Credit card 0% cash advances

[Lakewood90712]

Got some Discover card 0% apr till april  checks with my statement , and instead of trashing, I am looking at the offer.     Cash advance treated as ballance transfer , 0% apr,  3% cash advance fee , cap at $75.   
Looks like a way to pick-up a couple of hundred.   14K at 0% , and put it in mm. at 4% for 6 mo.

Fine print says any payments will be applied to the 0% ballance first , so I would have to have a zero ballance to start and not use the card during the 0% offer.

Will this work , or am I missing something

John.

 

[justin]

This works. I do this all the time. Slight hassle, but you can make a couple hundred bucks per 0% balance transfer.

 

[thefed]

ive done it as well.


even better is a discover 0% for LIFe. its great. i only need to make 2 1.00 purchase/month to keep it going.

 

[dt123]

Oooh,  my first post after long time lurking.

The Discover 0% for life requires those pesky monthly purchases just mentioned.  The game, of course, is to purchase as little as possible each month to extend the 0% rate, but I would be embarrased to buy just 10 cents of something on my Discover card face to face with anyone.  Discover is obviously betting that you will forget to make the purchase some month, so the rate escalates to 20% or whatever, or betting that you will just use the card for normal spending and run up recurring interest charges that way.

So, here is my solution to painless Discover minimum monthly purchases.  Buy 40 cents worth of U.S. postal stamps each month online at the USPS Postal Store [http://shop.usps.com/cgi-bin/vsbv/postal_store_non_ssl/home.jsp] with my Discover card.  This is a sheet of 20 2 cent stamps.  Shipping is only an additional dollar.  The 2 cent stamps are just like cash.  So it costs me a buck each month to extend 0% per life.

 

[retire@40]

Oooh,  my first post after long time lurking.

The Discover 0% for life requires those pesky monthly purchases just mentioned.  The game, of course, is to purchase as little as possible each month to extend the 0% rate, but I would be embarrased to buy just 10 cents of something on my Discover card face to face with anyone.  Discover is obviously betting that you will forget to make the purchase some month, so the rate escalates to 20% or whatever, or betting that you will just use the card for normal spending and run up recurring interest charges that way.

So, here is my solution to painless Discover minimum monthly purchases.  Buy 40 cents worth of U.S. postal stamps each month online at the USPS Postal Store [http://shop.usps.com/cgi-bin/vsbv/postal_store_non_ssl/home.jsp] with my Discover card.  This is a sheet of 20 2 cent stamps.  Shipping is only an additional dollar.  The 2 cent stamps are just like cash.  So it costs me a buck each month to extend 0% per life.

Instead of going through all that trouble, why not just put $1 of gas in your car once a month at a self-serve gas station using that card and fill up the rest of the tank on the same or different card? No shipping charges, just a few extra seconds of your time at the gas station.

 

[Martha]

I am not sure I understand how this works. Do you have to make minimum monthly payments? Why is it important to keep the amount of the monthly purchases small?

 

[Sheryl]

And do these small monthly payments entitle you to take 0% cash advances for life

 

[thefed]

It works like this. when u get the offer, you can do BT's up to your credit line for 6 months. Thsoe BT's or cash advances are 0% for LIFE. Once the 6 months is over, you need to make 2 1.00 purchases/month to extend the 0%. Otherwise, it reverts to your normal rate.

I do 2 $1 gas purchases at the pump...no probs yet.

 

[maddythebeagle]

I am not sure I understand how this works.  Do you have to make minimum monthly payments?  Why is it important to keep the amount of the monthly purchases small?

because they apply payment to the higher rate balances (purchases) before the 0% balance transfer. Discover figures that there arent that many cheap B@@#ards that want to bother with putting 2 -1 dollar purchases on the card a  month. I figure that most that do this want to show discover who's the boss

 

[Texas Proud]

Go to the store (or now McDonald's) and rent a movie for $1.... it is the NORMAL charge and you do not have to fill up using two credit cards...

 

[SLC Tortfeasor]

I've been doing this Discover card scam (not really a scam, but I like to think I'm scamming them) for almost a year now.  I didn't understand in the first couple months why it was important to keep subsequent purchases as small as possible, but luckily I didn't run them up too high either.  For the past few months I've been buying $1 worth of gas a month (my particular Discovery card deal only requires me to make one purchase per month), and the "scam" has been working beautifully.

 

[Mr._johngalt]

I am still seeing -0-% offers (but not for life of balance). I have some now good out into 2007. It's a bit of work keeping track in my case (lots of cards in play with different deals and promo ending dates).
But, even as the promo deals edge up (like to 1.99%), the rate
I am getting from the bank moves right ahead of it. I'm having fun with it and have made a lot of money.

JG

 

[smooch]

How does one get this offer? I looked on the Discover website, but I don't see it.

 

[maddythebeagle]

On my cards, I get offers that cycle over time. You might try calling them to see what offers are available. My coworker got this particicular offer after telling them that she wanted to cancel discover, so that would probably work too.

 

[thefed]

The top one is DEFINATELY still active...dunno about the others. Tell em you saw it in the newspaper

1800-347-0320 - Reward Card
0% APR for LIFE - When you make 2 purchases monthly
Up to 5% Cash Back
-You have to sign up for it ... I called and forgot to ask about that.
Invitation #FMBB

1800-633-4111 - Miles Card
0% APR for LIFE
10,000 miles when you make a transaction by 2/16/06
#FMBF

1800-287-8772 - Gas Card
5% Cash Back on select places.
#FMBD

 

[dt123]

Now to double my message count:

The reason I like my stamps-by-mail technique is that I can do it all from my computer, and fit it seamlessly into my once a month bill-paying ritual. I buy my 40 cents worth stamps the same time every month I pay my utility bills, etc.

The gas pump technique is too unscheduled for me. I worry I will forget some month, or worse, accidentally spend an extra dollar some month that I didn't have to.

 

[REWahoo]

Reading this thread plus the other discussions of this subject on the board, I'm going to give this a shot. Got an offer for 0% for 15 months, no transaction fees, no cash advance fees, no irritating monthly purchase requirements. The usual "all payments are applied to the lowest interest rate first", but I will have nothing else on the card.

Looks to me like an easy $8-900 or so ($18,000 @4% for 15 months). Worth a try.

 

[TromboneAl]

Why does one try to make the purchases only $1 instead of, say, $15? At 20% interest, the monthly interest on $30 is 50 cents.

 

[maddythebeagle]

Why does one try to make the purchases only $1 instead of, say, $15? At 20% interest, the monthly interest on $30 is 50 cents.

Because if you are adding $15 purchases every month, they dont get paid down. After 1 year, you have 15x12=180 bucks plus the compounding interest. I really dont like these offers since even an offer for 6 months at 0% interest is less work and can just transfer to another card.

 

[Mr._johngalt]

This can get complicated. Right now I have five (5) cards in play and two
(2) more coming on line (meaning taking the entire credit
line) this week.
With different rates, fees, various promo
rates and expirations, monthly purchase
requirements, cash back deals, etc. And, of course, you have to put the money somewhere. Well worth the effort IMHO.

JG

 

[SLC Tortfeasor]

How does one get this offer? I looked on the Discover website, but I don't see it.

I got it by telling them I wanted to cancel my card.

 

[soupcxan]

I deposited the checks in my local bank and then transferred to Emigrant Direct. Now my ED account is linked to the credit cards "e-payment" feature so I can make the minimum payments right out of the savings account. Left pocket-right pocket, and I get the 4% spread.

I love this phony 0% money!

 

[SLC Tortfeasor]

That is awesome. Did you have to pay a fee for using the CC's cash access checks? Usually balance transfers are free, but writing yourself a check with the CC's money entails the payment of some fee.

 

[Lakewood90712]

If used as a cash advance, a 3% fee applies , but the fee has a cap of $75.

John.

 

[dt123]

Some of the better 0% offers have the balance transfer and check fees waived.