[Money] MBNA 1.99% AIR Until Balance is paid off

Just got an offer by the mail from MBNA.
It seems for the first time ever MBNA is offering a rate of 2.99% until you decide to pay off your promotional balance.

Looking at transferring $20,000 from my mortgage. I'm going to give them a call on Monday to have the transfer fees waived (they always did it in the past)

Originally Posted by tailcone

Just got an offer by the mail from MBNA.
It seems for the first time ever MBNA is offering a rate of 2.99% until you decide to pay off your promotional balance.

Looking at transferring $20,000 from my mortgage. I'm going to give them a call on Monday to have the transfer fees waived (they always did it in the past)

Was this an instant approval? Or are you asking for the waiver in advance of the application process?

I already have a credit line with MBNA (so it would be an instant approval), in the past they would always waiver transfer fees on there promotional rates.

I got a 1.99% bal transfer offer last week good till april09 on my mbna cc I'm considering using it.

Originally Posted by tailcone

Just got an offer by the mail from MBNA.
It seems for the first time ever MBNA is offering a rate of 2.99% until you decide to pay off your promotional balance.

Looking at transferring $20,000 from my mortgage. I'm going to give them a call on Monday to have the transfer fees waived (they always did it in the past)

I got the offer as well. Haven't used my MBNA card for a while. Now, I have the cheques, can I just deposit say $1000 into my bank account and MBNA will only charge me 2.99% annually until I pay it off?

Fine print:

The standard transaction fee for Cheque Cash Advances is 1% of each transaction, Min. $7.50.

The standard transaction fee for Balance Transfers is 1% of each transaction, Min. $7.50.

As a former employee for MBNA, the lowest interest rate anyone can possibly receive is 0.99% as a current customer. (at least that's how it used to be, things might have changed) But, 0.99% was very rare and 1.99% was only seen once in a while. They were reserved for the customers with the most tenure, and the ones that rarely ever borrowed money. Usually 2.99%, 3.99% and 4.99% were much more common.

Another thing to remember is the options are available for a longer term of borrowing (usually 7-10 months) at the promotional rate with the transfer fee of 1%. (minimum $7.50) Or, you can get a shorter period (4-6 months) with the transfer fee waived.

Anyone can call up anytime to negotiate a promotional balance transfer rate. It just depends on your internal/external credit score, and how often you borrow money. The less often you borrow, the lower APR the offer usually is. (because they want you to start borrowing) Also, the more you borrow the more the rep will be willing to negotiate. They have a special tool that does the evaluation for them, but if you're really finicky and you are borrowing a lot they usually will escalate to a supervisor to make the sale. (a lot usually being $10,000+) Remember though, they often won't start with the lowest APR. You have to be persistent, and sometimes you will need to call back to get another rep. Some reps simply refused to give the lowest interest rates. But, most will do the balance transfer at any rate they can negotiate to get the credit for it. A little credit for a low APR balance transfer is better than none at all.

They make commission from it, and at the time the top 25 reps in the call center for balance transfers usually get extra money on their pay for doing so well.

Good luck, and please don't become frustrated at the reps if you don't get the offer you want from this information. Not everyone is eligible for 0.99%, and if you're only eligible for as low as 4.99% there's no way it's going to be escalated to be at 0.99%.

Negotiate though, and if you don't get the offer you want... Feel free to call back and try again. Talk about other companies, throw in promotional balance transfer rates that other banks are offering you, make things up... If someone called in and said CIBC offered them a balance transfer at 3.99%, and 2.99% was available...I would offer them the lower rate in a second.

EDIT: I haven't worked for MBNA for a while, and the company evolved constantly. Some information I provided might be outdated, but it can act as a general rule of thumb for calling up to negotiate with them. Please don't jump down my throat if I end up being wrong in some scenario. Things can and often change.

Originally Posted by Cataha

EDIT: I haven't worked for MBNA for a while, and the company evolved constantly. Some information I provided might be outdated, but it can act as a general rule of thumb for calling up to negotiate with them. Please don't jump down my throat if I end up being wrong in some scenario. Things can and often change.

hey regardless thanks for the info it was a good read

I think the 0% for 15 months is better then this, considering it's also from MBNA.

http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/s...d.php?t=352003

Especially since you scan renew it every 15 months and people already have done this.

I'm on my second run of the 0% for 15 months deal. It's sweet, and I sure hope that I'll get a chance to do it for a 3rd or 4th time. But there's no guarantee that this will be the case.


The 3% "forever" deal is also pretty attractive for someone who foresees having a meaningful amount of debt for 5 or 6 years. If you are paying 5% or 6% on a home mortgage, this is a way to shave couple of percent off of a chunk of your debt for a very long time. Some people take 15 or 20 years to pay off a mortgage, and it's entirely possible that we will see higher rates at some point during that time horizon. If mortgage rates should hit 7% or 8% in 2012, it would be very nice to still be paying 3% on the CC.

It also makes for an attractive "margin account" for investments because it is long-term borrowing. IF someone were confident in the future of Canadian banks, it would be possible to take a large cash advance at 3% and then invest the proceeds in a chartered bank which have dividend rates in the 4-5% range. The dividend would more than cover the interest costs, the interest would be tax deductible, and there is a potential for significant capital gains after 5-10 years.... I would not try this with a 15 month horizon because there is too much risk that the stock price could decline, but with a "forever" horizon it's pretty attractive. Just need to find some cash to cover the payments.


Anyway, IMO both MBNA deals attractive, and we should be thankful to board member for sharing them.

Originally Posted by kneevase

I'm on my second run of the 0% for 15 months deal. It's sweet, and I sure hope that I'll get a chance to do it for a 3rd or 4th time. But there's no guarantee that this will be the case.

How are you renewing them? Do you have to do an application for a second card?

To do a second run of 0% for 15 months, you need to apply for a second MBNA card using the BODX priority code. When it's time to arrange the balance transfer to your chequing account, ask that they merge your old account into your new account, which will get you a much higher limit. Once you do that, you get another 15 months of 0%, but you do have to pay the 1% cash advance fee .

Overall, nice little deal!

Originally Posted by kneevase

To do a second run of 0% for 15 months, you need to apply for a second MBNA card using the BODX priority code. When it's time to arrange the balance transfer to your chequing account, ask that they merge your old account into your new account, which will get you a much higher limit. Once you do that, you get another 15 months of 0%, but you do have to pay the 1% cash advance fee .

Overall, nice little deal!

don't use the cheques, arrange the transfer over the phone and ask them to reduce the transfer fee, after asking, the rep aid she could reduce it 50%, so I said "Thanks" what I wanted to say was "why the ?(%#! did you not offer that in the first place"

I believe the REP has the power to reduce if the customer asks.

Originally Posted by jmalias

don't use the cheques, arrange the transfer over the phone and ask them to reduce the transfer fee, after asking, the rep aid she could reduce it 50%, so I said "Thanks" what I wanted to say was "why the ?(%#! did you not offer that in the first place"

I believe the REP has the power to reduce if the customer asks.

The rep has the power to waive the fee entirely. They just won't want to, because it means more credit for the sale if they don't.

Originally Posted by tailcone

I already have a credit line with MBNA (so it would be an instant approval), in the past they would always waiver transfer fees on there promotional rates.

So did you receive this offer on an MBNA Line of Credit or a regular credit card?