cashback card or 0% purchase card?

km1500

I have always gone for cashback cards - 1% or even 2% (Santander Edge) wherever possible. Pay back in full every month of course.

Just realised if I had gone for 0% purchase card and put what I would have paid back into even a simple savings account (eg Marcus 4.3%) I would have got the equivalent of 4.3% cashback (12 month card) or even 6% cashback (18 month card).

Rough figures of course but wish I had worked it out earlier.

BlueonBlue

Im not so sure its all that simple in practise over a long period of time when life can suddenly change .
The total is reducing each month so you get less interest each month
I did it once via a unique offer with Metro bank when they first opened .
That was effectivily a free loan for stoozers .

lr1277

The other considerations are:
1) do you have the discipline not to dip into these savings?
2) will this extra interest take you over the PSA limit?

km1500

good points but I still think much better than cashback.

Nasqueron

I got an 18 months offer from Barclays for MT at 3.3% fee, whack as much of it as I can into Santander Edge saver (6% up to £4000) and rest in Nationwide Flex (5% up to £1500), works out as easy money, some minor profit for doing little work

jbrassy

One thing worth considering is whether you are applying for a mortgage soon or need to remortgage in the near future.

When you apply for a mortgage, they will ask you what credit cards you have and what balances you carry on them. If you have thousands of pounds of debt on credit cards, this may act against you when you apply and you may not get the best mortgage deals available at the time. On the other hand, if you have a cashback card and pay in full every month, this will look good in the eyes of lenders. This is the main reason why I have never engaged in stoozing. 

km1500

yes that is a good point and of course the other side is that you having a couple of credit cards maxed out with only the minimum being paid each month may also not look very good for your credit record in general 

that said and as long as you plan carefully I still maintain it is possible to get the equivalent of 4 or 6% cash back! 

you can also have both of course - the Amazon Barclaycard has cashback and also a 0% purchase period. Annoyingly I have been paying back my Amazon Barclaycard in full each month whereas I should have just paid the minimum and put the money in Marcus.

Nasqueron

km1500 said:

yes that is a good point and of course the other side is that you having a couple of credit cards maxed out with only the minimum being paid each month may also not look very good for your credit record in general 

that said and as long as you plan carefully I still maintain it is possible to get the equivalent of 4 or 6% cash back! 

you can also have both of course - the Amazon Barclaycard has cashback and also a 0% purchase period. Annoyingly I have been paying back my Amazon Barclaycard in full each month whereas I should have just paid the minimum and put the money in Marcus.

Promo rates are treated differently as lenders recognise things like BT and MT cards exist. Provided you can service it and can close them off if needed you would be ok - fortunately I don't want a mortgage (or perhaps more realistically I couldn't afford one lol)

surreysaver

Even better if you can obtain a 0% card with cashback as well