Make Money With a Credit Card

Two tribes

So here’s the thing: if we exclude those people that are disciplined enough to pay off their credit card balances every month and aren’t actually interested in playing the system for all its worth, then we can see the credit card world is divided into two:

• those who are up to their eyes in debt
• those who make money from their credit cards

The trick, of course, is to be in the last category. Unfortunately, if you are over-burdened with debt it’s impossible to make money out of credit cards.

Stoozing

The internet is responsible for introducing new terms in to the English language almost as freely as texting on mobile phones. ‘Stoozing’ is the term now becoming more widely used to describe the process of making money from zero percent interest promotions from credit card companies. This ‘stoozing’ is, you won’t be surprised to learn, primarily done by ‘rate tarts’!

Is it legal?

The act of stoozing in a nutshell consists of taking out as much money as possible on a zero rated credit card and depositing that sum in a high interest bank account. The secret is to be impeccable about your timing and absolutely thorough in understanding every aspect of both the card and your bank account to ensure you don’t find yourself lumbered with unexpected penalties.

If you have any doubt about how much time and effort you can afford to pay to your credit card transactions don’t attempt to stooze. But if you can and you have a healthy credit rating you could find yourself richer each year by something in the order of £400 to £1,500.

Is it legal? Yes it is. Is it moral? That’s entirely up to you. There are other ways to make money from your cards.

Gimme, gimme, gimme

Cashback or reward points can both earn you the equivalent of several hundred pounds a year if you’re canny with your spend. There are ways to maximise the way you accumulate cashback and it’s simply to pay for as many things as possible with your credit card. The important thing is to then be able to pay off the resulting balance.

Riding the gift horse

“Never look a gift horse in the mouth” the saying goes. So if you want to maximise cashback look for all those opportunities and use them. Cashback only mounts up if you make full use of the card.

Think of all the things that you can pay for by credit card: not just restaurant bills, CD’s, other internet purchases or holidays. Utility bills can often be paid by credit card, as can insurance payments. You can find yourself gaining in two ways on these bills as some insurance companies will charge you a premium for paying by direct debit.

If you pay by zero percent interest credit card, then set up a direct debit from your bank account to pay back the credit card you will win by gaining both the cashback and by not paying the direct debit premium to the insurance company.

Another bite of the cherry

Another thought is that if a group of you all go out to a restaurant, why not offer to pick up the whole bill on your card and get the cash from your friends. In that way you get the cashback value on the whole bill not just your portion of it. But beware of annoying your friends and watch out for the copy cat credit card user in the group; you know, the one who spots what you’re doing and tries to muscle in on the act!

Mind games

In short, making money from credit cards is possible, but you have to have the kind of mind that can enjoy the painstaking dedication required to really make it profitable for you.