Credit Cards and cash flow query

backinbusiness

Hello - your opinion and experience welcome.

I have 2 ccs which are cleared in full by dd.

Statement dates are both the same (11th).

Would it be beneficial to alternate the cards each month for day to day spending - thus improving cash flow?

Can't quite get my head around this.

Having got myself out of debt earlier this year I have a pathological fear of credit (so no danger of going down that road again).

But it's time I let credit work for me.

Thoughts please and thank you.

YorkshireBoy

You could eek out around 6 weeks interest free credit on all your purchases by offsetting one of your cards' statement date (assuming the both have 56 days interest free as standard?) by 15-16 days.

Then, you'd spend on card A for the first 15-16 days after it's statement date...then stop and switch your spending to the other card. Rinse and repeat.

Make sense?

backinbusiness

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

Rinse and repeat.

I think I got shampoo in my eyes!!!!!

Why would I swop cards half way through?

Lets assume card A statement is 11th and card B statement is 26th.

Can you explain further please?

(I'm not thick - honest - just seem to have some synapses missing today!)

YorkshireBoy

backinbusiness wrote: »

Why would I swop cards half way through?

To delay payment, thereby keeping cash in your hands for a longer period.

My earlier post wasn't as clear as it could have been. At the moment you get between 4-8 weeks interest free credit, because...

Anything you buy the day before statement date has to be repaid 4 weeks later, and

Anything bought the day after statement date doesn't need repaying for 8 weeks).

By offsetting your statement dates you ensure you only spend on a particular card for the first two weeks following statement date (ideally you'd switch as soon as your other card's statement has been produced), thereby meaning each and every purchase has 6-8 weeks interest free credit...not 4-8 weeks as you have now.

Is that better?

backinbusiness

Yup - got it thanks.

Will get on to provider and see if I can switch statement dates for card B.

Thanks for that YB

YorkshireBoy

Of course the best way to improve cashflow is to use long 0% on purchase cards.

Do you have the discipline and forward planning skills to manage one of those?

backinbusiness

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

Of course the best way to improve cashflow is to use long 0% on purchase cards.

Do you have the discipline and forward planning skills to manage one of those?

I have the discipline and forward planning skills, however,

I do not have the shiny enough credit record (yet!)

Think this is the way to go meantime tho'

Thanks again.

backinbusiness

Hey YorkshireBoy

Received confirmation this morning from cc provider to confirm statement dates of 11th and 27th of the month.

Thanks for your input - cash in my pocket for longer!

Result!