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Email this8:14 am
July 21, 2009
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Djino,
I am a bit uneasy as I don't believe the details (eg food/gas merchants, the 3% 1%, the introductory 5% etc) of this Smart Cash card are shown on MBNAs website.
I take it you got this info by regular mail as you were an existing MBNA card holder?
As one who is waiting for this card and having no prior MBNA account will I get these details upon receipt of the card in the mail?
10:32 am
thanks for the fast reply!
Just got off the phone with them and they said they have to do a credit check and after that I should get the card in 2 weeks, got the reference number and all. I was surprised because they didn't ask if i was an existing member, if I was a student or anything like that... lets hope my credit report isn't bad, so I can see this card soon!!
Thanks Again!
10:35 am
copperbeech said:
Djino,
I am a bit uneasy as I don't believe the details (eg food/gas merchants, the 3% 1%, the introductory 5% etc) of this Smart Cash card are shown on MBNAs website.
I take it you got this info by regular mail as you were an existing MBNA card holder?
As one who is waiting for this card and having no prior MBNA account will I get these details upon receipt of the card in the mail?
I just got off the phone after applying for the Smart Cash card and the lady confirmed all these details for me. Also the 1.99% AIR for first 10 months and 13.99% thereafter.
10:50 am
I totally agree that this CARD is one of the best Cashback Cards.
I have a miles card, but this one looks interesting.
But I cannot stop wondering, where they earn their money from !
The interchange is of course lesser than the 3% cashback they are giving for the Gas and groceries. This card also has no annual fee ...
This means that the only way they will make money is
1) People use this card for all their purchases
2) People carry huge balances
All of you who own this card, do you use it for every purchase you make or simply for Gas and Groceries ?
11:01 am
July 21, 2009
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PunPryde said:
I just got off the phone after applying for the Smart Cash card and the lady confirmed all these details for me.
I want it in writing.
10:23 pm
November 26, 2008
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You might think most people don't carry outstanding balances because your sample here of the little survey you would get by asking to the people here: "Do you carry a balance?" would probably give you a 95% no proportion. That's why we are here, on these forums. Because we care about finances, placements and rewards so we won't spit on our rewards by handing it back under interests on balances at the end of the month.
But from population-based statistics over a real population-wide survey, I heard the number of consumers who always kept a balance was around 60 to 70%. I couldn't believe it from what I had seen all my life about how my mom and my sister took care of their finances I thought everybody was doing so. However, when I started working at McDonald's when I was 17, I swear, EVERY EMPLOYEE OF MY AGE (about 20) had depts and loaded Studen Visa card. They had no money in their bank accounts and were waiting for their paychecks to spend for clothes, drugs, alcohol, etc... I, on my side, kept my $20,000 5 years GIC secret and shat my mouth. My brother would be in the depts if my mom wasn't taking care of his budget and finances. His ex-wife was strongly in the depts, his last 2 girlfriends from last 2 years were too. The husband of my sister has his Mastercard and Visa cards loaded and couldn't even get to pay the interest rates each month before he started going out with my sister.
FIANANCIAL INSTITUTION EARN BILLIONS IN INTERESTS PER YEAR. They handout back million? Dozen of millions at the most?
The day you become free is the day you work for fun.
12:07 pm
December 12, 2008
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copperbeech said:
Djino,
I am a bit uneasy as I don't believe the details (eg food/gas merchants, the 3% 1%, the introductory 5% etc) of this Smart Cash card are shown on MBNAs website.
I take it you got this info by regular mail as you were an existing MBNA card holder?
As one who is waiting for this card and having no prior MBNA account will I get these details upon receipt of the card in the mail?
Prior to applying for Smart Cash Card, I recieved the info from another Online Forum. The only info received about it is when receiving the card. I've been using this card now for 3 months and everything is as I've described in this thread. I've already received my first $50 Cashback cheque. My 3rd statement was printed yesterday which also shows I've accumulated more than $50 in Cashback, so I will expect another cheque within 2-3 weeks. Other than what has already been mentioned in this thread, I'm not sure how else your mind will be at ease.
djino
"Goodluck"
12:09 pm
December 12, 2008
Offline
SMS said:
I totally agree that this CARD is one of the best Cashback Cards.
I have a miles card, but this one looks interesting.But I cannot stop wondering, where they earn their money from !
The interchange is of course lesser than the 3% cashback they are giving for the Gas and groceries. This card also has no annual fee ...
This means that the only way they will make money is
1) People use this card for all their purchases2) People carry huge balances
All of you who own this card, do you use it for every purchase you make or simply for Gas and Groceries ?
I use it for 95% of my purchases/bill payments (the other 5% are places that dont take credit card as payment/bill purchase).
With any credit card you should never carry a balance and the reason is obvious. Nor should you even use this for the 1.99% 10 Month Balance Transfer as any payments made to the Card go towards the lower interest rate balances, leaving your purchases to carry 13.99% until paid in full.
As for using this card in conjunction with another Cashback card: If you were luckly enough to apply for the 2% AMEX (No Annual fee) when it was available years ago (its now grandfathered), It would be best to use Smart Cash Card for Gas/Groceries, and 2% AMEX for non-Gas/Groceries. There is also the Scotia Scene Visa thats 2% ($39 Annual Fee). I havne't done any calculations, but I think you'd have to spend at least $30,000+ annually for you to come out ahead of Smart Cash Card. Citi Petro Mastercard has their save 2cents/litre at all Petro Canada (No Annual Fee). The only way Citi Petro is better is if Petro Canada has gas prices below 65 cents/litre. The only other card I believe that might beat the 1% on non-gas/groceries is the PCF Mastercard. yes it is 1% back, but this 1% is a bit better than Smart Cash Card 1% as I believe MBNA rounds down your Cash back dollars on each purchase (PCF does not).
But like I said above, I use this card for all my credit card purchases as I dont wanna have to deal with switching credit cards for different purchases.
djino
3:18 pm
July 21, 2009
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djino said:
copperbeech said:
Called in today and was able to give the necessary info quite quickly. Hopefully the 2 weeks will be 2 weeks max.
Thanks for the info.
Unfortunately, MBNA's customer service isn't the best. They told you 2 weeks, they said the same to me, but it took 1 day less a month for me to receive mine.
"Goodluck"
Then I feel fortunate as 8 days after calling in the card is in my mailbox. I will call in to activate.
6:42 pm
July 21, 2009
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djino said:
"Merchant code 5411; Grocery Stores"
I see that 'my' grocery store "Garden Basket" is not on this list.
How does one easily obtain a list of 5411 merchants?
7:18 pm
December 12, 2008
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copperbeech said:
djino said:
"Merchant code 5411; Grocery Stores"
I see that 'my' grocery store "Garden Basket" is not on this list.
How does one easily obtain a list of 5411 merchants?
Good question.
Perhaps contacting the merchant themselves (lol, though I'd imagine most grocery store clerks would have no idea).
I dont think MBNA can would be able to find out either.
Your best bet is to just make a purchase there and when you recieve your next statement, make your own personal calculation of all your grocery store purchases to find out if it equals the MBNA dollars obtained.
djino
"Maybe Mastercard themselves would know, *shrugs*
7:23 pm
July 21, 2009
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Djino, given that MBNA doesnt give out a comprehensive list of 5411 merchants do I take it that the merchant list that you were kind enough to post may not be complete?
8:28 pm
Is there a current points balance when I login? Can't seem to find it... Or only shows up on statements? Never really understood why they send out cheques instead of just credit on the next billing cycle.
8:35 am
December 12, 2008
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copperbeech said:
Djino, given that MBNA doesnt give out a comprehensive list of 5411 merchants do I take it that the merchant list that you were kind enough to post may not be complete?
Very possible
8:36 am
December 12, 2008
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jacks said:
Is there a current points balance when I login? Can't seem to find it... Or only shows up on statements? Never really understood why they send out cheques instead of just credit on the next billing cycle.
I believe its because Cheques are mailed out by a different company than MBNA but come with a letter from MBNA stating congradulations are receiving your cashback cheque, etc, etc.
djino
10:46 pm
Just got my second statement from MBNA and did a comparison to their calculation of the MBNA dollars. They were low by $9 so I called in. The first person I talked to said that I only get 3% on groceries even during the promo period which I said was wrong but he wouldn't really help me after that. So I checked to make sure groceries are supposed to be 5% during the promo (which they are!) and called back. This time I got a woman to help and she put me on hold for several minutes while she did the calculation herself. She came up to the same total as me. So their automated system is not accurate and I highly encourage everyone to check their own statements to see if MBNA is scamming you. Has anyone else had this happen?
Kent
11:32 am
Kent Akgungor said:
Just got my second statement from MBNA and did a comparison to their calculation of the MBNA dollars. They were low by $9 so I called in. The first person I talked to said that I only get 3% on groceries even during the promo period which I said was wrong but he wouldn't really help me after that. So I checked to make sure groceries are supposed to be 5% during the promo (which they are!) and called back. This time I got a woman to help and she put me on hold for several minutes while she did the calculation herself. She came up to the same total as me. So their automated system is not accurate and I highly encourage everyone to check their own statements to see if MBNA is scamming you. Has anyone else had this happen?
Kent
Thanks for the info, I'll double check this as soon as I get home.
12:21 pm
For my first month's statement, they were low by about $5. I phoned them and they said that they would check into it and correct it on my next month's statement. My next month's statement was high by about $5, so it looks like they fixed the problem. Given this, though, it would definitely be wise to check each monthly statement.
12:51 pm
July 21, 2009
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Kent Akgungor said:
Just got my second statement from MBNA and did a comparison to their calculation of the MBNA dollars. They were low by $9 so I called in.
Kent
Just curious as to how long, how involved it is to determine MBNA dollars? I await my first statement.
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