If you have
a great
credit rating
and no debt, then you could
be in line
to make
some money. And you can
do it using the tools
that credit card tarts have been using
for years.
The
Credit Card Tart System
Credit
card tarts have used the
incentives offered by
lenders to their advantage
for quite
a long time.
These incentives
often consist
of 0% interest on balance
transfers for a fixed
period of up
to 12 months. Borrowers who have
a debt apply for
a new 0% credit card and transfer that debt to the new card.
They make repayments
as they normally
would, but the balance owed
is reduced since
no interest
is being charged.
When the incentive period
is due to end,
credit card tarts look around for
a new 0%
deal. They apply for the new
card at least
six weeks before the expiry of the old 0% deal,
so they have plenty of
time to
transfer the outstanding balance onto
their new 0% card.
This serial card switching
allows borrowers to
clear debt without paying any interest. Lenders have
begun to fight back
as they
are losing hundreds of thousands of
pounds' worth of interest. Many of them now
charge a balance
transfer fee of about 2%. However,
there are still some fee free balance transfers available, which
is good
news fro debt-free consumers looking to use the system to make some money.
How
To Earn Money On A 0% Card
To make
money from a 0% balance
transfer card, it
is necessary to have a good credit rating
and to get two new credit cards. One credit card has a 0% balance transfer rate. This must be a card that does not charge a balance transfer fee. The second allows credit card cheques at no additional charge.
The borrower can use the balance transfer card to transfer a sum of money onto the card that allows credit card
cheques. The borrower can then write a cheque for that amount and pay it into a high interest savings account. This
strategy only works if the interest earned is more
than the amount being paid. Borrowers can use the
same technique to get a low interest loan. Long term balance transfer rates are
lower than standard interest rates on loans.
But
Is It Legal?
There is nothing to prevent borrowers from using their cards in this
way. As long as they make repayments on
time and in full, there are unlikely to be complaints. It is
also essential to keep credit card applications to a minimum so there are no red flags on the
borrower's credit
report. There's no reason why borrowers who stick to these
rules and make payments on time shouldn't make a bit of money from their credit cards. And while
they're shopping around for the perfect credit cards, it's worth checking out the
other incentives as well.
Joe Kenny writes for the personal finance
sites http://www.cardguide.co.uk and also
http://www.ukpersonalloanstore.co.uk.