EDITOR’S NOTE:Some of the smartest members of the community have stepped up with guest posts during the holiday break in 2024 and now on Saturdays in early 2025. Special thanks to today’s author, Sam from both HelpMeBuildCredit.com and from the amazing CardRight credit card tracking app. Have a nice weekend!
I enjoyed many of the other guest posts, but based on the length, it seems like there’s a competition of who can write the lengthiest post. (It also looks like there’s a competition for the longest name – if your name is long enough, why add 233 at the end?:)!
I love that Matt’s posts are short and sweet (short enough that I can read them in the same amount of time it takes me to finish my morning coffee.) I decided to write this guest post short and sweet as well- Matt style.
OK, let’s dive into the post, because I’m already a quarterway through my coffee.
Over the last few years, I’ve been maximizing an extra 5% or so back on my credit card spend by utilizing 0% APR offers on credit cards.
This topic is something that I feel is not being written enough about. Especially with today’s high interest rates, it’s definitely something that someone in the churning game should explore.
I swipe my daily personal and business expenses on 0% APR credit cards that offer interest-free periods of up to 21 months.
Then, instead of using the cash in my bank account to pay the balances, I put the cash into a high-yield savings account. I only pay up the card balance once the 0% APR period on the card is up.
So ultimately, the bank is giving me rewards for swiping, potentially a welcome bonus as well, plus an interest-free loan, and at the same time, they’re letting me earn the interest by me putting my money into a savings account.
I currently have close to $200k in high-yield savings accounts, earning me over 5% interest!
I find Raisin to be a good resource for finding the best high-yield savings accounts and HelpMeBuildCredit’s Ultimate Credit Card Finder is a good resource for finding the best 0% APR credit cards (they list all cards, both affiliated and not).
Here are a few helpful tips to keep in mind
- I try to focus mostly on business cards rather than on personal cards. A balance on a personal credit card will affect your credit, while a balance on a business card will not.
- Don’t confuse offers for 0% APR on balance transfers with 0% APR on purchases. You should be looking for cards with 0% APR on purchases.
- Be extremely careful not to make a single late payment, as even one can cause you to lose the 0% APR promo.
- Be super organized and responsible, otherwise you will lose more than you will gain.
- The Ink Cash and Ink Unlimited are really great for this, as they offer both a great welcome bonus and 0% APR for 12 months (and they are business cards).
- As a bonus tip, (since I still have one sip left in my coffee), once the 0% APR period on a card expires, you can transfer the card balance to a new card with 0% APR on balance transfers and gain an additional 12 months or so of 0% APR on that same balance.
Most cards have a 3% fee to transfer balances, which is still worth paying with today’s rates. But I found one card (on the website mentioned above) that surprisingly has no balance transfer fee, plus is a business card, and has 12 months 0% apr. It’s the Edward Jones Business Plus Mastercard. I plan on getting it now to roll the dice and knock over my coffee, but ultimately, to get another 12 months of interest and laugh all the way to the bank.
– Sam
A barista makes Sam’s morning coffee.