Stoozing: Make Free Cash from Credit Cards article discussion

Mikeysone

Hay, NEW here...............noticed those funny simbles that I assume are dollar signs ($) and all these card names that I don't recognize except the MBNA that is now a BofA card. This STOOZING work in the US ?

agileflower

Hi. Been reading lots of lovely messages in lots of forums! This place is great!

My stoozing q: it seems like is quite difficult to actually find a decent paying account to put the money into. I just opened a 'high rate' savings account (for my balance which is admittedly not large and its an instant access acct) - at 2.45%. If a card is asking me to pay nearly 20% or more each month.....how does that math add up?

Agileflower

CannyJock

agileflower wrote: »

Hi. Been reading lots of lovely messages in lots of forums! This place is great!

My stoozing q: it seems like is quite difficult to actually find a decent paying account to put the money into. I just opened a 'high rate' savings account (for my balance which is admittedly not large and its an instant access acct) - at 2.45%. If a card is asking me to pay nearly 20% or more each month.....how does that math add up?

Agileflower

It doesn't. Not the best time to embark on stoozing if you're not crystal clear on how it works - profit margins are very tight right now.

brian_cky

Hi,

I'm sure this has been answered before but I can't find it so even a link or quick answer would be great.

I understand the Stoozing process and is something I am interested in. However, I cannot see how you can make money.

E.g. I apply for a credit card with 12 months 0% APR with a £1000 and move this to an ISA. With a 'Super Balance Transfer' I would be charged 3.5% so this would be £35. At the end of the year I would have to repay the £1000 to the credit card and would be left with the interest earned in the ISA. However, the interest on a typical ISA is say 3.5% so I would make £35 in the year and as a result would break even.

I hope this makes sense and any explanation wold be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Brian

VoucherMan

brian_cky wrote: »

Hi,

I'm sure this has been answered before but I can't find it so even a link or quick answer would be great.

I understand the Stoozing process and is something I am interested in. However, I cannot see how you can make money.

In the past there were credit cards with 0% APR and no fee on cash advances.
That together with High interest accounts made stoozing easy.

Personally I don't think now's a good time to start (unless you want to practice
for when conditions get better).

I'd leave it to the seasoned stoozers who know all the tricks.

If you still want to try then

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cards/stooze-cash-credit-cards

http://www.stoozing.com/

G_M

brian_cky wrote: »

Hi,

I'm sure this has been answered before but I can't find it so even a link or quick answer would be great.

I understand the Stoozing process and is something I am interested in. However, I cannot see how you can make money.

E.g. I apply for a credit card with 12 months 0% APR with a £1000 and move this to an ISA. With a 'Super Balance Transfer' I would be charged 3.5% so this would be £35. At the end of the year I would have to repay the £1000 to the credit card and would be left with the interest earned in the ISA. However, the interest on a typical ISA is say 3.5% so I would make £35 in the year and as a result would break even.

I hope this makes sense and any explanation wold be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Brian

Correct. Some time ago savings interest rates were at 5 - 6% and there were lower, or zero, fees charged by credit cards, so it made good sense.
Those days are gone!

moneymouth77

Just a quick question... How does this apply in the current no-credit-cards-unless-your-rating-is-excellent environment? I've made this work for me for a while, but recently, credit seems to be much much harder to come by. Has anyone else found this?

JimmyTheWig

moneymouth77 wrote: »

Just a quick question... How does this apply in the current no-credit-cards-unless-your-rating-is-excellent environment? I've made this work for me for a while, but recently, credit seems to be much much harder to come by. Has anyone else found this?

As per the above, the bigger problem at the moment is one of finding a savings account with a high enough interest rate to cover the fees and make a profit.
But yes, the credit crunch will make things harder.

avfcforever

I had a go at stoozing (slow) last year but decided to pay off the balance and close the card down as there was too much going on in my life, and I didn't want to end up spending money by not managing it properly..

Even though I've probably got more going on in my life, and the credit/interest market is worse for stoozing.. I've decided to start again, as if I can get into the rhythm then if/when the markets get better I'll be on the ball early on.

Can anyone help with a few concerns I have, even after reading all of the articles both on here, and on stoozing.com...

This is the current situation.. I've applied for and got a Virgin AMEX card (0% for 6 months, credit limit £2.6k.) I've SBT that, and will now put it in the Capital One savings account until it is due to come out.

In the meantime, I've got an Amex Platinum (Also £2.6k at 0%). So far I've spent £600+ in a week (£500 on flights for holiday) which I'll use on fuel, and regular spend, then put the money in the Capital one account also, until 0% period ends.

I understand due to the currently low interest rates, I'm not going to make much 0.5% of the balance (savings of 2.5% vs SBT fee of 2%) but as I said I accept that.

I am looking to the next step, as I want to continue building up the stooze pot, instead of paying it off. I've never transferred money from card to card before, so can someone please tell me if the scenario below is flawed:

1 - Take out cards (one SBT, one cashback)
2 - Build up stooze pot (approx 5k) whilst paying off minimum each month on cards
3 - At end of 0% transfer balance on cards to new 0% card(s).
4 - close original cards
5 - Open new cards and start again (one SBT, one cashback)

The question I have is regarding point 3. Is there a percentage fee to transfer balance from original cards to new 0% cards? If so then this will totally wipe out any profit made?

Thanks in advance for any help!!

YorkshireBoy

avfcforever wrote: »

I understand due to the currently low interest rates, I'm not going to make much 0.5% of the balance (savings of 2.5% vs SBT fee of 2%) but as I said I accept that.

Oh dear! Your plan is fundamentally flawed. Your 2.5% savings rate is an annual rate, but you'll only have the Virgin Amex cash for 6 months. The 2% fee for 6 months equates to roughly 4% pa.

You're heading for a £25 loss...


Stoozing Profit Prediction

Data entered by the user
Balance to be transferred (pounds)...... 2470
BT card interest rate (%) .............. 0
Introductory period (months) ........... 6
Balance Transfer Fee (%) ............... 2
Maximum BT Fee (pounds)................. No Maximum
Min Monthly Payment Type ............... Fixed
Min Monthly Payment Amount (% or pds) .. 25
Savings interest rate (AER %) .......... 2.5
Tax rate ............................... Basic Rate

Your Results
Balance Transfer Fee paid (pounds)...... 49.4
Stooz pot balance at end of intro ...... 2349.91
Credit card balance at end of intro .... 2369.4
Gross Profit before tax on interest .... -19.49
Tax on interest to be paid ............. 5.98
Your Profit (pounds).................... -25.47

Created using the Stoozing Calculator at www.stoozing.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission.