Stoozing - Next step?

PoorDave

Right then.

I now have a balance of approx £3k on my Mint CC, and the cash stashed in my 5.15% A&L online saver.

Now my thinking is to get another 0% BT card (not necessarily a SBT one this time), and transfer the £3k debt from Mint to here. I think i'm right so far. This will mean i can write another Mint cheque for approx £3k, and stash that away too etc.

I am now looking at the charitycard type, which seem to offer 0% BTs for nine months, with no fees.

Has anyone else used these, and did they do the trick/give good limits/not cause your life to be more difficult than necessary?

I am particularly looking at NSPCC, which seem to be the plantinum type.

I suppose since they have 05 on purchases too i could use one for a general spending slow stooze.

Any thoughts? Am i on the right track?

Geoffrey_Coan

Hi Dave,

Sounds like you are on the right track.

I'm not familiar with Mint as I use my Egg card to SBT the positive balance (as transferred from my 0%) to my current account, but the principles are the same.

The main thing is to make sure you are aware of any fees throughout the process as they can seriously erode your stooz profit. So before you get your new 0% card check if it charges a fee for balance transfers (some of them are introducing 2% fee - sometimes this is capped at say £50 and sometimes it is limitless) and also check that Mint doesn;t charge you a fee for writing a cheque (a lot of the card companies treat credit card cheques as cash advances and charge a handling fee as a result).

I've used NSPCC in the past and was lucky enough to get a £12k credit limit. Remember that you can always ask for a higher card limit as soon as you get the card - the worst is they can say no.

Right now I've got just over £23,000 borrowed on three different 0% cards - earning a very nice £1100 profit per year.

Good luck with Stoozing, it's very easy money as long as you stay organised and always pay off the balances on time.

Geoffrey

PoorDave

Geoffrey_Coan wrote:

Hi Dave,

Sounds like you are on the right track.

I'm not familiar with Mint as I use my Egg card to SBT the positive balance (as transferred from my 0%) to my current account, but the principles are the same.

The main thing is to make sure you are aware of any fees throughout the process as they can seriously erode your stooz profit. So before you get your new 0% card check if it charges a fee for balance transfers (some of them are introducing 2% fee - sometimes this is capped at say £50 and sometimes it is limitless) and also check that Mint doesn;t charge you a fee for writing a cheque (a lot of the card companies treat credit card cheques as cash advances and charge a handling fee as a result).

I've used NSPCC in the past and was lucky enough to get a £12k credit limit. Remember that you can always ask for a higher card limit as soon as you get the card - the worst is they can say no.

Right now I've got just over £23,000 borrowed on three different 0% cards - earning a very nice £1100 profit per year.

Good luck with Stoozing, it's very easy money as long as you stay organised and always pay off the balances on time.

Geoffrey

Thanks for the reply.

With the Mint card your route to SBT is simply via a cheque for which you're charged £49. I was given a £2.5k limit at first, and did what you said, but they claimed i could only have £3k since i'd only just got the card, but 500 extra is better than nothing for a quick phone call.

My plan is hopefully to take the card (nearly) up the the £3k limit, then BT to another 0% on BT's card as many times as i can before the 0% runs out on the Mint card, at which time i suppose i ditch it (either cancel or just stop using) in favour of one of the other SBT routes, until i am able to be a new customer in Mint's eyes again.

That profit is a nice one - i agree!

YorkshireBoy

PoorDave wrote:

Now my thinking is to get another 0% BT card (not necessarily a SBT one this time), and transfer the £3k debt from Mint to here. I think i'm right so far. This will mean i can write another Mint cheque for approx £3k, and stash that away too etc.

If this is an old card, you should be able to write the cheque fee-free. However, if you got your card this year, the SBT will cost you £49 I believe.

I am now looking at the charitycard type, which seem to offer 0% BTs for nine months, with no fees.

Has anyone else used these, and did they do the trick/give good limits/not cause your life to be more difficult than necessary?

The credit card forum has a post (or several?) detailing problems with the "do they/don't they charge a fee" debate. To me, the T&C's are very clear - there is NO fee during the introductory period.

I suppose since they have 05 on purchases too i could use one for a general spending slow stooze.

Use it to BT from Mint, but then simply spend your minimum payments to keep the stooz pot topped up.

Any thoughts?

I think I've seen another of your posts where you've listed your other cards. You seem to have a lot of unused credit on more than one card. This may present problems for you, if they're reported to the CRA's, because they will affect the limits you are given on new applications. If you can reduce your available credit, you will get higher limits and be able to take advantage of capped BT fees - while they still exist!

PoorDave

YorkshireBoy wrote:

If this is an old card, you should be able to write the cheque fee-free. However, if you got your card this year, the SBT will cost you £49 I believe.

Yes, it did.

YorkshireBoy wrote:

The credit card forum has a post (or several?) detailing problems with the "do they/don't they charge a fee" debate. To me, the T&C's are very clear - there is NO fee during the introductory period.

This was my feeling, from reading their summary box

YorkshireBoy wrote:

Use it to BT from Mint, but then simply spend your minimum payments to keep the stooz pot topped up.

Do you mean take min payments from general spending money, rather than from the stooz pot?

YorkshireBoy wrote:

I think I've seen another of your posts where you've listed your other cards. You seem to have a lot of unused credit on more than one card. This may present problems for you, if they're reported to the CRA's, because they will affect the limits you are given on new applications. If you can reduce your available credit, you will get higher limits and be able to take advantage of capped BT fees - while they still exist!

I currently have:

the Mint card mentioned (2974 of 3000)
Morgan Stanley Plt (0 of 5000) general spending card that had/has 2% cashback taken out before i picked up stoozing
I also had a 8800 (cleared each month) Natwest CC from the "old days" (pre-MSE), which i have now cancelled, and received cancellation notice in writing. Not sure what effect this last one has on my credit rating, since i believe cancellations can take an age to fully go through the process.

Would it be worth reducing the limit on the MS platinum? I am using it until the 2% cashback ends, then i will hopefully keep it, but not use it, because i believe the CB is not paid until the end of year 1 (i.e don't cancel it!). If i did this, and it had a beneficial effect on my credit file, how long would that take to go through?

I was refused (even after appeal in writing) by Sainsburys bank for their 0% purchases card recently, which i was planning to use for a slow stooze. This was despite sending them proof of cancellation of the Natwest card

YorkshireBoy

PoorDave wrote:

Do you mean take min payments from general spending money, rather than from the stooz pot?

Max the card out with a BT from Mint. Then, once you've made your monthly minimum payment, simply spend this value and put the equivalent spend value back into the stooz pot. Repeat until the 0% intro period ends.

I currently have:

the Mint card mentioned (2974 of 3000)
Morgan Stanley Plt (0 of 5000) general spending card that had/has 2% cashback taken out before i picked up stoozing
I also had a 8800 (cleared each month) Natwest CC from the "old days" (pre-MSE), which i have now cancelled, and received cancellation notice in writing. Not sure what effect this last one has on my credit rating, since i believe cancellations can take an age to fully go through the process.

Would it be worth reducing the limit on the MS platinum? I am using it until the 2% cashback ends, then i will hopefully keep it, but not use it, because i believe the CB is not paid until the end of year 1 (i.e don't cancel it!). If i did this, and it had a beneficial effect on my credit file, how long would that take to go through?

If the NatWest card is 'old' (pre-1998?) it may not even appear on your CRA file. The effect of all this available credit depends on your salary and other circumstances. However, unless you're planning on making a MAJOR purchase, I can't see the benefit of anything more than 2-3 months normal spending as a credit limit on your main card.

Just one more thing, if you get a card with a credit limit in excess of £3K, this might cause problems with Mint - depending on their attitude to +ve balances. Why not consider Egg Money - a 1% cashback card and fee-free SBT card all rolled into one!!

PoorDave

YorkshireBoy wrote:

Max the card out with a BT from Mint. Then, once you've made your monthly minimum payment, simply spend this value and put the equivalent spend value back into the stooz pot. Repeat until the 0% intro period ends.If the NatWest card is 'old' (pre-1998?) it may not even appear on your CRA file. The effect of all this available credit depends on your salary and other circumstances. However, unless you're planning on making a MAJOR purchase, I can't see the benefit of anything more than 2-3 months normal spending as a credit limit on your main card.

Just one more thing, if you get a card with a credit limit in excess of £3K, this might cause problems with Mint - depending on their attitude to +ve balances. Why not consider Egg Money - a 1% cashback card and fee-free SBT card all rolled into one!!

The first part about respending the amount that your min payment takes your funds down is a subtle one. Hadn't thought of that - the idea being to stay maxed at your credit limit the whole time. Neat.

My plan is to go for 0% purchases card, rather than the 2% cashback i think i'm still currently getting, as then i will be getting 4 to 5% instead (slow stooz).

I have deliberately avoided Egg Money so far, due to the endless barrage of "So, how do i use Egg Money?" questions on here. I figured i'd get up to speed on the rest of stoozing before investigating it