I came up with this idea that seems straightforward except for maybe affecting your credit usage:
There isn’t really a catch but some folks may struggle to pay the balance if they spend beyond their means or if life gets in the way.
This happens a lot with card shifting, but if you think about how much effort goes into finding 0% APR cards just to earn maybe 4-5% on 5000-10000, it might not be worth it unless you have a big expense upfront.
For me, I had a medical bill of 10,000 that I had to cover, so I opted to go for a 0% card with a good sign-up bonus.
@Leo
I’m currently doing this with a Wells Fargo business card that offers a $500 signup bonus and 0% APR for about 15 months. I maxed it to $15k. I’m expecting another $600 or so from the 0% plus 2% cashback on the $15k in purchases. All in all, that should add up to $500 + $600 + $300, which is a $1400 bonus sitting in a HYSA. Not too shabby.
I might be able to earn even more if I use the $15k for bank account bonuses.
@Bennet
That’s a solid return for sure. Almost 10% on 15k spent. Did you reach that by spending as usual up to 15k or frontload some of your expenses to gain more interest in the 15 months?
No catch at all Just keep track of what you might actually gain compared to other methods.
Pace said:
No catch at all Just keep track of what you might actually gain compared to other methods.
I really like that saying and I’m going to use it from now on Thanks!
Pace said:
No catch at all Just keep track of what you might actually gain compared to other methods.
I really like that saying and I’m going to use it from now on Thanks!
Exactly Who came up with the idea of no catch deserves recognition
The only catch is that it can raise your credit usage. If you apply for another card in the next year and they notice one of your cards is at its limit, it might lower your chances of getting approved.
@Dex
Business cards (except for Capital One) have entered the conversation
Yep A lot of us here do this regularly.
Edit: I usually move on after hitting the bonus, then I only use the card for certain categories or close it if I don’t need it anymore
I do this once or twice a year The catch is you have to spend a significant amount and while the gains are decent, they aren’t lifesaving.
For instance, if you open a card with a $10k limit, a $200 sign-up bonus, and 12 months of 0% APR, you get the $200 bonus plus a year’s worth of interest on the $10k at 4% pre-tax which is another $300. So you’re looking at $500 for spending $10k. That’s about 5% cash back plus whatever other rewards you get from the card itself. It’s nice, but it’s basically what I earn in 1.5 days of work.
Yes And it’s even better when the cards come with sign-up bonuses
Aldrin said:
Yes And it’s even better when the cards come with sign-up bonuses
Do you know of some great cards for this?
Aldrin said:
Yes And it’s even better when the cards come with sign-up bonuses
Do you know of some great cards for this?
For cashback bonuses, check out Blue Cash Everyday and Blue Cash Preferred. Wells Fargo also has some cards, I think Active Cash has intro 0% and a $200 bonus.
I’ve seen this talked about a few times It’s not really a glitch since you’re using the 0% APR deal and HYSA the way they’re supposed to be used The real catch is having enough spending to make it worth it. If you get a card approved for $10k or more, it would only be worthwhile if you can max it out quickly and move the balance into a HYSA or CD for at least 12 months.
I’d only consider this seriously for big purchases like home renovations or cars then get a card with a big sign-up bonus and a 12-18 month 0% APR deal.
The catch is you’re probably not going to earn more than a few bucks.
Wyatt said:
The catch is you’re probably not going to earn more than a few bucks.
A few bucks What do you mean by a few bucks
Wyatt said:
The catch is you’re probably not going to earn more than a few bucks.
A few bucks What do you mean by a few bucks
After considering inflation, a 5% return is going to be a few hundred dollars at best Putting that cash away for a year and using an x/24 slot often isn’t really worth it compared to what else is available
@Bryn
Sign-up bonus plus 5% plus rewards earned maxing out the card is definitely more than a few hundred dollars.
Plus, you can easily get business cards that aren’t affected by your x/24 usage.
Bennet said:
@Bryn
Sign-up bonus plus 5% plus rewards earned maxing out the card is definitely more than a few hundred dollars.
Plus, you can easily get business cards that aren’t affected by your x/24 usage.
Sure, but you would just be shifting cards, and having a maxed out 0% APR card can hurt your chances of getting approved for more cards to shift. With approvals becoming tougher these days, I would rather shift to another card than go for a 0% APR offer.