Mungler Posted November 29, 2009 Report Share Posted November 29, 2009 Okay, I have been giving this some thought and all that has stopped me from "doing it" is the aggravation. However, having fallen victim to identity fraud I have thrown away all plastic I don't use and narrowed it to one card. Also, I am approaching a round of annual insurance renewals; house, pet, two cars, health. A very thrifty friend of mine said many years ago (and I recognise that the economic climate has since changed and the introductory offers may not be there any more) that the way to go was to bung everything through one financial institution like Tescos, so you would have: Tescos car insurance, Tescos home insurance, Tescos pet insurance; And a Tescos credit card which you would use for everything - you would use that credit card to pay for the Tescos car insurance, home insurance and pet insurance as well as your weekly shopping. Apparently you then get double card points. You also set the bank manadates up such that you pay your mortgage each month off the credit card - the key of course is that you clear the card every month without fail. Tescos are normally pretty much on the money with most of their products (hence their domination) and sticking all your expenditure with one store apparently pays dividends (or well it used to). I used to have an Egg card which had a very easy rewards system of spend £1 and get 1 point. And something like 500 points got you a £5 voucher at Argos or John Lewis. That was a nice bonus over the year - one year my secretary bought a new car from Vauxhall and she needed to collect it by the weekend but the draft wouldn't clear until the following Tuesday. So I bought the car on my credit card and cleared the balance a week later when she paid me the bank draft - that added a nice £150 of "free vouchers" and I would cash the vouchers in on the run upto to Xmas. Most years there was about £300 of vouchers to cash in. However, I don't know or understand how the Tescos "points" work - it doesn't make any freekin sense to me. Also, is it me or do credit cards now start charging interest immediately upon purchase? It used to be that they would only charge interest "immediately" on cash withdrawals but now it seems that if you buy say a fridge on the 5th of the month, by the time you get the first month's credit card statement say on the 25th of the same month, there's an interest charge on that purchase? What say ye, what know ye? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ME Posted November 29, 2009 Report Share Posted November 29, 2009 We used to do all that but the rewards didnt weigh up in the end. Anyway, my Tescos credit card got frauded last year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Floating Chamber Posted November 29, 2009 Report Share Posted November 29, 2009 What's a mortgage? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mungler Posted November 29, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2009 (edited) We used to do all that but the rewards didnt weigh up in the end. Anyway, my Tescos credit card got frauded last year. I suppose I should just give Martin thrifty-boy a ring - he *is* the money saving expert. After all, he moved upto Scotland to be with 'his kind'. What's a mortgage? Yeah very good Edited November 29, 2009 by Mungler Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davecooper1 Posted November 29, 2009 Report Share Posted November 29, 2009 Did you get your money back when your card got frauded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ME Posted November 29, 2009 Report Share Posted November 29, 2009 Did you get your money back when your card got frauded. Only after a bit of a fight. Made me think twice about having a credit card now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bagsy Posted November 29, 2009 Report Share Posted November 29, 2009 Milan (or Jonah as you know him) buy's everything on his Tesco credit card and clears it off each month. He's got some system worked out whereby the points earned, plus double points, gets him a decent free holiday each year including flights. He did explain it in detail when we were recently in Cyprus, problem is I was tanked up with Keo beer and remember nothing other than it sounded bloody complicated Must be something in it as he swears by it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaun4860 Posted November 29, 2009 Report Share Posted November 29, 2009 markm used to do this as well but think he's stopped now for some reason shaun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8landy Posted November 29, 2009 Report Share Posted November 29, 2009 (edited) I suppose I should just give Martin thrifty-boy a ring - he *is* the money saving expert. After all, he moved upto Scotland to be with 'his kind'. Yeah very good I am always on the MSE site and forum, been following and learning from Martin for years now. As you know of Martin and his site, I would say do not put all your eggs in one basket and one provider is very unlikley to give you the best deal. I have also just got the tesco card (for a special purchase) to spread it out over 12 months 0% paying it off in full in the end (minium payments covered monthly), but I use my egg card for EVERYTHING to get the cash back. Edited November 29, 2009 by V8landy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doggone Posted November 29, 2009 Report Share Posted November 29, 2009 You only pay interest from the date of purchase if you don't clear the entire balance. No balance = no interest Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sitsinhedges Posted November 29, 2009 Report Share Posted November 29, 2009 What's a mortgage? I don't know but I haven't got two of them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy. Posted November 29, 2009 Report Share Posted November 29, 2009 Mung, don't kid us... I remember seeing your fireplace when I came round to yours... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markio Posted November 29, 2009 Report Share Posted November 29, 2009 (edited) We sort of did the tesco credit car thing, not the extent that you're talking about. But i think the idea is still that you just get you bog standard clubcard vouchers through. The deal is that obviously for any purchases at Tesco (or their products) you get 4 points for every pound spent (i think, that'll need to be checked) via their credit card, then when you cash in the vouchers you choose pick a holiday etc from the tesco deal website and those same vouchers are worth 4 times there face value. Guy at work does it and took his wife and four kids to Disney land Paris last year. We don't actively do the messing about because, well we're lazy but when we have £10 worth of vouchers come through we cash them in on the deal website and get £40 to spend at Pizza express of something like that, free dinner out. Edited November 29, 2009 by Markio Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogmansteve Posted November 29, 2009 Report Share Posted November 29, 2009 whats wrong with CASH, if u cant aford it dont buy it, plus u can always bid on something, better than getting points for something u payed dear for in the first place, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mungler Posted November 29, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2009 Steve, I neither have an overdraft nor do I have a credit card with any money owing on it. It's about setting your expenditure up through the card / scheme / voucher thing and clearing it in full every month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markio Posted November 29, 2009 Report Share Posted November 29, 2009 (edited) whats wrong with CASH, if u cant aford it dont buy it, plus u can always bid on something, better than getting points for something u payed dear for in the first place, You're missing the point, the credit give rewards for spending, you use the card simple as a method of payment. You still pay it off at the end of the month. EDIT: Mung's already there. Edited November 29, 2009 by Markio Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amateur Posted November 29, 2009 Report Share Posted November 29, 2009 (edited) I put everything - diesel, business purchases, meals, newspaper bills - through my Visa card which gives me airmiles. I clear the balance every month This has paid for 2 holidays for my wife and me in the last 5 years and cost me nothing. I buy my diesel at Morrisons - cheapest in the area - and clock up a Morrisons voucher every so often, which helps buy the Morrison rape seed oil at 20p cheaper than their diesel, which I add to the diesel Edited November 29, 2009 by amateur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8landy Posted November 29, 2009 Report Share Posted November 29, 2009 (edited) whats wrong with CASH, if u cant aford it dont buy it, I think you need to go to the MSE site/forum! If all of the previous posters are like me, we make full use of the credit cards (i.e cash back, points and other free-bees) but ALWAYS pay the card off in full and NEVER pay interest. Back in about 2000 - 2005 for nearly 5 years I did not pay any interest on credit cards, I just used to buy on them, pay the minimum but putting the money I would have paid into a high interest account. Make a few hundred on interest (arh the good old days when banks gave you a good interest rate on your savings). When one cards 0% ran out I just switched it to another. Finally I paid them off, but you could actually make money from doing this. There was one scam going, that involved about 3 credit cards, and doing balance transfers and cash back that you made loads on. Edited November 29, 2009 by V8landy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjimmer Posted November 29, 2009 Report Share Posted November 29, 2009 Sounds like you can save a fortune if you spend enough! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
windrush Posted November 29, 2009 Report Share Posted November 29, 2009 Co-op. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlight32 Posted November 30, 2009 Report Share Posted November 30, 2009 What's a mortgage? I think you guys need to go on the 'Ask Martin' site (Martin Lewis) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amateur Posted November 30, 2009 Report Share Posted November 30, 2009 Sounds like you can save a fortune if you spend enough! No - you don't spend any more than you usually would - you just spend it through the medium that gives the best benefit for you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruno22rf Posted November 30, 2009 Report Share Posted November 30, 2009 (edited) Surely by putting "all your eggs in one basket" you are losing the savings gained by shopping around?-just because ,say, tesco is competative on car insurance they may be bad on household.When the difference between a good deal and a bad in the financial market could run into many hundreds of pounds i think that you would need a major carrot to dangle in front of consumers before they would use your company exclusively-i'm certainly not aware of any company doing such a thing-besides you would still be wise to change your "broker" annually-its foolish to maintain the status quo insurance -wise. Edited November 30, 2009 by bruno22rf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chard Posted November 30, 2009 Report Share Posted November 30, 2009 whats wrong with CASH, if u cant aford it dont buy it, plus u can always bid on something, better than getting points for something u payed dear for in the first place, Oh good grief Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njc110381 Posted November 30, 2009 Report Share Posted November 30, 2009 I used to make a bit of money out of my credit card company now and again, but these days I just don't trust myself not to forget to pay them on time! When I got interest free for a year offers I used to transfer the balance to a high interest account, pay the minimum payments every month and then draw the lot back out after 11 months and pay it off again. I'd make maybe £4-500 each time I did it. I've got too much else to think about these days. It's not worth the bother now the interest rates are so poor on savings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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