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
Santander Zero Fee-Free Special
with 6 months. -
No Fee - Typical APR 18.9%
Top 3 longest Balance Transfer Cards
1)
Barclaycard Platinum with BT
with 16 months. -
Typical APR 16.9%
2)
Yorkshire Bank Gold
with 16 months. -
Typical APR 16.9%
3)
Clydesdale Bank Gold
with 16 months. -
Typical APR 16.9%
Top 3 longest Purchases Cards
1)
Tesco Clubcard
with 13 months. -
Typical APR 16.9%
2)
Halifax Rewards Card - Purchases
with 12 months. -
Typical APR 15.9%
3)
Sainsbury's (Nectar Cardholder)
with 12 months. -
Typical APR 15.9%
Top 3 highest cashback cards
1)
AMEX Platinum Moneyback Card
with 5.0% max. -
Typical APR 19.9%
2)
PayPal Mastercard
with 2.0% max. -
Typical APR 17.9%
3)
EggMoney
with 1.0% max. -
Typical APR 18.6%
Top 3 Life of Balance Cards
1)
MBNA Platinum 1.9 LOB
with 1.9% intro APR. -
Typical APR 16.9%
2)
MBNA Visa LOB Special
with 5.9% intro APR. -
Typical APR 16.9%
3)
MBNA Visa LOB
with 5.9% intro APR. -
Typical APR 16.9%