In its fight to stay competitive with Citigroup and the newly merged J.P. Morgan Chase and Bank One, credit-card powerhouse MBNA clinched its own first-of-a-kind deal. The Wilmington (Del.) company will be the first bank to issue American Express cards, thanks in part to a court ruling against MasterCard and Visa. Many of MBNA's cards are already distributed through 5,100 professional, athletic, and university affinity programs worldwide. It struck more than 380 new such affiliations last year, boosting new accounts by 10.7 million and earnings by 32%.