Repeat Offers - You've got to love 'em!

YorkshireBoy

M_Thomson wrote:

I think you are pushing your luck there You may get 6 months, but you won't get 12 if you already have the card.

I've seen a few reports of 9 month extensions being given, but never managed one myself.

YorkshireBoy

Moggles wrote:

I'd say it's the balance transfers that are the most significant.

I think you're probably right Moggles.

MBNA, in particular, hate to see balances moved elsewhere. With a £5 minimum payment, their only hope of making any money is if you can't repay/shift the remaining balance at the end of the deal or if you slip up and miss a payment along the way. Obviously as a stoozer I have the former covered. With the latter, although I have a £5 minimum payment DD set up, I always make an additional £5 payment by online banking as soon as I get the statement (MBNA take the £5 DD no matter what payment you make in the interim) just in case the DD fails for any reason.

Come February, I'll have had 21 months of 0%, paid 2 x £35 BT fees, and made over £1,000 from one MBNA run card alone.

Lopo

Believe MBNA are simply massive as a company, hence they are more flexible about flashing the credit cash around to borrowers accordingly....and so the repeat offers are more apprent and frequent to the average Joe Stoozer.

...its all good however you get it!

mary

Talking of MBNA, husband was queueing at Stansted airport in July and was approached by a sales guy. Needless to say to pass the time, he filled out a form, which we then totally forgot about. Card came through from Ryanair (MBNA card) for £12K. Having read the small print, there is a 2% BT fee, plus interest charged on the handling fees at the same rate. Can anyone tell me just how much profit or not we would get?

YorkshireBoy

mary wrote:

...plus interest charged on the handling fees at the same rate.

Are you sure? The Ryanair credit card detailed here has the standard MBNA conditions which mean the BT fee is collected with, and in addition to, the first £5 minimum payment. Also, this product is 1.9% APR for 9 months.

Can anyone tell me just how much profit or not we would get?

Not with the limited detail you've provided, eg what's your duration and your rate?

When you've checked, just run the details through the https://www.whatsthecost.com/stoozing.aspx calculator.

mary

Well on the covering letter to which the card is glued on the front it says
"Your new MBNA CC 0.0% p.a. on balance transfer and credit card cheque
transactions until March 2007. For details of your standard rate APR please see your enclosed terms and conditions."


Key financial information says:
you pay whichever is the least of 2.25/5 of the balance shown on the statement (but you must pay at least £5) plus
the charges for handling fees ...

Other financial information says:
2b The interest we will charge on transactions, including for introductory promitons, will be as set out below....
- balance transfers: In the first 06 months from the account opening date, we will charge interst at therate of 0.0% p.a. a year. After that we will charge a standard rate of 15.9%
2c We will charge the follwoing handling fee: For all balance trasfers and cheque transactions 2% of the amount of each transaction (min £5)

Husband has a 12,000 limit on the card.
Maybe it's late at night and I'm not thinking too clearly!

Moggles_2

MBNA, in particular, hate to see balances moved elsewhere.

Indeed. I sometimes wondered whether the unremitting offers were intended to hammer the bank's competitors. There seems no plausible explanation as to why a lender should want to look after a customer like me so assiduously.

With a £5 minimum payment, their only hope of making any money is if you can't repay/shift the remaining balance at the end of the deal or if you slip up and miss a payment along the way.

True, though they've only themselves to blame. The whole thing's calculated to encourage customers to borrow beyond their means. Sadly, this must work more often than not or the repeat offers would have dried up a long time ago.

I always make an additional £5 payment by online banking as soon as I get the statement.

Me too. It's only a fiver after all.

In all cases, I record the dates when statements are due and contact the lender for a copy statement if there's any sign they're held up in the post.

Almost without exception, I've found frequent balance transfers result in higher credit limits.

YorkshireBoy

mary wrote:

Husband has a 12,000 limit on the card.

Assumptions:

£11,400 SBT (95% of £12K)
£228 BT fee (2% of £11,400)
6 months 0%
4.9% paying stooz pot
Basic rate tax-payer

Total interest earnt in 6 months: £217.54 (That's £278.90 gross).
However, you also had to pay a £228.00 balance transfer fee, which you should deduct from your profits.
With the balance transfer fee, you'll make a loss!
Total interest paid in 6 months: £0.00.
After paying a total of £30.00 in minimum payments, you'll need to clear the balance of £11,598.00
This will leave you with £-10.46 in your savings account.

https://www.whatsthecost.com/stoozing.aspx

He should have bought a newspaper to "pass the time".

YorkshireBoy

Moggles wrote:

The whole thing's calculated to encourage customers to borrow beyond their means.

It's a sad fact, verified by many of those on the DFW board.

Sadly, this must work more often than not or the repeat offers would have dried up a long time ago.

It does...I rang LTSB a couple of weeks ago to ask exactly when my (repeat) 0% period ended because it wasn't shown on the penultimate statement like it was the first time around. After telling me my date, the lady proceeded to tell me how she takes around a dozen calls a day from people who have incurred some interest because they 'thought' they had another month. That's 60 calls a week, to one CSA at one card provider!!

In all cases, I record the dates when statements are due and contact the lender for a copy statement if there's any sign they're held up in the post.

I haven't been tarting/stoozing as long as you, but I can honestly say that, in managing 13 cards over the last 18 months, I've never failed to receive a monthly statement.

Moggles_2

in managing 13 cards over the last 18 months, I've never failed to receive a monthly statement.

If memory serves, it's only happened to me twicein 10 years, but I've read a couple of posts from MSEs in the last week or so, who face late payment charges because a statement went missing, presumed lost in the post.

I thought it was worth a mention.