MBNA Rewards is MBNA’s own loyalty program. The currency is called MBNA Rewards points. Once you confirm that points earned on spend from non-Alaska cobranded cards cannot transfer to Alaska Mileage Plan, you need a regular plan for ordinary MBNA points. This article walks through the program.
Earning
Earning is straightforward. The only way in is credit-card spend. These two cards earn the points:
MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard
Detailed blog post
Annual fee $120
5x on dining, groceries, digital media, memberships, and utilities, with a $25,000 annual cap per category
On your birthday, a 10% bonus on the points you earned the previous year, capped at 15,000 points
MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus Mastercard
Detailed blog post
Annual fee $0
2x on dining, groceries, digital media, memberships, and utilities, with a $10,000 annual cap per category
On your birthday, a 10% bonus on the points you earned the previous year, capped at 10,000 points
Redeeming
Redemptions are equally simple. Depending on the method, the value sits between 0.5 and 1 cpp.
The easiest option is cash back. The best value is travel.
1. Cash back
Log into your MBNA Rewards account, click the Cash back icon, and you will see a few cash-out options:
The cash-out rate depends on which card you use:
World Elite: 12,000 points for $100, or 0.83 cpp
Platinum Plus: 20,000 points for $100, or 0.5 cpp
2. Travel
Click the Travel icon to open the travel-redemption page.
You can book several kinds of travel: flights, hotels, car rentals, cruises, and more.
I compared cash airfares on MBNA Travel with Google Flights. The prices matched, so a points booking comes out to 1 cpp.
⚠️ A few things to keep in mind:
- No blackout or embargo dates
- You can book with points plus cash, so even a small balance is easy to use
- You can price-match, but only before you book. After the booking is complete, you cannot match another site’s price.
3. Gift cards
Click the Shop icon to open gift cards and merchandise.
Gift cards fall into dining and entertainment, retail, and travel and fuel. Measured against face value, a few options come close to 1 cpp.
Here are some gift cards. At 1 cpp, a $100 card would cost 10,000 points.
| Merchant | Face value | Points required |
|---|---|---|
| Canada Xbox | $100 | 9530 |
| H & M | $100 | 9735 |
| Hudson’s Bay | $100 | 9835 |
| Saks Fifth Avenue | $100 | 9835 |
| Indigo | $100 | 9935 |
| Airbnb | $100 | 10020 |
| Cineplex | $100 | 10040 |
| ebay | $100 | 10055 |
| Uber | $100 | 10140 |
| Esso, Mobil | $100 | 10160 |
| Walmart | $100 | 10235 |
| Amazon | $100 | 10315 |
4. Merchandise
Still under the Shop icon, scroll down and click shop now.
Plenty of items are available. Whether they are worth it is another question. A quick look at the electronics I recognize suggests they are not.
Common questions
- Points do not expire
As long as the credit card stays open, the points stay
- You cannot transfer them to someone else
