Stoozing next steps/ ending?

fcpanda

Hi all,

Apologies if this has already been asked- I am currently stoozing only using one card- a Barclaycard Platinum fee free 0% till Jan 2026- paying the minimum monthly and adding the funds spent on it daily to an interest gaining account.  I have already increased the limit on it once and will likely need to again before long.

My question is:

1- Is it better to pay it all off before the interest kicks in in Jan or balance transfer to another 0% card (I have never done this before so unsure the ins and outs of doing it and costs or if there is a rule of thumb to follow?)

2- Ideally, I would keep the pot growing but then if this is transferred onto a new card is it likely that I will not get much of a credit limit? In this case would it be better to just start afresh at £0 with another long term 0% card and lose the pot?

3- Is there a timescale I need to be doing this for transfers etc before being penalised? i.e. diarise 3 weeks out to complete and close?

Would love some tips from some experienced stoozers! Thanks in advance

vacheron

1: Balance transferring is quicker and easier than paying off and starting again, it will also help build your stooze pot as you can start building further balances on a new 0% card in parallel (if accepted). Regarding costs, there is often a one off transfer fee (usually 1-4%) but there are many cards with 0% balance transfers and 0% transfer fees. These are the ones you want ideally (with the longest 0% period you can get).

2: Impossible to say what credit limit you will get, but if this is you first card and you have being reliably repaying the minimum repayment of your Barclays 0% each month, this will bode well for your overall credit worthiness on a new application. 

3: Usuallty balance transfers need to be completed within 30-60 days of the new card being opened, but when you open a BT card, you can transfer the balance as part of the application (or do it later if you prefer). Also, if you keep your old card, you can keep spending on it as you are now, and then transfer any remaining balance a second time just before the transfer eligibility ends (providing your new BT card credit limit allows it). 

fcpanda

vacheron said:

1: Balance transferring is quicker and easier than paying off and starting again, it will also help build your stooze pot as you can start building further balances on a new 0% card in parallel (if accepted). Regarding costs, there is often a one off transfer fee (usually 1-4%) but there are many cards with 0% balance transfers and 0% transfer fees. These are the ones you want ideally (with the longest 0% period you can get).

2: Impossible to say what credit limit you will get, but if this is you first card and you have being reliably repaying the minimum repayment of your Barclays 0% each month, this will bode well for your overall credit worthiness on a new application. 

3: Usuallty balance transfers need to be completed within 30-60 days of the new card being opened, but when you open a BT card, you can transfer the balance as part of the application (or do it later if you prefer). Also, if you keep your old card, you can keep spending on it as you are now, and then transfer any remaining balance a second time just before the transfer eligibility ends (providing your new BT card credit limit allows it). 

Thanks for this.
So with the balance transfer- is it a case of applying and seeing what the fee is and they would offer a new credit limit? The old card would then be closed and debt moved onto the new card?

Is there a rule of thumb for whether the fee outweighs the benefits of starting afresh from 0?

Many thanks

Nasqueron

fcpanda said:

vacheron said:

1: Balance transferring is quicker and easier than paying off and starting again, it will also help build your stooze pot as you can start building further balances on a new 0% card in parallel (if accepted). Regarding costs, there is often a one off transfer fee (usually 1-4%) but there are many cards with 0% balance transfers and 0% transfer fees. These are the ones you want ideally (with the longest 0% period you can get).

2: Impossible to say what credit limit you will get, but if this is you first card and you have being reliably repaying the minimum repayment of your Barclays 0% each month, this will bode well for your overall credit worthiness on a new application. 

3: Usuallty balance transfers need to be completed within 30-60 days of the new card being opened, but when you open a BT card, you can transfer the balance as part of the application (or do it later if you prefer). Also, if you keep your old card, you can keep spending on it as you are now, and then transfer any remaining balance a second time just before the transfer eligibility ends (providing your new BT card credit limit allows it). 

Thanks for this.
So with the balance transfer- is it a case of applying and seeing what the fee is and they would offer a new credit limit? The old card would then be closed and debt moved onto the new card?

Is there a rule of thumb for whether the fee outweighs the benefits of starting afresh from 0?

Many thanks

You can apply for a card with an advertised fee and see what you get though it's often more that they reduce the term length rather than increase fees however, they're usually around 3-4% 

Doing a BT, the old card isn't closed, indeed, if you don't get enough of a limit you'd still need to keep paying it off even if you cleared most of it.

If you have built a pot to gain interest from by stoozing then going back to 0 uses that up which is an obvious negative.

DJSINGH

Has anyone had any BT offers once their RBS/NatWest BT cards have come to their end of their promotional period? I am not sure whether to close the card or keep it in the hope they give a repeat offer?

RosieRooBear

DJSINGH said:

Has anyone had any BT offers once their RBS/NatWest BT cards have come to their end of their promotional period? I am not sure whether to close the card or keep it in the hope they give a repeat offer?

@DJSINGH, my hubby has RBS/NatWest & Ulster credit cards, all paid off at end of their respective promotional periods a few months ago (well balance transferred to a different card to continue stoozing 😂). He hasn’t had any offers yet and is considering closing the Ulster card but keeping the others for now as a just in case.

twadds123

DJSINGH said:

Has anyone had any BT offers once their RBS/NatWest BT cards have come to their end of their promotional period? I am not sure whether to close the card or keep it in the hope they give a repeat offer?

been getting offer of 12 months @0% for 2.9% fee a couple of months after original offer ended

vacheron

DJSINGH said:

Has anyone had any BT offers once their RBS/NatWest BT cards have come to their end of their promotional period? I am not sure whether to close the card or keep it in the hope they give a repeat offer?

I've had 3 Natwest BT cards in the last 5 years. Each time I close the card off fully, and I find I am eligible for new Natwers offers within a few months of closing them. My got feeling is that I would be waiting longer for a new offer on an existing card. And usually these are often not as good as their "new customer" offers. 

DJSINGH

twadds123 said:

DJSINGH said:

Has anyone had any BT offers once their RBS/NatWest BT cards have come to their end of their promotional period? I am not sure whether to close the card or keep it in the hope they give a repeat offer?

been getting offer of 12 months @0% for 2.9% fee a couple of months after original offer ended

The new customer offer is no fee, so thats no good for stoozing at all!

DJSINGH

vacheron said:

DJSINGH said:

Has anyone had any BT offers once their RBS/NatWest BT cards have come to their end of their promotional period? I am not sure whether to close the card or keep it in the hope they give a repeat offer?

I've had 3 Natwest BT cards in the last 5 years. Each time I close the card off fully, and I find I am eligible for new Natwers offers within a few months of closing them. My got feeling is that I would be waiting longer for a new offer on an existing card. And usually these are often not as good as their "new customer" offers. 

Thanks. I will close and open then!

kempiejon

I used to phone the CCs to cancel back in the hey day and someone on a retention team might offer a new deal or with M&S I got points for staying with them. I don't bother these days. Small risk of closing and reapplying one doesn't get accepted or on a lower limit - I've had that. I've seen a (6 month?) period before you can hit up as a new applicant.