can you make money out of 6 months 0% interest on new CC ?

Can you make money by doing the following?

Open a new CC account and borrow the max say e3000 for 6 months at 0% interest
Then put this money in a interest earning account for say 5 and half months then after that time withdraw it and pay of your CC card debt just before the 6 months are up.

?? It is doable in the UK is it doable here any one have any experience of this ?

Re: can you make money out of 6 months 0% interest on new CC

Don't forget the €40 stamp duty will hit you.

Re: can you make money out of 6 months 0% interest on new CC

Interest rates are higher in the UK than here and there is no stamp duty on cc cards.
Which card issuer in Ireland will let you withdraw cash on an interest free basis for 6 months - surely the interest free period on cc's only applies to transfers and purchases.

Re: can you make money out of 6 months 0% interest on new CC

Yes - As Demoivre mentioned, you would need to open one card and take out 3k. Thne transfer the balance to another card at 0%. The process would take you about a month so you would be liable for the interest immediately for cash withdrawels. This would be about (roughly) 1.5% of 3k which is €45 plus the €40 for closing the first one plus €40 for the second one totalling €125. This would meand you would need an annual rate of about 8 or 9% just to come out even. So I would imagine it would not make a return.

Re: can you make money out of 6 months 0% interest on new CC

Hi all

Which card issuer in Ireland will let you withdraw cash on an interest free basis for 6 months

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MBNA. If you get the platinum plus card you will have use of the money for 9 months. Obviously, you will not use this card once you have taken your maximum loan.

surely the interest free period on cc's only applies to transfers and purchases.

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No. They allow you to write a cheque or alternatively they will lodge the money to your a/c.


Can money be made or saved. Yes!

Marion :hat

Re: can you make money out of 6 months 0% interest on new CC

Hi Marion,

Still can't see how you can make any money out of it.
You would be doing well to get a deposit rate of 2.5% in nominal terms. The rate of inflation in Ireland for the year September 2003 to Sep. 2004 was also 2.5% so effectively the real interest rate is 0 %. You still have to pay the € 40 tax so how do you make any money overall ?

Re: can you make money out of 6 months 0% interest on new CC

I suppose I was thinking more in terms of borrowing the money for the purpose of a loan when I posted above as this has been my personal experience with MBNA.

I borrowed, I switched and I will switch back. I wasn't so lucky when I initially borrowed (10k) as the rate was then 3.9%. (The cheapest bank loan at the time was 9.9%.) I will however be getting a 0% rate when I switch back from my current 2.9% rate soon. And, really I don't pay this rate on the total amount borrowed because the amount owing is reduced by my monthly repayments each month. I pay off as much as if I were borrowing from the banks so that I will clear it as quickly as possible. I should add that when I first made an attempt to switch credit card companies the new company initially offered to take a transfer of €3000 only but they relented and took the total transfer. So switching amounts greater than €3000 may not always be possible.

It has to be the cheapest method of short-term borrowing. You will have to pay a minimum monthly payment each month.

The current inflation rate as you point out makes a mockery out of savings' rates.

But, when you use borrowed money at 0% for loans you can't lose.

I would use this form of short-term borrowing again if the need arose.

Warning: borrowing on credit cards is not for the faint hearted. You need to be financially disciplined to do this.

Marion :hat