Each month I pay my HELOC $15k using MBNA billpay and then pay back soon. It is like a free loan. So I do not feel strange if MBNA closes my account someday in recent future.

mbna would not be liable for your drop in FICO. as long as they provide accurate data about closed account, the fact some third party company compiles a report, yet another company creates a score, that yet other entites may use in credit decisions does not make MBNA liable to OP.

MBNA has been trying many novel ways to increase account profitability (insituting annual fees, elminiating extended warranty coverage, etc). It makes perfect sense they are trying to kill off those they deem to be "abusing" the billpay feature , who are not ccruing any interest, not making any purchases (hence no merchant fees) etc.

This is enough reason FOR ME o start making purchases on my MBNA cards used for billpay.

everyone gets a cut, the CC processor, the CC issuer, etc

Yes, "profitability" is the key. Large sum of money getting transferred back and forth is not profit. Big money purchases are. It is all business. In addition, there is a fine line of taking advantage of BillPay features and abuse. If MBNA finds many abuses (according their own definition) and there are no profitability to carry this on, they will simply terminate this feature.

OP: I do not think that you have a case, just let it go. JMHO.

I am glad someone finally said something about merchant fees. That is the reason it was cancelled. You were basically using BillPay in a manor that it was not intended to be used when started. I predict all the free rides will end very soon. MBNA will send an updated Consumer Agreement where it will state that credit card payoffs will be treated as a transfer. Everyone will have no choice but to agree or they will cancel your privileges.

Based by your username, I would assume that you are a minority.

In the words of Homer Simpson - “Play the race card. PLAY IT!!!”

DisciplineHedge said:Is this "float game" that significant a savings to some people? It is only 20 days, and at 4% that comes out to roughly $22. So to save that $22, you just got $60,000 of credit withdrawn. Obviously you didn't know that this would happen, but in retrospect was it worth it?

Also, plenty of banks have free BillPay.

This is $22/month = $264/year. Not insignificant.

siliconbeaver said:your and OP's stories let me a little nervous. lilely it will hit and hurt many FWers soon if major CC companies all start doing so.
I didn't own any MBNA CC until I got Schwab GC and ipod shuffle. But I have been using Chase, Citi, GM... and did lots Free BT among accounts. I am thinking to buy more i-bonds this month. jmm, have to re-thinkiit over.

The problem the OP had with MBNA is that he more or less used there bill pay to extend out his free grace period. I dont think MBNA would had cares if you used there bill pay with the intent was created for. I am sure OP did bill pay to other credit cards only and not to merchants who did not take credit cards. Lets be honest MBNA intent when they created there bill pay was not for people to transfer there balance from all other credit cards for free thus gaining an an interest free loan.

Credit card company dont care if you charge $100K and pay it in full as they get some revenue from the merchant which covers the free float they are giving you. But there billpay generates no fee's for them so basically they are lending you money for free.

I am almost willing to bet if you used MBNA billpay to pay your electric bill every month and then paid you bill in full they would not have canceled your cards. They canceled them cause you choose try to stick it to man and exploit MBNA bill pay system to your benfit.

nhoang said:dweick said:A couple of questions OP:

1) Were you paying off your balances each month in whole or in part with balance transfers from other credit cards?

2) What percentage of your MBNA credit lines were you hitting when you were running those $10K/mo bill pays thru?

3) Would you characterize the income you disclosed to MBNA when you applied for your cards being sufficient to suggest that $10K/mo of credit card payments was reasonable?

Hoping to learn something about what MBNA was triggering off from your responses.

Thanks


I paid my balances off in whole directly from my checking account. My total credit line from the two MBNA cards were 60000.00 (after 8 years of perfect usages --- no late payment, no balance carried). I would think that the income I disclosed to MBNA were reasonable to carry a $10K/month, but I think they don't really care about my income as the cards are closed, not adjusted. It's obvious that the reason they cancelled the accounts were that they weren't profitable. I am just not happy with the approach that they took. Maybe it's a hint at their current financial position....hmmm

Thanks for the answers but could you clarify #3? I'm curious if your stated income was reasonable to revolve $10K of new charges ($120K/yr) thru your account, not whether a $10K balance at any point in time was reasonable.

I suspect that MBNA might have thought that you were endlessly recirculating the same $10K balance around the system, in essence a perpetual 0% balance. I'm not saying that's what you were doing, but if you had a stated income of (let's say) $100K but were claiming to pay credit card balances of $10K/month ($120K/yr) thru your two MBNA accounts that's might raise a few red flags.

i tend to agree with Dolmar's statement that the MBNA billpay feature was not designed to extend grace periods - no CC issuer wants to extend borrowers free grace periods. I also agree with Dweick tha billpay feature is designed to pay other CC bills, not just merchants who dont take CC payments.

the billpay feature allows the ease and convenience of billpay (not writing out multiple checks,etc) but the intent of MBNA is to present new ways for people to generate $$ for MBNA, and their hope is by moving the baances to MBNA, you will CARRY A BALANCE with MBNA ,and pay MBNA interest on the balance. Those people who generate no money for MBNA are not desirable.

This all being said, I ve predicted in many threads the MBNA bilpay feature will be eliminated or dramatically changed once thir merger with BofA is complete...