Does Anyone Here 'play The Credit Cards'

[FrozenOut]

I'm thinking about giving this a go, it's an easy way to make free money!

Or is it? Anyone ever done it? Are there pitfalls etc?

Anything that I can do to make extra money for my housing deposit is worth looking at I think!

[FenceDancer]

I'm thinking about giving this a go, it's an easy way to make free money!

Or is it?  Anyone ever done it?  Are there pitfalls etc? 

Anything that I can do to make extra money for my housing deposit is worth looking at I think!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I dont believe you can actually 'make' money out of it, simply reduce the money you are paying out on the debt you have.

0% deals are for:-

a. very rarely for Purchases, and to make money you would have to sell them at the same price you bought them or above, very hard.

b. Transfered balances, which means you simply stop paying out the high interest rate on your other cards.

I may be wrong but I dont think you can get such deals on cash advances, thus allowing you to put the money in a building society for the six months make the interest and pay off the card.

Credit card companies are not in business ultimately to make you money.

[AteMoose]

I got an egg card to do it but never got round to it. Egg allow you to do balance transfers from a savings account, so you end up with 6k or so in a savings account, 6k on your egg card, when you aproach the end of your egg period transfer the balance onto another card

[The Masked Tulip]

Yes, I do this.

I bought a leather suite for £1,700 last July and purchased it on a Sainsburys 0% deal for nine months which, coincidentally, ran out this month.

In February, aware that the Halifax have a 0% deal, I rang them up and said that I wanted to cancel my Halifax card, which I have had with them for decades, as I thought it was unfair new customers got 0% whilst I got charged something like 18 or 19%. My local branch had told me, more or less, to get lost when I approached them...

On the phone was a different matter and they changed me to the 0% deal no problem. This now runs until September and all I did was transfer my balance from Sainsburys to Halifax so my money is earning interest in the bank whilst I take advantage of the 0% deal.

About 18 months ago some of the cards were not only offering 0% deals but offering people loans of up to tens of thousands. Some lucky people realised the potential of this and, as their credit allowed it, they took out loans on 0% cards for X thousand, put the money in the bank to earn them interest and then paid the lump sum back at the end of the 0% deal - money for nothing! I think all lenders have now stopped these 'deals'.

I would suggest you check out www.moneysavingexpert.com for info on this.

[FrozenOut]

I got an egg card to do it but never got round to it.  Egg allow you to do balance transfers from a savings account, so you end up with 6k or so in a savings account, 6k on your egg card, when you aproach the end of your egg period transfer the balance onto another card

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Let me explain how it works .....( or how I understand it )

You go out and get a 0% balance transfer credit card deal.

When you know your credit limit, you immediatly do a 'balance transfer' to the maximum credit limit on your card.

However you give them your current account details, the money is deposited to your account, you then move it to a high rate instant access account ( ING Direct for example )

You then earn 5% on the money, whilst in turn repaying the minimum amount on the card each month.

When the special 0% deal is about to end, you repay the remaining balance on the card from the money originally deposited in your account ( by moving it from your savings back to your current account and then sending them the payment ) close the credit card account and then move on to another new deal and start again.

The key to this is to request a BALANCE TRANSFER in effect doing it this way means you take a loan on 0% stuffing the money in to a high interest account and making money on the loan before returning it at the end of the interest free period.

[rockdoctor]

But £10,000 invested for one year gives you £295 (5% interest, 41% tax).

Is it really worth all the effort?

[FrozenOut]

Exactly is it worth it? 5 minutes of your time to fill out the form and one phone call?

In return you get free money!

[walker127]

But £10,000 invested for one year gives you £295 (5% interest, 41% tax).

Is it really worth all the effort?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Comments like this just make me realise how out of touch people in Britain are with the rest of the world.

A checkout girl in 7-eleven in Thailand would have to work over 3 months to earn that kind of money.

[tone73]

I bought £7000 of premium bonds a year ago this way..

I'm about £500 better off now...Definitely worth it!

[Hitman]

I did the same I got an MBNA card at 0% for 9 months, bought £9000 of premuim bonds, Ive made around £400 in prizes in that time, and will now transfer the balance to virgins 0% deal for another nine months. Min payment is £5 per month with MBNA, and they transfer funds into your current account for a fee of £25. As long as you make the money work for you, and don't blow it on expensive luxurys its a nice way to generate some extra cash.

[Bluelady]

Let me explain how it works .....( or how I understand it )

You go out and get a 0% balance transfer credit card deal.

When you know your credit limit, you immediatly do a 'balance transfer' to the maximum credit limit on your card.

However you give them your current account details, the money is deposited to your account, you then move it to a high rate instant access account ( ING Direct for example )

You then earn 5% on the money, whilst in turn repaying the minimum amount on the card each month.

When the special 0% deal is about to end, you repay the remaining balance on the card from the money originally deposited in your account ( by moving it from your savings back to your current account and then sending them the payment ) close the credit card account and then move on to another new deal and start again.

The key to this is to request a BALANCE TRANSFER in effect doing it this way means you take a loan on 0% stuffing the money in to a high interest account and making money on the loan before returning it at the end of the interest free period.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Precisely. A couple of other things. Only Egg and MBNA cards allow you to make transfers to your current account so you need one of those to start with and you can use them as routing cards as and when you get others.

You must make the minimum payments on time or you lose your 0% deal immediately and never, ever spend anything on the card, you need a second one for your day to day spending.

Good luck, it's well worth it.

[Bluelady]

But £10,000 invested for one year gives you £295 (5% interest, 41% tax).

Is it really worth all the effort?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It's more if you're not a higher rate tax payer - how can around £300 or more not be worth it?

[AteMoose]

You must make the minimum payments on time

The miniumum payments are still quite large which put me off doing this

[look to the past]

My brother has done / is doing this

I think he is on his 4 th card

He has invested at least £8000 in the stock market

Although I do not know if he has made much money

there are no pitfalls

as long as you keep on top of it

and can afford any risk

[Bluelady]

The miniumum payments are still quite large which put me off doing this

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

So make them from the money in the savings account - they're 3% of the total at the most, so you're still making money.

[jjay]

The miniumum payments are still quite large which put me off doing this

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Direct debit?

Some savings accounts have them.

[Oxfordite]

If you change your credit card every six months, you'll have a credit check done on you each time. Credit checks reduce to your chances of getting a mortgage and I assume most people on this forum will be FTBers in the next 2years+. I would have changed my credit card several times if it wasn't for this reason.

Best card to have is cash back cards such as Amex blue. You get £100 a year for spending £10,000 as long as you pay back each month.

[Cityfool]

If you change your credit card every six months, you'll have a credit check done on you each time.  Credit checks reduce to your chances of getting a mortgage and I assume most people on this forum will be FTBers in the next 2years+.  I would have changed my credit card several times if it wasn't for this reason.

Best card to have is cash back cards such as Amex blue. You get £100 a year for spending £10,000 as long as you pay back each month.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Its not quite as simple as that. Some activity on your credit record (i.e. checks) is actually good for your credit rating. Having too little on your file is considered as bad (or almost as bad) as having too much.

[bottletop]

My brother has done / is doing this

I think he is on his 4 th card

He has invested at least £8000 in the stock market

Although I do not know if he has made much money

there are no pitfalls

as long as you keep on top of it

and can afford any risk

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

never gamble with other people's money is a sound bit of advice he should heed.

I did the egg 6month 0% deal...just stuck it in an online saver paying the interest monthy. Got about £20 per month for 6 months in exchange for 10 minutes form filling and a phone call.

[FrozenOut]

never gamble with other people's money is a sound bit of advice he should heed.

I did the egg 6month 0% deal...just stuck it in an online saver paying the interest monthy. Got about £20 per month for 6 months in exchange for 10 minutes form filling and a phone call.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The incentive for me is that whatever I get on the card will go with the £40k I have in ING, so instead of getting 5% on £40k I will get 5% on say £45k if I take £5k on a 0% deal.

And that's minus of course, the amount I regularly save (£1000-1500) a month.

[muppet1]

I have a Capital One card with a 15k limit.

They keep sending me cheques 9books of 10) which have no handling fee and are also interest free for the normal 56ish days.

I pay into current account and then to ING. After the 56 days are up I pay off the CC balance

[FrozenOut]

I have a Capital One card with a 15k limit.

They keep sending me cheques 9books of 10) which have no handling fee and are also interest free for the normal 56ish days.

I pay into current account and then to ING. After the 56 days are up I pay off the CC balance

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Is it cheeky to ask how much you are making on that ?

[urban_hymn]

Some activity on your credit record (i.e. checks) is actually good for your credit rating.  Having too little on your file is considered as bad (or almost as bad) as having too much.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Too right! A couple of years ago I got turned down for a T Mobile phone contract at the credit check stage.

I was amazed, as I have paid every bill I ever received in my life. So I sent off to Equifax and Experian for my credit files. There was nothing on them - totally blank. Which is correct as I have never had any credit.

T Mobile refused to discuss my "lack of a bad credit record" so I had to stick with an inferior Orange plan :angry:

[Sledgehead]

"Does Anyone Here 'play The Credit Cards'"

You hum it and I'll sing along.

But seriously, a v bright girl called statscat who used to hang out here did some stoozing and had a v large sum on deposit which she had borrowed on plastic for zilch interest. I don't believe it is possible to do this anymore however. Also, anyone who borrows money in this way to invest in the stock market has to be a psycho: I say this from the perspective of a full-time index trader.

[MarkG]

I was amazed, as I have paid every bill I ever received in my life.

Last time I applied for a bank loan I got turned down due to 'mis-handling my account': despite the fact that I was only looking to borrow 10% of my annual income to buy a cheap car after returning from some time abroad and getting a new job, and after paying every bill all my life (admittedly occasionally a few days later).

I'm always amused at how they now keep trying to convince me to take out new loans now that I have over 100k stashed away, and remind them that last time I needed money they said I was a bad credit risk .