Stoozing: Make Free Cash from Credit Cards article discussion

YorkshireBoy

newtothis13 wrote: »

Sounded too good to be true!

It's a bit of a gamble. Many stoozers on the stoozing website forums have reported success, but there's always the danger of the recipient bouncing* the payment back...meaning you've wasted a BT fee (running into the £100s for your "now in credit by £000's" example).


* Indeed, that's exactly what some cards say they'll do in such circumstances. For example, the Halifax cards' T&Cs say...

15.9 You must not make payments or transfer funds from another credit or store card to your account that would leave a credit balance on your account. We may return any funds that exceed the balance owing on your account to the account from which the money has been sent.


http://www.halifax.co.uk/creditcards/balance-transfer-purchase/longest-balance-transfer-card/terms/

zoebel

Martin says that only people who are "debt free" should play this game. Does this mean no one who owes on a mortgage should get involved and, if they do, is the implication that it will harm their chances of getting a good rate or being accepted when remortgaging?

JimmyTheWig

zoebel wrote: »

Martin says that only people who are "debt free" should play this game. Does this mean no one who owes on a mortgage should get involved

I don't believe that's what Martin means. I wouldn't see a mortgage as a debt in this sense.
In fact, some of the most successful stoozes have been when people have offset the borrowed money against their mortgage.

if they do, is the implication that it will harm their chances of getting a good rate or being accepted when remortgaging?

But saying that, having a credit card balance when you _apply_ for a mortgage isn't a good thing. The mortgage company will see that balance. They won't care that it's being stoozed and you've got the balance covered in a savings account or if you've built up the balance by buying Pokemon and cheese. They'll just see the balance and see that you're in debt. Which will hit your affordability.

We've got a mortgage but stooz. But we're tied in to our current mortgage company for the next 4 years so have got plenty of time to pay off the credit card before worrying about mortgage affordability.

Fruit_and_Nut_Case

zoebel wrote: »

Martin says that only people who are "debt free" should play this game. Does this mean no one who owes on a mortgage should get involved and, if they do, is the implication that it will harm their chances of getting a good rate or being accepted when remortgaging?

I think this is an excellent question and I agree broadly with JimmyTheWig's answer.

I've read, however, that some credit card providers put a tag on your credit report to say that you are on a promotional rate. This might be ignored by a computer but it could be taken into account during a manual review when you come to apply for a mortgage. Perhaps.

JimmyTheWig

Fruit_and_Nut_Case wrote: »

Perhaps.

I agree, but it's a big Perhaps.

Consider the possibility that it made a 0.1% difference to the mortgage interest rate you were offered.
That's £1000 in extra interest on a £200k mortgage with a 5 year fixed rate. Which dwarfs anything your stooz would make.

zoebel

JimmyTheWig wrote: »

I don't believe that's what Martin means. I wouldn't see a mortgage as a debt in this sense..

I can never understand why so many people say this sort of thing. I always consider a mortgage a dirty horrible debt in EVERY sense of the word.

I have lost count of people saying "I'm debt free!" and then, when questioned if they still have a mortgage they go "of course". Surely a debt is a debt and they should be treated the same. Maybe I'm missing something?

benshorer1989

Hi very new to stoozing,
is it possible to set up a 0% credit card for, say, 12 months for 2k, then as soon as that is accepted put that 2k DIRECTLY into a savings account (bond NISA etc..) without any fees?

Cheers, Ben

JimmyTheWig

benshorer1989 wrote: »

is it possible to set up a 0% credit card for, say, 12 months for 2k, then as soon as that is accepted put that 2k DIRECTLY into a savings account (bond NISA etc..) without any fees?

Unless you've got something to buy for £2000 then the answer is no.
There are a few cards that let you transfer money into your current account, but I believe the lowest fee for this is 4%.

edinburghman10

Some offer cash transfers for 3% - see mbna.

adib1903

Ive been trying to get the wheels moving on my stoozing but having a nightmare with the TSB, I applied for their 5% current account, which was successfully accepted, and thought everything was moving smoothly. Then after not hearing anything for a week I chased the TSB for an updated, and was told everything was ok, that the bank account details & debit card were on their way - fine.
Only to find out a couple days later that 8 bank accounts had been opened after their systems had a fit, so I have ended up with 8 accounts and 8 debit cards, but none of them can be used as they have now blocked them and accusing me of fraudulant activity, so 3 weeks later I am still waiting for their mess to be cleaned up & resolved.
Just a word of warning for anyone thinking applying for that account.