ILikeDollars said:Called MBNA and received an additional $5k after talking to a rep, bringing me to $24k total exposure with them. He also suggested that I reallocate lines as necessary to take advantage of different promos. I was surprised to hear him actually recommend this strategy, since you'd think MBNA would discourage "gaming the system".What does the rep care? He's probably making $9 an hour and driving an '89 corolla.

ILikeDollars said:Called MBNA and received an additional $5k after talking to a rep, bringing me to $24k total exposure with them. He also suggested that I reallocate lines as necessary to take advantage of different promos. I was surprised to hear him actually recommend this strategy, since you'd think MBNA would discourage "gaming the system".

Wow, MBNA has been really good to me. Let me summarize it all here:

Initial Credit Lines:
Motley Fool $11300
college-branded $4100

After App-O-Rama:
Motley Fool $6300
college-branded $4100
Fidelity 529 $5000
NCL $4000

After 1st call to credit analyst (several days ago, quoted above):
Motley Fool $6300
college-branded $4100
Fidelity 529 $5000
NCL $9000

Immediately made a purchase of $~8500 on the NCL card (since that's where the monthly earnings cap)

After 2nd call to credit analyst (today):
There was a "0% until 4-07 w/ $75 fee" offer on the college-branded card. I could tell that the rep really wanted to get the bonus for the BT. She initially offered just to reallocate other lines, but I got her to also add an extra $6000.
Motley Fool $500
college-branded $20000
Fidelity 529 $500
NCL $9000

After 3rd call to credit analyst (1/2 hour after previous one)
This call's original intended purpose was just to reallocate $500 from the NCL card to the Fidelity. However, the rep offered instead to increase the line outright to $10,000. I decided to do a BT to reward her with the bonus, since it was 1.9% fpr 12 months w/ $75 fee and I was considering it anyway. She also fawned all over me, saying they really appreciate how incredibly well I've managed my credit, if there's anything else they can do for me, etc etc etc. We'll see if that tone changes once they realize that I've nearly maxed out my $40k of credit with them.
Motley Fool $500
college-branded $20000
Fidelity 529 $10000
NCL $9000

Other thing I found out from chatting with the reps:
The current plan is for Bank of America cards to be absorbed into the MBNA system. Once the merger is finally complete, this will allow reallocation between current BofA and MBNA cards (she indicated that like anything else, this policy could always change). This is comforting, since I was worried I wouldn't be able to reallocate in the future (I'd rather not have my highest line on my crappy college card).

And what is the NCL card to which you are referring?

hiphiphooray said:What kind of bonus do the reps get for having somebody do a BT?

Don't know what kind of bonus they get. When she was pushing me to do the BT, I asked "Do you get a bonus if I do the balance transfer with you?" She sheepishly replied "yes". I get the impression that the size of the BT has an effect on the size of the bonus, although I have no way of knowing if it is a straight percentage or a tiered scale. Perhaps someone else who wants to transfer a balance with MBNA can call to talk to a credit analyst (not just a regular CSR) and try to bribe them with a BT to reveal the specifics of their bonus structure.

Also, did you just do a BT as a check to yourself, or did you pay off another card in hopes of creating a credit balance and requesting a refund check on the other card?

I had them ACH it to my checking account. But why does that matter?

hiphiphooray said:ILikeDollars said:I had them ACH it to my checking account. But why does that matter?

I didn't know you could do that. How do you make sure they don't treat that as a cash advance instead?

MBNA has been offering ACH to checking on BTs for years. They do not treat it as a cash advance. If you want to be sure, ask when you call them how they will treat it.

adwross said:discover 0% for life (if still available?) -----APPROVED $10000 (after reallocating $6000 from other card)

I thought Discover did not allow reallocation.

When they called for additional info before approving the app, I informed the account manager that I would really like as high of a line as possible, and that if it was necessary, she could reduce the line on my other card to allow that. She was noncommittal, said I'd hear back from them 7-10 business days, etc. Later, checked online and saw the limit decreased to $8k on the old card. Received new card with $10k limit a few days later.

ILikeDollars said:mhesidence said:ILikeDollars said:
The Bull Rider's Cash Rewards Card has no fees on BT, unlike the regular cash rewards card. I could have also gone with the "Softball" cobranded card (same deal), but I thought a Bull Riders card was too hilarious to pass up.


No sure about the "no fee" The page you link says "0.0% balance transfer Fee for the first 6 months". 0% Fee makes no sense, probably a typo and should be 0.0% APY. The link to the terms and conditions on the same page has BT fee of 3% $5 min. doesn't say anything about a max, so probably uncapped.

I considered the possibilty that it may be a typo, but I figure worst case scenario, I'll argue with them and fax them a copy of the page (might work).

Update: the webpage is correct. There was no fee for my BT. Didn't need to argue with them or anything.