January Newsletter
| Created: 10/01/2007 |
Dear Stoozer
We normally issue one newsletter per month, but we are taking the unusual step
of issuing our second newsletter in January. Why? The reason is simple:
Yorkshire Bank and Clydesdale Bank have each got a great balance transfer
offer on at the moment which expires at the end of February 2007. If we told
you in our February newsletter you would miss the boat, so take a look at the
deal and see what you think (see below).
Best wishes
Stooz and Clariman
Best Deals
If you subscribe to other site's newsletters you may be slightly cynical that "best deals" lists frequently feature products that make the site money, rather than ones that truly are the best. At stoozing.com we aim to tell you about all the best deals - irrespective of whether they benefit the site. At the top right hand side of the newsletter you will see the normal links to our best buy tables. However, there are a few we wish to highlight. (N.B. as always; please double check the terms of any deal during the application process to confirm the Ts & Cs at the time of application).
Best Fee Free Balance Transfer Cards
Norwich and Peterborough, Smartcard, Ulster Bank, Yorkshire Bank and Clydesdale Bank are all currently offering fee free balance transfers for 6 months. However, you will need to hurry if you want to take advantage of Yorkshire Bank and Clydesdale Bank cards because these normally carry an uncapped 2% BT fee but they are waiving the fee for balance transfers between now and the end of February. Personal experience suggests that their online application process is quite slick so there is time to take advantage of this. For a discussion on YB and CB cards, see this forum thread
Best Capped Fee Balance Transfer Card
Morgan Stanley's Buy and Fly card is proving very popular with stoozers. It offers 9 months at 0% for a capped BT fee of £50 and tops our list. Applying for the card using the above link also helps the site should you be interested in this card.
Best Super Balance Transfer Card
As ever, the Egg Money card is the only game in town for stoozers. See our Stoozing analysis in the forums. However, did you also know that you can get a sneaky £200 cashback from Egg if you also have an Egg Savings Account? See this thread for more details
Other News
On the 11th January 2007, the Bank of England increased the base rate by a further 0.25% to 5.25%. This is good news for savers but not for borrowers. Keep an eye on whether your favourite savings accounts have increased their rates by looking at our savings table. So far the top two in our table have been amongst the first to increase their rates. Icesave now offers 5.7% and ICICI Bank offers 5.65%. Next month we will review the best savings accounts once most have increased their rates. Of course, there is intense speculation that the BoE could increase rates again next month.
Articles
How to get your lender to extend a 0% offer
As many lenders have introduced uncapped balance transfer fees, the stoozer's existing 0% cards become more precious: particularly those that have no BT fees. Of course, the 0% introductory periods on our existing cards will come to an end at some point, but many savvy stoozers have managed to get their 0% deals repeated. Not only does this enable you to further exploit a good deal, it means one less credit card application and one less credit check. Read our guide to ensure that you maximise your chances of getting an extension.
Using Your Credit Report to aid your Stoozing
Those of you who are new to stoozing, or have recently joined the site, may find it useful to learn how you can maximise your stoozing activities by using your credit report from experian. In January 2006 we published this article explains this in some detail.
Regards
Stooz and Clariman
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