Has anyone made money off their CC??? Investing their O% apr for a year in the bank? LOL

[Anonymous]

just wondering if it has been done, I'd love to screw them for once...

[Anonymous]

It's done all the time. Credit card arbitrage. Very difficult because one or two mistakes and they can jack up the interest as high as 24-32%. People have made money. The banks are aware of this too. And they also know that people sometimes miss payment or don't understand and pay it back after the trial offer is over owing lots of interest.

Google Link

[Anonymous]

I'm doing it now.  Some nights I wake up in a cold sweat because I'm at 60% util on that card, and one late payment or failure to pay it all back in November and I'm toast ...  JK about the midnight sweats, but you do have to be absolutely organized.  Plus the banks are now giving them out less freely and charging higher fees, making it less attractive as an investment idea.

[MidnightVoice]

It is legal but if I did it I know I would screw something up, ruin my credit score and lose lots of money 

[Anonymous]

---

MidnightVoice wrote:

It is legal but if I did it I know I would screw something up, ruin my credit score and lose lots of money 

---

Thanks, I feel much better now.  I'll sleep soundly tonight. 

[Anonymous]

The IRS is aware of it too. They have information for reporting profits from it. lol.
Source: I spoke to someone that works for the IRS.

My bank messed up an auto payment. Rate went from 1.99% to 32.4%. Ouch! I was able to get the cc to reset the rate back. Wheu! Don't use bill pay from your checking account unless you pay early! It is late sometimes.

Message Edited by ilovepizza on 06-21-2007 10:40 AM

[Anonymous]

---

ilovepizza wrote:
The IRS is aware of it too. They have information for reporting profits from it. lol.
Source: I spoke to someone that works for the IRS...

---

Of course.  HSBC (where the funds are sitting) will send me and the IRS a W9 at the end of the year with the amount of interest earned.

---

ilovepizza wrote:

...  Don't use bill pay from your checking account unless you pay early! It is late sometimes.

Message Edited by ilovepizza on 06-21-2007 10:40 AM

---

Good advice. I have it set to pay a week early and I watch it like a hawk.

[Anonymous]

I've also heard it referred as "stoozing."

I've been doing it since November, when I realized one of my CC offered me a no balance transfer fee, 0% until June 1st (3 weeks ago), offer.

I just hit that up to a few hundred short of my limit (sure, my score probably suffered, but free money is free money), put it into a 6% online savings account, made certain to not have any late bills, and enjoyed making a few hundred bucks in interest (which I'll have to report to Uncle Sam next April).

So far, it's been a fun game.

[Anonymous]

As pertaining to the IRS, they have information of people investing lower apr credit card arbitrage to higher interest yielding savings accounts. Like how you can deduct certain fees if you set it up as a business to make it more profitable. I guess what I am saying is that CC Arbitrage is a legit business to them. Source. Says the person I spoke with who works at the IRS.

FDIC is the smartest move when it's not your money.

Message Edited by ilovepizza on 06-21-2007 12:07 PM

[MercyMe]

I'm not at all sure how this works -- nor do I care to.  I value my sleep and peace of mind, too much, perhaps -- regardless, an in-law has been doing this for quite some time.  Over the past two years or so she's completely renovated her 3000 sq ft home, paid off a couple of cars, has provided a grown son with a rather lavish lifestyle, out in Coloradao, made a few investments, and didn't fork over a dime of her own money. That was then.  This is  now, and in the here and now she's holed up in her room, refusing to get out of bed and saying things like how she wishes she were dead ...  in between doses of Prozac and Mylanta.  l don't know the specifics but to say that a few months back she did yet another balance transfer (and they are all in the tens of thousands of dollars) and something went wrong.  Now, not only has she bounced a few checks -- which is UNHEARD of, for her -- she was turned down for a BabiesRUs card, a few weeks back,  and has to refinance her house in order to pay the IRS more than  $15,000.  I don't know the specs and I ain't askin', I'm just pulling tissues and pouring antacids.