0% FOR LIFE!! BT credit card games

[thefed]

Yowzers! I found ANOTHER 0% for LIFE offer

Citi Diamond Card, offer F1K7, apply online only

0% on BTs til 05/07, then make two purchases ($1 will suffice) and get 0% for that month, ongoing forever if you wish

I just got about 12k in credit, so I will be taking 12k from an investment property HELOC, and moving it to the cc


THEN, I will pay the minimum pymts each month with the HELOC, minus the couple bucks I normally pay...I have to knock down the principal somewhat!!

THEN I will set up a subscripton paypal transfer of $1 from this card to my old lady's paypal account, 3 times/month, making it a breeze to keep the 0%


That'll save me almost 1000 bucks in the next year alone! (9% current heloc rate)

 

[thefed]

i can imagine that someone here could make a LOT of money with a nice 20-30k line, BT to your checking acct, deposit in a MM at 5+% and pay the loan back from there....

 

[Peaceful_Warrior]

Do you have a link to this one?

I was checking out Citi's site and it shows 0% for 12 months on the Diamond / Diamond Preferred AMEX / Diamond Preferred Rewards.

I figure my credit is good enough that I could take advantage of something like this and do some serious floating.

 

[justin]

Here's the link:

www.apply.citicards.com, then enter f1k7.

The deal is for 0% through 5/1/2007, and then as long as you make 2 purchases each month, the 0% remains on the card.

I might have to get a couple of these cards as well...

I just applied for eight other citicards in the last week - that could make me ineligible for this new card

Gotta love the free money. Based on my tax statements I just got, I made somewhere north of $4000 last year. Most of that free from my 7% state tax! I get to cheat the credit card company, then cheat the govt!

 

[JohnEyles]

The deal is for 0% through 5/1/2007, and then as long as you make 2 purchases each month, the 0% remains on the card.

So the real question becomes (for those of us without significant debts), is there
a way to convert a "balance transfer" into cash, which could be used to purchase
T'Bills, or (dare I say) Penfed 6.25% CDs ? I guess the latter would be risky,
since Citibank can change their terms at any time, and you'd be forced to redeem
the CD prematurely ...

 

[Mr._johngalt]

i can imagine that someone here could make a LOT of money with a nice 20-30k line, BT to your checking acct, deposit in a MM at 5+% and pay the loan back from there....

Been doing this for years. This "system" actually provided 100% of
my personal income for quite a few months. FYI - I currently
hold 17 cards with high limits. If I don't have high limits, then,
obviously the card is of no use.

An aside. This seems to me to be the biggest no-brainer ever;
yet when I have explained it, many people just don't seem to
get it. I have an opinion (of course) but will let you draw your
own conclusions.

JG

 

[CCdaCE]

What is the balance transfer fee?

How do you transfer $$ from this CC to a checking account? Don't you usually have to provide a CC number that you're transfering from (to this new CC)?

-CC

 

[justin]

BT fees vary from $0 to $250 on citicards. Most other cards are $75. There are a handful of citicards (7 at my last count) that have the BT fee waived on their 0% introductory offer.

Citicards is easy to get the BT amount in cash form. You request a check in your name and put it in your bank account.

Other balance transfers from other companies can be transferred to any citicard (even with a zero balance), and then you can request a credit refund from the citicard that you transferred a balance to.

 

[maddythebeagle]

I have ramped up to getting quite a nice income from these offers (signup bonuses and interest)...I wouldnt advise most people do these things unless you can read and understand terms...most people apparently cant...

 

[SecondCor521]

BT fees vary from $0 to $250 on citicards. Most other cards are $75. There are a handful of citicards (7 at my last count) that have the BT fee waived on their 0% introductory offer.

Citicards is easy to get the BT amount in cash form. You request a check in your name and put it in your bank account.

Other balance transfers from other companies can be transferred to any citicard (even with a zero balance), and then you can request a credit refund from the citicard that you transferred a balance to.

Yet a third way is possible if you have a Visa debit card associated with your checking account. Just do a BT to your checking account by giving them the Visa debit card number as the target. I am fairly sure that they can't tell the difference between this kind of Visa card and a "real" Visa credit card -- I think because the Visa debit card is a real Visa credit card.

2Cor521

 

[JohnEyles]

Hardly seems worth it (for the turn the BT into cash earning money-mkt
rates scam) unless your credit line is at least $20,000 or so. Is there a
way to figure out what credit line they're gonna let you have without
going ahead with the application process ?

 

[justin]

I usually have a dozen or so credit cards at a time with a balance transfer on them. Typical credit limits from $3500-15000.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Sigh...the big gotcha here may be that you have to make 2 purchases each month, and usually the full high interest rate applies to THOSE purchases, and they're stuck on the "back end" of the debt, so you pay that high fee on those accumulating purchases as long as you're holding the "0%" balance.

Sure, you can buy a pack of gum twice a month at the gas station, providing they dont have a minimum purchase limit for credit cards and/or the credit card offer doesnt have a minimum purchase figure and you'd make out. But if you forget one of the two purchases, most of the time they put the full interest rate on the whole balance.

Read ALL of the fine print carefully. I've yet to see one that didnt have the potential for being way more costly than the measly benefits of floating a balance.

 

[JohnEyles]

I've yet to see one that didnt have the potential for being way more costly than the measly benefits of floating a balance.

Yes. But, on the other hand, if one could get a $50,000 credit limit and keep the
0% balance in perpetuity, you'd earn $2500-3000/year. I was thinking of SPIA'ing a
$70K "after-tax annuity" account, for about $3000/yr. Kinda puts it in perspective.

 

[Texas Proud]

Let's see... a 3% balance transfer fee.... it does not look like you can take it in cash..

But, for the purchases... go to the 'red box' and rent DVDs for $1 twice a month... not that hard to do.

 

[bright eyed]

Citicards is easy to get the BT amount in cash form. You request a check in your name and put it in your bank account.

Other balance transfers from other companies can be transferred to any citicard (even with a zero balance), and then you can request a credit refund from the citicard that you transferred a balance to.

that's not considered a cash advance? i thought those didn't apply for the same rules - higher interest etc.?

and on your second comment - you're saying that you request a transfer from Card A (which has $0 but you still request for say $1000?) to the new card, and then the Card A folks give you a refund check for that amount?

 

[SecondCor521]

that's not considered a cash advance? i thought those didn't apply for the same rules - higher interest etc.?

and on your second comment - you're saying that you request a transfer from Card A (which has $0 but you still request for say $1000?) to the new card, and then the Card A folks give you a refund check for that amount?

It depends on the check. Some are considered BT checks and some are considered CA checks. You need to read the fine print and make sure of what you are doing. You're right, there are different rules for CA's vs. BT's.

As to your second question, I would have worded it differently, but if you have Card A and Card B which both have a zero balance, and Card B has a 0% BT offer, you can BT $1000 from Card B to Card A and have Card A send you a $1000 refund check. I think that's what you were saying.

Also, to someone earlier in the thread, 3% BT fees pretty much make the game not worth playing. If you know where to look, there are 0% BT offers with less than 3% fees, especially true for large credit lines. This game is played by lots of folks over on www.fatwallet.com/c/52.

2Cor521

 

[JohnEyles]

... 3% BT fees pretty much make the game not worth playing

No. At least for the Citi F1K7 offer, the 3% BT fee tops out at $75. So you'll
pay WAY less than 3% for any amount which makes this game worth playing.

 

[justin]

The only time I play is if the BT fee is $0 to $75. Citicards has some cards that charge 3% up to $250, which makes the game not worth playing.

 

[SecondCor521]

No. At least for the Citi F1K7 offer, the 3% BT fee tops out at $75. So you'll
pay WAY less than 3% for any amount which makes this game worth playing.

Yup, I know about these. If you look even harder, you can still find no-fee no-interest BT's, which are even better. I was referring to uncapped 3% fees, which have become more common lately.

2Cor521

 

[justin]

SecondCor521,

Read your thread at fatwallet. Let us know how your app-o-rama turns out. I might sign up for a ton of cards next time I get an urge to make some $$.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

You guys do realize that you're hosing your FICO score, yes?

 

[justin]

You guys do realize that you're hosing your FICO score, yes?

Maybe - but who cares? What do I need credit for? I've got a house and a couple of cars and a pretty penny in the bank. I keep getting new credit cards, so obviously it isn't that bad. Even if my insurance costs doubled (I don't know if they are tied to FICO scores or not), I'd still be ahead a couple grand a year.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

As long as you arent applying for a new mortgage or car loan...in which case the higher rates resulting might offset your gains. And then some.

 

[maddythebeagle]

As long as you arent applying for a new mortgage or car loan...in which case the higher rates resulting might offset your gains. And then some.

credit advice from somebody that wouldnt pay a 30 dollar bill from amex and is now permanently blacklisted from a card from them...how rich seriously, the advice to read fat wallet is a good idea...take a weekend to read some threads there and see if any of this for you....there are ways to limit the affect on your credit (i.e. limiting utilization and some other stuff that is easier to just find yourself there)....