One Monevator reader makes roughly £3,000 a year from stoozing. Most people won't hit that — they're running multiple cards with large limits built up over years. But even a first-timer with a single card can pocket £150-400 in pure profit from money they were going to spend on groceries and petrol anyway.
Stoozing is one of those things that sounds too clever to be real until you actually do the maths. Then it sounds obvious.
What stoozing actually is (in plain English)
You get a credit card with a 0% interest period on purchases. Instead of paying for things with your debit card, you pay with the credit card. The cash that would have left your bank account stays put — and you move it into a savings account earning 4-5%.
Before the 0% period ends, you pay off the credit card in full. You keep the interest.
That's it. You're not borrowing money you don't have. You're just changing the order in which your money moves.
The maths with real numbers
Let's say you spend £600 a month on everyday stuff — food, fuel, subscriptions, eating out. Normal life.
Without stoozing: That £600 leaves your current account each month. It earns nothing.
With stoozing on a 24-month 0% card:
- Month 1: Spend £600 on credit card, move £600 to savings at 4.75%
- Month 2: Same again. Savings balance: £1,200
- Month 3: Same. Savings: £1,800
- ...keep going...
- Month 23: Savings balance has built to ~£13,800 (minus minimum payments)
- Month 24: Pay off the card in full from savings
Your interest earned over those 24 months: roughly £450-500, depending on exact rates and timing.
All from money you were going to spend on Tesco shops and filling up the car.
At different spending levels:
| Monthly spend | 12-month 0% card | 18-month 0% card | 24-month 0% card |
|---|---|---|---|
| £300/month | ~£75 | ~£145 | ~£225 |
| £500/month | ~£125 | ~£240 | ~£375 |
| £750/month | ~£190 | ~£360 | ~£560 |
| £1,000/month | ~£250 | ~£480 | ~£750 |
Assumes 4.75% easy-access savings rate and minimum monthly payments of 1% or £5, whichever is greater. Try our stoozing calculator to see your exact projected profit.
These numbers aren't life-changing individually. But stack stoozing on top of bank switch bonuses and regular savers and you're looking at well over £1,000/year from your banking.
How to actually do it (step by step)
Step 1: Get a 0% purchase credit card
You want the longest 0% period you can get. As of March 2026, the best options include:
- Lloyds Bank Platinum — up to 25 months 0% on purchases, no fee
- M&S Bank Credit Card Purchase Plus — up to 25 months 0%, and everyone accepted via their eligibility checker gets the full 25 months
- Barclaycard Platinum — up to 24 months 0%
- NatWest Purchase & Balance Transfer — up to 23 months 0%
Important "up to": Most cards say "up to" X months. What you actually get depends on your credit file. The M&S card is unusual because everyone who's accepted gets the full 25 months — no lottery.
Use an eligibility checker (MSE, ClearScore, or the card provider's own) before applying. This does a soft check that doesn't affect your credit score, and tells you your chances of acceptance.
Step 2: Set up a direct debit for minimum payments
This is non-negotiable. Set up a DD to pay the minimum each month (usually 1% of the balance or £5, whichever is higher). If you miss even one minimum payment, most card providers will cancel your 0% deal immediately and start charging 24-35% interest.
Set up the DD the day you get the card. Don't trust yourself to remember.
Step 3: Use the card for everything
Replace your debit card with the 0% card for all everyday spending:
- Groceries
- Fuel
- Subscriptions (Netflix, Spotify, etc.)
- Eating out
- Online shopping
- Bills that accept credit card payment
Don't use it for: Cash withdrawals (these are never 0% and incur fees immediately), gambling transactions, or anything your card provider considers a cash-like transaction.
Step 4: Move the equivalent cash to savings
Each month (or week, if you prefer), transfer the amount you've spent on the credit card from your current account into a savings account.
Best savings accounts for stoozing:
- Easy-access saver at 4-5% — the default choice. You need to access this money when the 0% period ends, so don't lock it away.
- Regular saver at 6-7% — if you can, funnel some of the cash into a regular saver (First Direct 7%, Nationwide 6.5%) for higher returns. Just make sure the maturity date is before your card's 0% expiry.
- Cash ISA — useful if your interest earnings will exceed your Personal Savings Allowance (see tax section below).
Step 5: Pay off the card before the 0% ends
This is the critical moment. Set a reminder for 2 months before your 0% period expires. On that date:
- Check your total credit card balance
- Confirm you have enough in savings to cover it
- Pay off the full balance
- Keep the interest
Why 2 months early? Because life happens. If there's a problem with the transfer, you have a buffer. The interest you lose on those last 2 months is a few pounds — the penalty for missing the deadline is hundreds.
The tax question
Interest you earn from stoozing is taxable income. But most people won't pay a penny thanks to the Personal Savings Allowance (PSA):
- Basic-rate taxpayer (20%): First £1,000 of savings interest is tax-free
- Higher-rate taxpayer (40%): First £500 is tax-free
- Additional-rate taxpayer (45%): No allowance
For most stoozers earning £150-500 from this strategy, you'll be well within the PSA — especially if your other savings interest is modest.
If you're a higher-rate taxpayer running multiple stoozing cards alongside significant other savings, you might breach the £500 limit. In that case, consider using a Cash ISA for the stoozing pot instead — interest inside an ISA is completely tax-free regardless of amount.
You don't need to do a tax return for this. HMRC automatically adjusts your tax code based on interest reported by your bank.
The three real risks (and how the community handles them)
Risk 1: Forgetting the 0% end date
This is the one that kills stoozing profits. The moment your 0% period expires, you start paying 24-35% APR on whatever balance remains. One month of that can wipe out a year of interest earnings.
Community solution: Set multiple reminders — a calendar alert for 2 months before, another for 1 month before, and a third for the week of. Or use StoozeMax which sends automatic email alerts before your 0% expiry date.
Several MSE forum users who've been stoozing for years say the same thing: the actual strategy is trivial, but the admin of remembering dates is what catches people out.
Risk 2: Credit utilisation impact
When you're stoozing, your credit card balance is high relative to your limit. If you've got a £5,000 limit and you're carrying £4,500, that's 90% utilisation — and credit reference agencies notice.
What the community says: Opinions are split. One MSE poster with 15 years of stoozing experience says utilisation "makes little to no difference to credit offers." Another notes they received constant pre-approved loan offers even with £7,000 on a £7,500 limit card.
The practical answer: High utilisation can temporarily lower your credit score, but it recovers quickly once you pay the card off. If you're not planning to apply for a mortgage, loan, or another credit card in the near future, it doesn't matter. If you are — pay it off first, wait a month, then apply.
Risk 3: Spending money you've already committed
This is the psychological risk. You've moved £3,000 into savings. Your credit card balance is £3,000. That £3,000 in savings is not yours to spend — it belongs to the credit card company. You're just babysitting it and keeping the interest.
If you dip into those savings for anything else, you won't be able to pay off the card when the 0% ends. That's how stoozing turns from profit into expensive debt.
Community solution: Open a dedicated savings account just for stoozing money. Don't touch it. Pretend it doesn't exist until pay-off day. Some people even use a different bank so it's not visible alongside their everyday accounts.
When stoozing isn't worth it
Be honest with yourself:
- If you sometimes carry a credit card balance already — stoozing requires paying off in full, every time. If that's not your habit, this strategy will lose you money.
- If savings rates drop below 3% — the profit becomes marginal. At 2% savings rates, a £500/month spend on a 12-month card earns you about £50. Might not be worth the hassle.
- If you're applying for a mortgage within 6 months — the high utilisation and new credit applications can raise flags. Park it until after completion.
- If you can't get a decent credit limit — you won't know your limit until you're accepted. A £1,500 limit on a 0% card fills up in 2-3 months of normal spending, and the profit on £1,500 over 12 months is only about £35.
The advanced play: stacking cards
Experienced stoozers don't stop at one card. When their first 0% period is halfway through, they apply for a second card. This creates overlapping stoozing periods, so you always have a 0% card in play.
It works, but the admin scales up and the credit impact multiplies. Forum consensus: start with one card. If you manage it cleanly for a full cycle, consider adding a second.
One poster on MSE described running three cards simultaneously with staggered end dates — essentially a "stoozing ladder." They were earning over £1,000/year from stoozing alone. But they also described it as "a part-time job in spreadsheet management."
Purchase stoozing vs. money transfer vs. balance transfer
There are actually three ways to stooge. Purchase stoozing (what this guide covers) is the simplest and cheapest:
| Method | How it works | Fees | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0% Purchase | Spend on card, save the cash | None | Most people. Simple, no fees |
| 0% Money Transfer | Card provider sends cash to your bank | 3-4% fee | Getting a lump sum into savings fast |
| 0% Balance Transfer | Move debt from one card to another | 0-3% fee | Extending an existing stooze |
Money transfers sound appealing (instant lump sum!) but the 3-4% fee eats heavily into profit. On a £5,000 transfer at 4% fee, you're paying £200 upfront. At 4.75% savings, you'd need 10+ months just to break even.
Balance transfers are useful for extending. If your first 0% card is about to expire and you can't pay it off yet, transferring to a new 0% balance transfer card buys more time. But this is damage limitation, not the strategy itself.
Purchase stoozing has no fees, no upfront costs, and works with your normal spending. It's slower to build up but the profit is pure.
Getting started this week
- Check your eligibility for a 0% purchase card using MSE's eligibility checker (soft check, no impact on credit score)
- Apply for the longest 0% term you're offered
- Set up a direct debit for minimum payments the day the card arrives
- Open a dedicated savings account (easy-access, best rate you can find)
- Start using the card for everyday spending
- Transfer the equivalent amount to savings weekly or monthly
- Track your 0% expiry date in StoozeMax so you get reminded before it ends
- Pay off in full 2 months before the 0% period expires
Your first month's profit will be tiny. By month 6, the savings balance is building and you can see the interest accumulating. By month 12, you'll wonder why you ever paid for groceries with a debit card.
Use our stoozing calculator
Not sure how much you'd earn? Our stoozing calculator lets you input your monthly spending, card term, and savings rate to see your projected profit. It's free and takes 30 seconds.
Read our complete guides: Stoozing: The Complete UK Guide | Bank Switching Guide | Regular Savers Guide