Cash Loophole on credit cards

danw_2

Hi there,

Question:

I have £6500 to spend on my halifax credit card, which I have had for 2 yrs. (They have just increased APR to 20% by the way!). I was wondering if there are any loopholes I can use to get my hands on all of that money interest free. One idea I did have was to transfer all that amount to a betting website (ie William Hill) and then immdeiently withdraw all my money from the William Hill account direct to my bank account.

Once this has gone through I will be owing a substantial amount to Halifax credit, my idea then is to apply for one of these 9 months interest free credit cards (not sure who) and ask to transfer the moneys owed from the Halifax card. I will be then left with £6500 in my bank account interest free and a new credit card £6500 in debt (I am hoping!!- minus the transfer fee which is about 3% of amount transferred but still a small amount!)

Can someone verify this idea, or give me a better one!!! Much appreciated...

Dan

Bloke_with_a_simple_life

Depends on what you are trying to do.

You will probably be charged:
1. Cash handling fee of at least 2.5% or so on the £6500 you put into your Bill Hill account, as this is will be classifed as a cash transaction by most credit cards;
2. Charged daily interest, maybe the equivalent of high 30% p.a.
3. A second 3% fee for the BT you will need to perform.

All in all - the 6500 you have in the bank will quickly become around 6900 you owe to the credit card firms.

IF you are trying to lose £400 and have nothing to show for it, go for it.

danw_2

Bloke with a simple life...

No 100% sure, but dont think they will see it as a cash transaction... So 1 and 2 are out...

Even if you are right (I dont see how I would get 2 BT fees either by the way), I would be borrowing from the credit card companies for 1 year, cash at app 7.5%... Which cant be that bad!!! What you think? I will have renovated my investment property and sold it on by then, so it is hardly 'having nothing to show for it'...

tom188

No 100% sure, but dont think they will see it as a cash transaction... So 1 and 2 are out...

Credit card companies all consider gambling transactions as cash advances.

jamalfatty

tom188 wrote: »

Credit card companies all consider gambling transactions as cash advances.

They do, but not all credit card companies have the correct MCC (merchant category code) for gambling companies so you may get away without paying the fee. This is particularly true for newer or less well known companies.

However you would have no way of knowing in advance so would just be pot luck.

stphnstevey

Apply for 0% Balance Transfer card and ignore Halifax one. BT to an Egg Money account. Withdraw to whichever account you like. See stoozing articles

YorkshireBoy

stphnstevey wrote: »

Apply for 0% Balance Transfer card and ignore Halifax one.

I agree.

BT to an Egg Money account. Withdraw to whichever account you like. See stoozing articles

...or, instead of applying for two cards, why not go for something like the Virgin card - 13 months 0%, sends cash straight to your current account, approx 3% fee, and £5 per month minimum payment.

However, the only thing that would concern me is that if Halifax have lifted the OP's APR to 20%, then maybe their credit rating is not the best?