Max out ISA with Credit Card

ThrillSaver

Hello

So I want to max out my ISA with a 0% credit card but not sure which cards will let me do it without charging me interest. Anyone got any experience of pulling this off? 

[Deleted User]

You would have to use a 0% money transfer card to achieve this and the fee you'd pay is probably not likely to be eclipsed by interest on a normal ISA. A S&S ISA would normally need 5+ years to give you a serious chance of a decent return so the chance of having a profit at the end of the run before you have to repay the sum may be low

Ebe_Scrooge

As above, really.  Neither a 0% purchase nor a 0% balance transfer card would enable you to do this.  A Money Transfer card would be your only option - and whatever happens to the ISA, you'd need to make sure you're in a position to repay the credit card in full once the promotional rate expires.  Otherwise any profit you may make on the ISA would be dwarfed by the credit card interest (and there's no guarantee you'd be able to do a Balance Transfer to another card).

boxofficer

This is technically possible, a bit convoluted, as to profitable marginally.
There is or certainly was (as I hold) some cards that allow you to make a money transfer to a current account fee free - I use an MBNA Everyday card for this. That credit card charges interest from day one though so the method is to use a second card and do a balance transfer from a that interest free balance transfer credit card to the MBNA Everyday. Ideally you'd find a fee free card for the balance transfer, I think Sainsbury's and Santander offer these currently and perhaps a few others.
It is a good way to fill the ISA/SIPP/LISA etc at the beginning of a new tax year benefitting from a whole year of investment/saving that can be paid back over the term of the zero interest period.

JuliusCaesar

You need two cards to do this:

(1) A card that allows fee-free money transfers (but which charges interest)
(2) A fee-free balance transfer card with a long interest-free period

Make a money transfer into your current account using card (1) then immediately transfer the balance to card (2). Then deposit the money in an interest-bearing account.

kempiejon

I do it slightly differently to JuliusCaesar.
I make a balance transfer to card (2) effectively making a credit balance on card (1) and then make a money transfer to a current account and on to a savings account.

[Deleted User]

kempiejon said:

I do it slightly differently to JuliusCaesar.
I make a balance transfer to card (2) effectively making a credit balance on card (1) and then make a money transfer to a current account and on to a savings account.

Except putting the card in credit deliberately is a breach of the terms of use and the provider is quite within their rights to simply return the funds, not pay them into a current account 

born_again

Interesting idea.
But given the poor ISA offers & the fact that you have a £1000 tax allowance (basic) & £500 (high rate tax) Then you will already have plenty of serious money in savings to get near these limits. 
Which makes the ISA rates even more pointless. 

So if you are exceeding the tax limits. Far more efficient to move some of the savings to ISA rather than borrow money to do this 🤷‍♂️

stehouk

I used my tesco 0% purchase card to transfer 9k into my current account via friends and family payment through paypal, using this method it isn't seen as cash transaction.

MrFrugalFever

stehouk said:

I used my tesco 0% purchase card to transfer 9k into my current account via friends and family payment through paypal, using this method it isn't seen as cash transaction.

Can you elaborate more on this please, I’m interested.

stehouk

It worked for me, just register the credit card as a preferred payment card in paypal account and send the money via friends and family to someone you trust, i sent it to my wife's paypal account, she transfers it to her bank and then to my bank account, it is totally free, no fees to pay, you then have the interest free period to repay on your'e credit card or balance transfer it away to another card, santander have a 21mth 0% balance transfer card with no fees. i paid off my mortgage with the funds.

Iv'e  set up 2  regular savers with nationwide and santander to make a little extra interest whilst paying the min payment on the card.

hope this is useful information for you.