Are there any mule cards – or equivalent schemes – these days?

alexanderalexander

Years ago I remember that people used to use "mule cards" as a way of obtaining a balance transfer as cash. Do any mule cards – or equivalent schemes – still exist?

As an alternative, I have heard of people balance transferring to put another credit card into a positive balance, and then asking that credit card provider to transfer the positive balance to their current account. However, I have seen some scare stories about this such as the balances getting returned and even being flagged for fraud. Is it a good idea? I'd be transferring around £15k if that helps (which may be enough for a credit card provider to flag it). 

[Deleted User]

Don't deliberately put a card in a positive credit. It rarely ends well. 

Apply for a money transfer card.

[Deleted User]

If you put a card into credit by accident on a BT you will be expected to clear it (by spending it) or the bank will return it to the sender, they won't let you put the card in credit and then refund to a different account. As zx81 says, a money transfer card is what you need

Fingerbobs

Another option is a card that doesn't charge a fee for a cash advance (Santander Zero or Halifax Clarity for example). If you immediately transfer the balance away, you only pay maybe a day or two of interest on the cash advance, which is peanuts.

Sandtree

alexanderalexander said:

Years ago I remember that people used to use "mule cards" as a way of obtaining a balance transfer as cash. Do any mule cards – or equivalent schemes – still exist?

As an alternative, I have heard of people balance transferring to put another credit card into a positive balance, and then asking that credit card provider to transfer the positive balance to their current account. However, I have seen some scare stories about this such as the balances getting returned and even being flagged for fraud. Is it a good idea? I'd be transferring around £15k if that helps (which may be enough for a credit card provider to flag it). 

So you want a new credit card with a 0% on £15k that you can take out in cash?

PayPal FF can be useful but the talk of positive balances suggests things are more complex?