Work expenses on card 31 October 2009 at 7:12PM edited 31 October 2009 at 7:21PM in Stoozing: free cash from credit cards 13 replies 2K views

slimer3k

Hi,

My job requires that I pay for some expenses which I claim back at the end of the month. These are usually between £250 - £400 Per month. I can't really afford to pay this up front anymore. I don't qualify for a corporate card.

I have started to use my Tesco card for this, but as I'm a bit new to credit card I don't really understand the billing cycle.

What I would like is to do is pay for only my expenses on my card, then use my expenses in my pay check to pay that off.

I get paid on the 21, and get my expenses a month in arrears (so expenses for 1-30 Sep get paid on 21 Oct).

My card cut off is the 18th, and the pay date is the 7. So anything I buy before the 18th has to be paid for before I get the expenses back.

Is there any way I can work this bettr or do I need another card?

Thanks

Edit: I've posted this in the wrong forum, I ment to post it in the main Credit card Forum.

YorkshireBoy

If I had to bankroll my employer I'd be using 0% on purchases cards.

This would mean you'd only have to find a 2-3% minimum payment each month...and you'd also make a little interest on the side by 'saving' your expenses when they're reimbursed.

cake21

I agree with YorkshireBoy, that's what I'd do if there was regularly a 51 day gap between incurring the work expense and being reimbursed :eek:

(I have to pay for a lot of expenses and then claim them back, but our claims are processed every two weeks and paid three days later...a lot more than £400, but still!)

Firstly though I'd ask your employer if they do travel/expense advances/interest free loans. Each company I've worked for does, *but* you have to ask, it would never be offered :rolleyes:

slimer3k

I think I'll just repay the minimum and stick the owed money in another account. Thanks for the replies!

LongTermLurker

For once I disagree with YB (sorry! ) but it's just opinion. If you can make your way through the first month and your expenses are roughly even each month, you'll find it balances out (what you receive this month pays off next month's bill). So I'd go for cashback and pay it all off each month - by paying the minimum it only takes a small mistake before you start to lose money. Keep it simple is my view (and I've been using my card for expenses for years). Try asking your CC company to change the collection date - most will oblige.

You could also try asking your company for a £200 - £250 float.

mark55man

one other thing, if the cash flow is a problem, you may be able to ask for a cash advance to cover the first months.

you can then mix or matxh the other solutions in the fashion that makes you most - a high % cashback card sounds best even 1% is £5 a month

slimer3k

Thanks for the advice. I'm using a tesco card which has no intrest for a year (I got it for car insurance). If I make a direct debit for the min payment, and put the money I should be paying in another account, I should be OK.

I might need to borrow some money next year, and I'm thinking of using a cheap credit card to borrow on. So it would be useful to have cash sitting in an account that is from a credit card so I can use cash and transfer the balence to whatever card I use to borrow. If you get what I'm saying!

AnxiousMum

Ask your employer for a cash advance. My expenses fluctuate each month depending on the time of year and is usually for mileage only, and if on the road all day, then lunch as well. Mine fluctuate between about £100 per month on a big 'work at home month' to £300 on a busy month out on meetings. After I had worked for the company for six months they gave me a cheque for £300 which is an 'expenses advance'.....so I've never really been out of pocket for my expenses, and instead I have a separate account for my expenses, and put all my expenses onto a credit card. The card is paid off before the due date each month - incurring no interest at all. It's nice - as the 'expenses' account just continues to grow each month and that's with all my vehicle expenses taken out of it.

YorkshireBoy

LongTermLurker wrote: »

For once I disagree with YB...I'd go for cashback and pay it all off each month...

According to the calculators on the stoozing site*, a 1% cashback card just shaves it for the OP on his stated £400 per month spend (£48 vs £46 for a slow stooz deal).

However, there are a couple of benefits to slow stoozing...

1. It may help with cashflow issues (borrow from the pot for example, rather than elsewhere), and

2. It may be possible to bag a fast stooz card deal (eg the recent Virgin 9 month fee-free deal) towards the end of the purchases intro period, meaning the debt can be kept 'in the air' and more interest earned.

That just leaves the question...where are you going to get a 1% cashback card without an annual fee (Egg Money), capped spend (Barclaycard), or short intro period (Amex Platinum 5%) constraint?


* Calculators:

Cashback
Slow stooz

LongTermLurker

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

According to the calculators on the stoozing site*

You and your calculator quotes

That just leaves the question...where are you going to get a 1% cashback card without an annual fee (Egg Money), capped spend (Barclaycard), or short intro period (Amex Platinum 5%) constraint?

Still got my Cap1 1% on everything and Hx 2% on fuel/groceries cards

(but yes, as you say it's a close call so it's purely down to what works individually. I just prefer to keep the business claims in line without too much complexity)

Gymgenius

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

If I had to bankroll my employer I'd be using 0% on purchases cards.

This would mean you'd only have to find a 2-3% minimum payment each month...and you'd also make a little interest on the side by 'saving' your expenses when they're reimbursed.

I wouldn't.
...bankroll my employer that is.

What would they do if the OP's personal credit rating was such (s)he couldn't obtain a credit card?
There'd be a corporate card in the next post, I'm sure.