Does this look/sound like a good idea? 23 August 2012 at 11:37AM in Stoozing: free cash from credit cards 5 replies 1.7K views

Garbs_2

I've been accepted for both the Virgin credit card and MBNA credit card [despite both being the same company] which offer cash transfers within the first 60 days of opening the account, £3600 and £3000 respectively for 20 months at 0%.
The Virgin card has a 4% fee for obtaining the cash, the MBNA has a special rate of 2.5%.
I therefore potentially have the oportunity to obtain £6300 which I could put into a high % savings account, ISA, but premium bonds etc.
£3600 + 4% = £3744
£3000 + 2% = £3060
So the total interest would be £204 [not including the monthly 1% minimum payment].
Would I realistically earn this back in any kind of savings/ISA account in the 20 months, or would it simply be a waste of time and money?
Many thanks for any help and advice.

Fruit_and_Nut_Case

I'd go for it but it depends a lot on how highly you value your time and effort. You should be able to make a profit but not a huge amount.

Welcome to the world of stoozing.

Garbs_2

I don't mind putting the time and effort in but with the handling fee and minimum monthly payments plus the percentage charge when its time to do a 0% balance transfer, am I going to make anything that would be worth this time and effort?

zerog

To earn £204 on £6300 over 20 months, the interest rate needs to be just under 2% net.

Garbs_2

Hey Zerog thanks for that.
There are some ISA's with 3.6% plus a bonus so I might make something out of it....

mgarl10024

Do factor in the monthly payments though as they can take a serious chunk (even at 1%).

Have you seen http://www.stoozing.com/calc.php? It'll work it all out for you.