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    seenbutnotheard's Avatar
    seenbutnotheard Posts: 59, Reputation: 1
    Junior Member
     
    #1

    Oct 22, 2008, 03:11 PM
    Free money?
    I have a question. I have good credit and two credit cards with $5000 limits, one credit card's billing cycle is on the 15th and the other on the 1st. I have no fee's to pay on either card, I incur no fee to use them they are free just as long as I pay my bill.

    Card (A) = 1st
    Card (B) = 15th

    If I go out with card A and buy $5000 worth of stuff right now. In a month from now I take card B and pay off card A. On the 15th I take card A and pay of card B and then the next month I take card B and pay of card A. I do this forever, did I just make $5000 out of nothing or will they stop me?
    Bonnie46's Avatar
    Bonnie46 Posts: 113, Reputation: 16
    Junior Member
     
    #2

    Oct 22, 2008, 03:21 PM

    You're kidding right? There is NO such thing as free money. You will cry and feel so hopeless, if you start this mess. If you go out and rack up 5000 grand (on either card, or ANY plastic), it will snowball OUT OF CONTROL into $200,000 worth of debt soooooo fast - your head will spin! Not to mention, you will have creditors calling your house day and night. What do you need so badly right now, that you can't save up for? Remember: it takes a lot more effort to EARN and hold ON to money, than it does to spend it. Don't you want good credit, and to be debt free?

    The credit card company WANTS you to do something stupid like this - just SO they can charge you 22% interest and make money off your . Don't give them the satisfaction of your hard-earned dollar. Respect it and leave the cards alone. You work too hard to waste it.
    Stratmando's Avatar
    Stratmando Posts: 11,188, Reputation: 508
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    #3

    Oct 22, 2008, 03:21 PM

    I do something like that, I pay a with b. b with c, then c with a, doesn't feel free though.
    I am curious of the correct/next answer.
    Good Luck
    I also have NEVER seen a Credit card company be completely honest with their offers(fine print).
    Bonnie46's Avatar
    Bonnie46 Posts: 113, Reputation: 16
    Junior Member
     
    #4

    Oct 22, 2008, 03:30 PM
    Not only will the credit card companies catch you and charge you hundreds of dollars in interest - but your credit rating will suffer and you'll be forced into BANKRUPTCY.! This is not something to joke about. Please please please - don't let these credit card companies hang you out to dry.

    Don't you think that if there was such a thing as FREE MONEY out there, everyone else would already have it? C'mon!

    This is a classic case of a poor or 'trailer trash' mentality. You are proving that you are someone without a lot of financial knowledge and you are about to make a huge mistake. This is how (and why) the rich get RICHER.
    Please don't be that person who makes a dumb mistake with money.

    Stay away from the credit unions who cash your paystub two weeks early too!! They are STEALING YOUR MONEY and making money off the working-poor!
    seenbutnotheard's Avatar
    seenbutnotheard Posts: 59, Reputation: 1
    Junior Member
     
    #5

    Oct 22, 2008, 03:35 PM

    Your beating around the bush Bonnie46, your just giving consequences your not giving a reason. I did however just have a talk with someone about this, it is against the law to float a balance between cards to prevent paying off the debt.

    It's similar to check kiting.
    Check kiting is a form of fraud involving the sloshing of theoretical funds between two bank checking accounts. A check written to the criminal from one bank is deposited, and more importantly credited, to an account at a second bank. Because that second bank now shows a positive balance, the criminal can withdraw enough money to deposit back into the first bank before the check bounces for lack of funds.
    While you may be able to get away with it for awhile they will eventually notice your spending habits after a few months and call you on it. You can use third and fourth parties to hide the transactions but that only makes things more complicated and you break more laws.

    Technically it is fraud and if the balance does not decrease then your going to get called on it and have to pay fees and penalties on top of the interest.
    friend4u178's Avatar
    friend4u178 Posts: 3,349, Reputation: 1584
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    #6

    Oct 22, 2008, 04:41 PM

    I can see what your saying "seenbutnotheard" but at the end of the day wouldn't you still owe the original $5000?
    Bonnie46's Avatar
    Bonnie46 Posts: 113, Reputation: 16
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    #7

    Oct 22, 2008, 04:45 PM

    Correct. I don't know the answer to your question. I just know that it won't work, doesn't work, hasn't worked and never will work. I don't know why, but I'm sure the bank, creditors, card companies and other financial correspondents will be able to explain WHY this isn't possible. It's fraud, and against the law, so why did you think it was a good idea in the first place?
    ScottGem's Avatar
    ScottGem Posts: 64,966, Reputation: 6056
    Computer Expert and Renaissance Man
     
    #8

    Oct 22, 2008, 05:01 PM

    First, you cannot pay one credit card with another. You can, however use balance transfers. Howeverm balance transfers generally incur fees. Also you need to read the fine print, because, for some cards, balance transfers accrue interest from the date of the transfer.
    NeedKarma's Avatar
    NeedKarma Posts: 10,635, Reputation: 1706
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    #9

    Oct 22, 2008, 05:09 PM
    It's a form of kiting.
    Fr_Chuck's Avatar
    Fr_Chuck Posts: 81,301, Reputation: 7692
    Expert
     
    #10

    Oct 22, 2008, 05:16 PM

    No it is not free since you still owe the money, first you will not be able to do it forever, since at some point credit cards change their terms or you will end up being late on getting one posted. Remember it can take a few days to get a payment posted.

    But it is not free since
    1. you will have hours and hours of time making payments and checking statements over time
    2. at some point you, of if you die first, your estate will owe the money.

    So at some point, be it months or years down the road, you will have to then pay for things you were used up along time ago.
    jsingh009's Avatar
    jsingh009 Posts: 7, Reputation: 1
    New Member
     
    #11

    Oct 23, 2008, 02:48 AM

    You can transfer balance forever but there is fees associated with each transfer. Unles you don't mind paying the fees, you CAN transfer the balance forever. Keep in mind, credit card companies are getting smarter. At Bank Of America, we will catch this kind of pattern and will term you "Extreme Surfer" and will place many restrictions on your account. Remember one thing, THERE IS NO FREE LUNCH!

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