AOPA / MBNA credit card problems

Hello,

This message is to serve two purposes: 1) to warn people about the business
practices of MBNA bank (who provides credit card services to AOPA "aircraft
owners and pilots association" customers), and 2) to find out if others have had
as much trouble as me.

Recently, I've found the payment period on my account significantly reduced, and
the statements mailed late, leaving me with little or no time each month to pay
the bill. As an example, my last bill, dated "5-2-05", arrived on 5-18-05, and
was due 5-23-05. As the service center for MBNA is on the opposite coast from
me, it's nearly impossible to make the payment on time. This appears to me to be
a deliberate attempt by MBNA to cause a missed payment, resulting in penalties
and interest.

My father, who has an identical account, has a much larger payment period. His
closing date is one day BEFORE mine, and his payment due date is five days AFTER
mine. The difference is, the bulk of the airplane expenses go on my account, and
my account usually has a much higher balance (i.e. more interest and penalty to
MBNA if the payment is missed)

I spoke with MBNA customer support, and their answer was that they're shortening
everyone's due date, and they just haven't caught up with him yet. This has
happened to me 3 months in a row (and never to him), so their "database update"
must be very slow indeed.

I'm going to be composing a letter to AOPA, letting them know of my
difficulties, and suggesting that they switch providers, dumping MBNA for a more
reputable company. I'm also considering canceling the card, and probably would
have already were it not for the FBO rebate program (which seems to have plenty
of its own problems, but that's another story...)

My intent isn't to sit here and whine about the credit card company. I certainly
believe in taking responsibility for my own finances. I just want to be able to
specify in my letter to AOPA whether this MBNA crap is an isolated incident that
has only happened to me, or something that many people have experienced.