July Newsletter
| Created: july 2009 |
Dear Stoozer
Stoozing has been waiting in the wings over the winter (and Spring!), but whilst the recession isn't over, the green shoots of Stoozing are starting to break through. We have begun to see some competitive moves in the credit card market, as the top firms jostle for position and offers start to look more interesting. The low Bank of England base rate means the returns on savings are still poor. But we think it's time to be checking out the movers and shakers, and topping up the ink in your favourite credit card application pen.
Best wishes
Stooz and Clariman
Site News
The Best 0% Credit card's table has had a little tweak, and now each card shows the profit available based on a the best savings rate and a typical £10,000 limit, the profit number links you to the Stoozing Calculator and pre fills that cards particulars into the calculator for you. This makes checking card profits a very quick affair.
Meanwhile the homepage news is now brought to you direct from our Twitter account. So you can follow us from your preferred twitter watcher, or just see the Tweets on our homepage. Why? Because we can update the news from more locations on our travels so you get the latest inside tips - fast.
The homepage also now shows the latest posts in the general discussion room, so you can get a quick update on what is going on in the forums.
Don't forget you can also get RSS updates from all our credit card tables direct to your favourite RSS Reader.
Card News
The recession and low bank rate still mean there is little room for profiting from credit cards, but it is important to note that the card companies are beginning to spring new offers to entice us.
Virgin Money continue to offer the longest 0% deal around at 16 months having briefly experimented with 15 months. However, changes are afoot in the world of BT fees. While MBNA based cards have a introduced a separate SBT fee of 4%, higher than their normal BT fee, other cards have been reducing their BT fees. Barclays dropped from 3% to 2.5%.
In other news, the owners of the cards are having a little change around. Norwich and Peterborough are back, but as an MBNA product, Debenhams is now a Santander branded card, while many of the Santander products are also being brought under one roof. There is even talk of Tesco buying Northern Rock to increase its share of the financial markets.
While the activity isn't great for Stoozing yet, it is still a great sign that things are moving, and competition for customers is alive and well - which is an important factor in profiting from credit cards.
Top fee free or capped Balance Transfer Cards
RBS World Mastercard
with 13 months. -
No Fee - Typical APR 17.9%
NatWest World Mastercard
with 13 months. -
No Fee - Typical APR 17.9%
Top 3 longest Balance Transfer Cards
1)
Barclaycard Platinum Extended BT
with 24 months. -
Typical APR 17.9%
2)
HSBC
with 23 months. -
Typical APR 17.9%
3)
Halifax BT card
with 22 months. -
Typical APR 17.9%
Top 3 longest Purchases Cards
1)
Nationwide Select Credit Card
with 18 months. -
Typical APR 12.9%
2)
Marks & Spencer
with 15 months. -
Typical APR 15.9%
3)
Tesco Clubcard
with 15 months. -
Typical APR 16.9%
Top 3 highest cashback cards
1)
AMEX Platinum Cashback Card
with 5.00% max. -
Typical APR 18.5%
2)
Capital One World Mastercard
with 5.00% max. -
Typical APR 19.9%
3)
Santander 123 Cashback Card
with 3.00% max. -
Typical APR 22.8%
Top 3 Life of Balance Cards
1)
Barclaycard Simplicity
with 6.8% intro APR. -
Typical APR 7.9%
2)
Virgin Charity Card
with 9.9% intro APR. -
Typical APR 12.9%
3)
Co-op Platinum Fixed Rate
with 9.9% intro APR. -
Typical APR 9.9%