0% spend card avoiding transfer fees

V3cash

Does anyone avoid transfer fees by spending on another 0% spending card and using money you would have usually paid into that card to pay off other credit cards before their 0% spend comes to an end.
i do, but when I try to explain to my husband how he just doesn’t get it.
just wondering if someone has a good way of explaining it as I’m obviously not able to.
in fact no one will probably have a clue what I’m going on about, but I thought if anyone might it would be someone in this forum!

eskbanker

I don't recall anyone promoting 0% spend cards specifically as a means of avoiding transfer fees, which are usually dwarfed by the other figures involved, but yes, anything that keeps total costs down has to be worth investigating.  Which of the two approaches works best will come down to individual circumstances and the offers available - 0% purchase deals are often shorter duration than balance transfer ones, for example, so more rotation would be needed.

V3cash

eskbanker said:

I don't recall anyone promoting 0% spend cards specifically as a means of avoiding transfer fees, which are usually dwarfed by the other figures involved, but yes, anything that keeps total costs down has to be worth investigating.  Which of the two approaches works best will come down to individual circumstances and the offers available - 0% purchase deals are often shorter duration than balance transfer ones, for example, so more rotation would be needed.

I suppose I don’t mind doing this regularly.
it does take some careful monitoring, I usually put all my spending on a Tesco credit card to get points and pay it off monthly, when I’m spending on a 0% I don’t spend on my usual card at all.

it has limitations as you only usually get a couple of months 0% spending but sometimes it’s longer. But I find it worth the hassle as it’s 0%

surreysaver

I use 0% spending cards to build up my debt in the beginning to then balance transfer around at later dates, rather then using mule cards 

grumpy_codger

V3cash said:

...when I try to explain to my husband how he just doesn’t get it.
just wondering if someone has a good way of explaining it as I’m obviously not able to....

MSE: Stoozing - Make Free Cash From Credit Cards

In the past no-fee BTs were very common, stoozing was mainly about BTs and there was a special term "slow stoozing" for exploiting 0% on purchases.

However, this article was "Updated 30 July 2024", and now it's mainly about "spending on an interest-free credit card".

It makes no real difference whether you put the 'saved' cash to a savings account or use it to pay off interest-bearing debts (e.g. other CCs).

fergie_

It makes no real difference whether you put the 'saved' cash to a savings account or use it to pay off interest-bearing debts (e.g. other CCs).

The most efficient way is to put the money into interest earning accounts and then use it to pay off the soonest ending interest free period. Obviously, if someone has a debt that is incurring interest already, that should be cleared first if possible.

Going back to the original poster's point, it can be cheaper than a balance transfer, as long as you are disciplined and have the facility to clear off each debt in time. There is a big risk that all the money ends up spent and simply there is more debt than realised. 

However it can work well with a new card where initially all spending is put on it (especially a cashback card) to allow another impending debt to be cleared quickly.

V3cash

fergie_ said:

It makes no real difference whether you put the 'saved' cash to a savings account or use it to pay off interest-bearing debts (e.g. other CCs).

The most efficient way is to put the money into interest earning accounts and then use it to pay off the soonest ending interest free period. Obviously, if someone has a debt that is incurring interest already, that should be cleared first if possible.

Going back to the original poster's point, it can be cheaper than a balance transfer, as long as you are disciplined and have the facility to clear off each debt in time. There is a big risk that all the money ends up spent and simply there is more debt than realised. 

However it can work well with a new card where initially all spending is put on it (especially a cashback card) to allow another impending debt to be cleared quickly.

I’ve done it for years but I am extremely disciplined with spending on it.
if you were not it would be easy to get it wrong