My Slow Stooze Plan

R34GTT

Hi Stoozers,

I just wanted to bounce my slow stooze plan off you as I am new to stoozing.

I have been accepted for a Barclaycard Platinum 0% on Purchases for 14 months card via the Amazon offer (£20 Amazon Voucher + £20 credit to account after £1000 spend).

Once the card arrives I am going to open a First Direct 8% Regular Saver and set it up for their maximum £300 per month.

Any normal monthly spend I wil try and do on the Barclaycard. My average monthly spend is infact around £300 (up until now I was getting £5 a month with the Halifax Clarity Reward Card with the £300 spend threshold). I will set up a DD for just above the minimum payment to avoid the minimum payment flag going on my credit files. I will have to amend this amount each month but that should be simple enough.

Any monthly spend over £300 I will transfer an equal amount to a 3% Halifax Web Saver.

By my reckoning I will earn at least £124 interest over the next 12 months, after which I will settle the Barclaycard and start again with a different 0% card. This doubles the £60 p.a. I received from the Halifax card. Have I missed anything or is there a better way of doing this based on my average monthly spend?

Cheers

mgarl10024

To a fairly new stoozer like me, it seems to make sense.

If you could have got a card with some benefits (not sure what yours comes with tbh) e.g. cashback, you could have found that you were better off again. For example, the Tesco card (can be difficult to get so I read on here) will give you clubcard points.
For example, if you could get a card that gives you the equivalent of just 0.5% cashback, you could be £18 better off (12x300x0.005).

Finally, I have read mixed things about the minimum flag as to whether it makes a difference. I've not really noticed it, but there again, I'm pretty small time compared to others.

R34GTT

Thanks for that, I did consider the Tesco card and almost went for it using the 1000 clubcard points referral but that offer finished on 20th April. After which I found the Amazon offer and it seems that the £20 account credit + £20 Amazon voucher would be a bigger gain given my monthly spend.

In 12 months time the Tesco card will definitely be an option.

:beer:

R34GTT

Well the 8% First Direct Regular Saver is opened, £300 deposited immediately on opening.

Barclaycard DD set up for minimum payment, I will overpay the minimum by £1 per month just before the due date to avoid minimum payment flags.

Now to do my normal monthly spend on the Barclaycard, trying to keep within £300 per month where possible.

R34GTT

Interestingly Barclaycard have only done a soft search with Experian (an ID Generic Check and an Unrecorded Search) which won't appear to other lenders. I wonder if this is because 5 years ago I had held a Barclaycard previously. Always nice to have a search-free credit report and in light of this I'm now tempted to get a cashback credit card to use for spends above my target £300 a month.

R34GTT

Well, true to their advert, I automatically received an email today with the £20 Amazon gift certificate. So far so good, once I have spent £1000 I should have £20 credited to my account.

pqrdef

R34GTT wrote: »

I'm now tempted to get a cashback credit card to use for spends above my target £300 a month.

With this kind of stoozing I think it pays to max out the credit card as quickly as possible, and then look for something else.

You can't look at return on investment because there's no money invested, but the return per pound spent (cashback-equivalent if you like) goes with the number of months you borrow the money, so it's less in the later months.

You might be able to squeeze some more out of the same spending if you can pay off the 0% purchases card with a long-run 0% BT card and save the money in an ISA.

R34GTT

I've reached the £1000 threshold and received the £20 credit on to my Barclaycard account. Made my first payment at just above the minimum amount. Interest confirmed as 0% until July 15th 2013. So far so good and Barclaycard's offer all paid out much quicker than I expected. I have been putting the excess spends of over £300 into my Halifax 3% Online Saver. My savings meet or exceed my credit card balance.

I have applied for the new 3% cashback Aqua credit card for any spends in excess of £300 each month rather than having to transfer excess spends into savings each month. I will set up a DD for the full amount when I receive the card.

jonnyb

Why is the min payment flag an issue? They will also see promotional interest rate, and possibly previous statement amount, plus amount paid.

R34GTT

jonnyb wrote: »

Why is the min payment flag an issue? They will also see promotional interest rate, and possibly previous statement amount, plus amount paid.

I don't know exactly which fields or sections of the credit file are scrutinised by companies searching my file but the fact this flag exists means that it could be used in a decision making process. It may make little or no difference depending on the company searching but it certainly can't hurt to avoid it being flagged.

jonnyb

Some lenders might not view it as negative at all. Min payment on a 0% card indicates a savvy card user trying to manage their money well. Min payment on a non promotional card indicates financial difficulty.
so min payment flag is not important on its own, but the context is very important.