MSN Money recently wrote a new article titled 0% daredevils chase ‘free’ cash discussing the practice of borrowing cheap money from credit cards offering 0% APR interest and no fees, putting that money into an online savings account at 5-6%, and pocketing the difference as profit!
Now, I may be a tiny bit biased, but I think my series of step-by-step posts on how to make money with 0% APR balance transfers is a better. (I suspect she might have even read it before writing her article!) I even put my warnings in the very first post. 😉
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Time for me to start paying them off. $12k due June, 21k due July. $23k November. I’d keep rolling but the applications just don’t come anymore. After the paydown, I’m asking all lines to raise my limit, suspecting that no more feeless 0% intro offers are coming, and for those with fees I really need to know the limit to know the limit before agreeing. i can only do that on existing lines. so everybody’s tightening up. we’ll see…
I think she read your article, called a friend named Bruce, checked with some web forum users, and voila! A new article that “nobody’s thought of before”. If I could roll my eyes here and now I would. In school we call that plagiarism.
I have noticed the 0% offers drying up too. Some of the ones that I have seen are life-time 3.99% loans. I guess if I had a balance I would take that offer, but I haven’t gotten much better.
I am maxed out on my other 0% cards. Need to have them paid off by October.
I would pay off all my 0%APR credit card(s) due in Sept 07. This technique helped me purchasing my car at 0% APR, no financing, no hassle. Instead of pocketing the difference as profit, I put them into my online savings acct. to help me to earn more to pay off when its due. Excellent techniques. Thanks.
What’s funny is that the article links to CardRating.com, when it should be CardRating.net.
Just like a stock market peak, you can always tell when something is coming to an end when the mainstream media starts publishing articles about it.
However, unlike most of the naysayers regarding 0% APR games who wouldn’t touch it with a ten foot pole and consider it such HIGH risk, at least she doesn’t say don’t do it.
It’s going to suck having to pay off 20k in October. Is there really no feeless cards left out there?
Shameless if she read your article and didn’t give you credit.
I don’t know what it matters who’s article is better. Its kind of like haggling over whether its better to swim with sharks or stingrays.
My whole thing is that it is wrong to call it “free” money. Its not free because you have to work to make a profit.
Jonathan, I have to admit that she stole your idea. But yours are so much more detailed. I have played this game for almost 6 months after reading your blog. One question here: I have normal Chase consumer card, and now I am trying to apply for a Chase Business card or professional card. Can I move credit limit line between consumer card and business card (though both are under my name) ? Thanks.
To be clear, the idea is not mine, and she is free to write about it. It’s just that many phrases and how she presented the information just seemed very familiar.
I’m in the very early stages of attempting a BT out of Chase but I actually will be making a purchase @ 0% APR to initially fund an online High Interest CU account (www.rateedge.com (they actually let you charge your initial funding)), so I’ll get both interest at 5.5% (until I move the Balance to my FNBO account) as well as ~24,000 reward points. My main question is can balance limits from Business cards be moved to consumer cards within the same family? There has been alot of new activity in my Credit reports since within the last two months 2 chase cards were opened, 1 ATT/citicard was opened and 2 Online High Yield Accounts were opened (FNBO & AmTrust). Additionally Chase closed a linked Pier 1 card due to no activity and denied me a credit limit increase on an older Chase card. I had I want to apply for another citi card that is business related mostly for the instant rewards and then move it’s limits to the ATT/Citi card which is 0% BT that starts anytime within the initial 12 month into period. Should I apply for the Citi Business card or wait till there is less activity in the account. I don’t really want to apply once they can see that I’ll have ~24,000 $ of revolving debt (of course simply sitting earning interest). Advice is needed.