, which could be applied towards RCI fees or travel fares. The rewards are less than 1%, but better than nothing. I pay my account in full each month.
The BIG problem is that they charge much, MUCH more than their 15.99% APR rate and I don't want anyone else to get ripped off! My July statemant said I owed $2018.00. Half of this amount was credited by a small return and with on time $1000 in online payments. I had a senior moment and paid the balance, but to the wrong credit card. I caught this 3 days after the due date and quickly paid the balance to MBNA 5 days late. Not the end of the world, I figured at 15.99% for $1009, I would end up paying less than $3. My Auguest statement came and said I owed a whopping $32.00! The statement said it was based on $2305, but I never owed that much. I called MBNA twice. One gent couldn't tell me where the $2305 amount came from and how they calculated the finance charge. The second MBNA rep told me that since I didn't pay the full balance by the due date, MBNA goes back and charged 15.99% for the full $2018.00 for 35 days, even though half of it had been paid on time. MBNA found something to inflate the original balance to the $2305 amount. I asked him, "So you're telling me if I was 2 dollars short, MBNA would charge me finance charges on the full balance for the 35 days, no matter what the total original amount was due?" and he said I was correct.
Well, $32.00 isn't going to kill me. Some companies would have waived a portion of it, but not MBNA
! I'll write a letter and then move on, making sure that I do a better job making payments.
The shredder looked very inviting after this call.
A good thing is that I've found an American Express "Dividend" card that pays up to $300/year in cash rebates with 5% rebates on gas station, grocery store and drug store(my wife works at RiteAid) purchases
! Some deals allow the rewards to go unlimited beyond the $300/year w/certain specific transactions(how many cruises can you go on each year?, but there are other type companies).
Be careful if you have a MBNA MasterCard account, it may not be limited the the "RCI" cards like mine. Having an excellent payment record meant nothing with their representatives.
Have a wonderful day!! garyd210
The BIG problem is that they charge much, MUCH more than their 15.99% APR rate and I don't want anyone else to get ripped off! My July statemant said I owed $2018.00. Half of this amount was credited by a small return and with on time $1000 in online payments. I had a senior moment and paid the balance, but to the wrong credit card. I caught this 3 days after the due date and quickly paid the balance to MBNA 5 days late. Not the end of the world, I figured at 15.99% for $1009, I would end up paying less than $3. My Auguest statement came and said I owed a whopping $32.00! The statement said it was based on $2305, but I never owed that much. I called MBNA twice. One gent couldn't tell me where the $2305 amount came from and how they calculated the finance charge. The second MBNA rep told me that since I didn't pay the full balance by the due date, MBNA goes back and charged 15.99% for the full $2018.00 for 35 days, even though half of it had been paid on time. MBNA found something to inflate the original balance to the $2305 amount. I asked him, "So you're telling me if I was 2 dollars short, MBNA would charge me finance charges on the full balance for the 35 days, no matter what the total original amount was due?" and he said I was correct.
Well, $32.00 isn't going to kill me. Some companies would have waived a portion of it, but not MBNA
! I'll write a letter and then move on, making sure that I do a better job making payments. The shredder looked very inviting after this call.A good thing
is that I've found an American Express "Dividend" card that pays up to $300/year in cash rebates with 5% rebates on gas station, grocery store and drug store(my wife works at RiteAid) purchases ! Some deals allow the rewards to go unlimited beyond the $300/year w/certain specific transactions(how many cruises can you go on each year?, but there are other type companies).Be careful if you have a MBNA MasterCard account, it may not be limited the the "RCI" cards like mine. Having an excellent payment record meant nothing with their representatives.
Have a wonderful day!!
garyd210
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