Newbie Question

ADChick

Hello, I've never had a credit card but keep being offered one by my bank and wondered if it was worth looking at for stoozing.

I've got a FlexDirect account where I get 5% interest on balances up to £2500. Being my current account, it only has a decent amount in there around pay day.

The credit card they offer me has "0% on balance transfers for 20 months* (3.1% balance transfer fee applies - minimum £5.00) &
0% on purchases for 12 months"

Can I just move money into the other account or does that come under the balance transfer fee? As I said I'm new to credit cards so not sure on the terminology. I was gonna leave it in there till my 5% runs out next year, then pay of the card before the interest kicks in!

Herbalus

You usually can't move money from a credit card into your bank account (look at this page for ways to do this http://www.stoozing.com/cards/super-balance-transfers.php, or search the forum). A balance transfer is where you move debt from one credit card (where you pay interest) to another (where you don't, which in this case is 20 months), so unless you have another credit card, you won't be able to use the balance transfer function.

Stoozing means spending your normal amount of money on your credit card and paying the minimum each month (direct debit is best) when you have 0% on purchases. The rest of the money that is owed to the credit card company stays in your account and earns interest. At the end of the 0% interest period, in this case 12 months, you either pay off the credit card in full with the money you've been saving and keep the interest, or you get a balance transfer to another card.

bsms1147

Herbalus wrote: »

Stoozing means spending your normal amount of money on your credit card and paying the minimum each month (direct debit is best) when you have 0% on purchases. The rest of the money that is owed to the credit card company stays in your account and earns interest. At the end of the 0% interest period, in this case 12 months, you either pay off the credit card in full with the money you've been saving and keep the interest, or you get a balance transfer to another card.

Traditionally, 'stoozing' is generally accepted to be moving money from your credit card to somewhere else, such as a savings or current account, where you are able to earn interest on it. Only a few cards can do this and the fees they charge negate any benefit from the interest you might earn, so it is currently not worth it and may not be ever again.

Moving money like this is often known as a 'super balance transfer', which your card doesn't allow. A 'balance transfer' transfers a debt from one card to another for a set fee.

'Slow stoozing' is the method described by the poster above, where you spend on a 0% spending card and the money you would otherwise have spent can stay in your account where it earns interest.