Secrets of the Brotherhood of Stoozing.

Clariman

There are no secrets. It is all in the FAQ

https://www.stoozing.com

Clariman

deemy2004

Thank you brother clariman

Part 5 of a 39 section faq - .......... talk about over kill....


5. Could you give me a step-by-step guide to Stoozing ?

There are many detailed considerations which are covered in the rest of this FAQ, but the basic process is outlined below.

(i). Open up a good savings account that can be easily managed online and that pays a high interest rate.
(ii). Apply for 1 or 2 credit cards that offer a 0% introductory period for a good length of time. At the time of writing (July 2004), there are 9 month and 12 month offers around if you look carefully, but a 6 month period is perfectly workable. The longer the period of the offer, the less work you have to do to keep the ball rolling.
(iii). At least one of the credit cards should have a way of paying money directly into a bank account : either as a balance transfer or by a credit card cheque for which there are no charges (see “How do I choose a Stoozing credit card”). N.B. most credit card companies charge you for a credit card cheque but at least one does not. Choose carefully.
(iv). Ask each credit card issuer for the precise date by which you have to pay the complete balance in order to avoid any interest payments. Ideally you should get this in writing. If you get the information verbally, make a note of the date and time you called Customer Services and the name of the person you spoke to, so that you can refer back to it if necessary.
(v). Read all the Terms and Conditions of your new credit card(s) so that you understand exactly how the card operates.
(vi). Ask your credit card issuer to do a balance transfer from your bank account to your credit card. The request can usually be made by phone, online or by completing a balance transfer form sent by your card issuer. The credit card issuer will put the requested funds into your bank account. [This is referred to as a balance transfer FROM your bank account because the assumption is that you are transferring a negative balance from the bank account].
(vii). If the bank account that you specified in the previous step was your high interest savings account then the money is now where you want it – earning interest for you. If the account specified was your current account then you now need to move it into the savings account.
(viii). If you have a second credit card that can also pay directly into bank account then follow the above steps for this card too.
(ix). If you have a second credit card that only allows Balance Transfers from other credit cards (i.e. not from a bank account), then you need to route the money to your savings account via a card that does allow a bank transfer (e.g. your 'Card 1' mentioned above). The steps are (a) Ask card issuer 2 to Balance Transfer from card 1 to card 2 (this moves money from card 2 to card 1), (b) Ask card issuer 1 to Balance Transfer from your bank account to card 1 (this moves money from card 1 to your bank account).
(x). At this point you have moved the money from your credit cards into your savings account and these free 'loans' are earning you interest, so much of your work is complete. However, during the course of the 0% introductory period you must still make the minimum monthly payments requested by your card issuer. These can be made from your bank account or from your savings account.
(xi). About 2 months before the end of the introductory period of your card(s), you should start researching which cards you should apply for as replacements for your current card(s).
(xii). About 5 or 6 weeks before the end of the introductory period you should apply for your new card(s).
(xiii). As soon as you get your new card(s), ask the new card issuer to do a balance transfer from your existing credit card(s) so that you pay them off in full before the end of the introductory period. Keep a close eye on this. If there is any chance that the balance transfer will not go through before the end date of your introductory period, then cancel the balance transfer request and pay the existing cards off from the money in your savings account (known as your 'Stooz Pot'). Whatever happens, you do not want to pay any interest at all.
(xiv). Once you have paid off your original cards, ask the card issuers to close the accounts and ask them to inform the credit reference agencies of the closure.
(xv). At this point you have moved your 'debt' from your first set of credit cards to your second set of credit cards while keeping all the money in your savings account. Ensure you that you adhere to the Ts & Cs of these new cards and pay them off by the end of their introductory periods, exactly as you did with the first set.
(xvi). 2 months before the new cards start charging interest, start researching cards for your next set … and so the process continues to repeat itself. And guess what ? Many card issuers will let you apply as a new customer if you have not had an account with them for at least 6 months, so if you closed down your old credit card accounts when they came to the end of their introductory period, then you can reapply for them in the future.

sleepless_saver

Definitely not overkill - I need all this info to keep me right!

smartsaver

deemy2004 wrote:

2. Apply for 4 cards at a time and leave a 4 month gap between each application phase.

.

How long does it take for a credit search to show up? I thought it was instant. Do you apply on the net? Thanks Deemy

margaret_3

Thank so much for the guide to 'stoozing'. I was too embarrassed to show my ignorance so I tried to guess at it from the various messages.
Margaret

deemy2004

smartsaver wrote:

How long does it take for a credit search to show up? I thought it was instant. Do you apply on the net? Thanks Deemy

Yes credit card searches show up, but that is only visible to you not other companies enquiring about your credit worthiness. I apply mostly online but also with leaflets through the door or I pick up i..e Tesco's card leaflet.

TheWheelMan

Why's it called Stoozing?

Apologies if this has been answered elsewhere, but I've done a search and can't find an answer.

Cheers

Bob

Reaper

Because a guy going by the name of Stooz was talking about it on the Motley Fool boards a few years back and it became known as "Stoozing". The term is most commonly used at the Motley Fool and here, but its use is gradually speading as you will see if you type it in to Google.

Shinds

I'd love to meet Mr Stooz and shake his hand.

He is the MAN!!!

Darryl

I feel a prayer coming on.

'Oh dear Lord of Stooz, please support all Stoozers in their quest for consumer revenge, so long as they give some of their interest gained to charity, and convince all credit card companies to continue offering 0% deals (at least until our mortgages are paid off)... Amen'