Beginner questions: Getting money out of a 0% CC, using freed up balance, paying bill

MikeDeezee

I would greatly appreciate help with the following beginner's questions about stoozing:

1) How to utilise / withdraw money from my credit card? I got one 0% credit card, I started putting all my spending on it, but it is veeeery low. I was reading about transferring a 0% CC balance to another card with a positive balance and then transferring that to a current account but I don't understand one bit of it, could you explain it very simply, please? Also is there any system like paypal that I could deposit money into by CC and then withdraw it to my current account? I was thinking about using currency exchange but the loss on the spread is too big.

2) The minimum amount I pay every month, as this balance frees up / becomes available, can I spend it stright away? Will it still be 0%?

3) Can I pay bills like my mortgage, council tax, electricity, gas, water by credit card?

4) 0% balance transfer credit cards have one off fees for the transfer, lets say 4.49% as shown here. Do I understand correctly that I have to pay one off fee of 4.49% to transfer my credit card balance when it is about to expire, and then treat it as a normal 0% CC?

5) Doesn't the Balance Transfer fee cancel out the whole point of stoozing (to get the money out and invest it / or put it in a saving account)?

6) If my new BT card has a bigger limit than the one that is about to expire, how do I utilise the remaining available balance, do I just spend it?

Thank you very much for your help!

MallyGirl

MikeDeezee wrote: »

I would greatly appreciate help with the following beginner's questions about stoozing:

1) How to utilise / withdraw money from my credit card? I got one 0% credit card, I started putting all my spending on it, but it is veeeery low.

Spending on a 0% purchases card - which I assume is what you have got - is called the 'slow stooze'. Are you really putting everything you can through the card?

MikeDeezee wrote: »

I was reading about transferring a 0% CC balance to another card with a positive balance and then transferring that to a current account but I don't understand one bit of it, could you explain it very simply, please?

I would stick to the basics for now, till you have got the whole concept more fully understood.

MikeDeezee wrote: »

Also is there any system like paypal that I could deposit money into by CC and then withdraw it to my current account? I was thinking about using currency exchange but the loss on the spread is too big.

This would usually count as a cash advance, not a purchase, and not be 0%

MikeDeezee wrote: »

2) The minimum amount I pay every month, as this balance frees up / becomes available, can I spend it stright away? Will it still be 0%?

If it is still within the 0% deal window you can re-spend the minimum payment you have made. Just make sure you have a plan for paying off once the 0% ends - do not rely on getting a 0% balance transfer.

MikeDeezee wrote: »

3) Can I pay bills like my mortgage, council tax, electricity, gas, water by credit card?

no but you can make payments to some storecards. Next is one I think.

MikeDeezee wrote: »

4) 0% balance transfer credit cards have one off fees for the transfer, lets say 4.49% as shown here. Do I understand correctly that I have to pay one off fee of 4.49% to transfer my credit card balance when it is about to expire, and then treat it as a normal 0% CC?

Yes, but there are better deals than that around if you qualify. I just got 1.14% fee for 30 months 0% on a balance transfer.

MikeDeezee wrote: »

5) Doesn't the Balance Transfer fee cancel out the whole point of stoozing (to get the money out and invest it / or put it in a saving account)?

not if you get a decent BT fee and a long 0% period

MikeDeezee wrote: »

6) If my new BT card has a bigger limit than the one that is about to expire, how do I utilise the remaining available balance, do I just spend it?

No - never put purchases on a 0% balance transfer card. That is a disaster.
If the 2nd card has too much headroom after transferring the balance from the first either try and build up more balance on the first and do another transfer (if still in the BT window of 30 or 60 days) or get the limit reduced to closer to the balance so that you are not wasting access to credit that you can't use.

MikeDeezee

Thank you MallyGirl, your reply has been of great help to me clarifying the whole concept!

Yes, 100% of my spending goes through the 0% CC, apart from the mentioned bills, I also spend very little as I live minimalisticly. I asked all my family and friends to let me know when they are about to make any big-ish purchases so I pay for them and they give me cash, but that hasn't helped.

Whaat is and how to do 'fast stooze' then?

MallyGirl wrote: »

MikeDeezee wrote: »

I was reading about transferring a 0% CC balance to another card with a positive balance and then transferring that to a current account but I don't understand one bit of it, could you explain it very simply, please?

I would stick to the basics for now, till you have got the whole concept more fully understood.

Could you give me any pointers or names for this process so I could find it and read up on in please?

MallyGirl

stoozing that isn't deemed 'slow' is when you are building up 0% balance in big chunks - whether by balance transfer, money transfer or large purchase.
If you are not a big spender it might take a while to build up the initial balance but once you have then you can manage it in bulk in the future.

It takes more effort to make money from stoozing these days as the interest rates are so low - but there is still value in it.

MikeDeezee

To make sure it is all clear and explained (and useful to others as well)

Balance Transfer - is when you already have a credit card, and transfer this existing balance onto a new card, which ideally offers 0% interest rate, but normally has one off fee. Balance transfer cards are not to be used for purchasing.

Money Transfer - is when you transfer 'cash' from the CC into your current account, also at one off fee.

Slow Stoozing - normal spending on a 0% card

Fast Stoozing - "when you are building up 0% balance in big chunks - whether by balance transfer, money transfer or large purchase." by MallyGirl


Can you think of any other terms worth knowing or/and related to stoozing?

Also do I understand correctly that every stoozing needs to start slow if one doesn't have big purchases coming up? as fees for Balance Transfers aren't worth it? And you can't think of any other ways of getting money out of a CC cheaply?