What was a loophole that you found and exploited the hell out of?

L0p on 12/02/2016 - 22:12
Last edited 14/02/2016 - 15:53

Until recently I was using a coupon code for a pizza store which allowed me to get any pizza for $5.
I may be selfish but decided not to post it here for fear of it being canceled.
Until recently where one of the friends I shared this code with shared it with some friend of his who got a job at this pizza place causing the deal to "expire".

So coming to my question: What was a loophole that you found and exploited/are exploiting the hell out of?
It doesn't have to have expired if you wish to keep it a secret like me you may wish to censor the affiliated company.

If you need some inspiration/a good read

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/44tard/what_was_…

General Discussion

Comments

  • mgexiled on 14/02/2016 - 14:46
    +13

    This was years ago now, but when one of the Call of Duty games came out (I think it was Modern Warfare 2), I bought a bunch of used games from EB Games (about 15) that were super cheap and on the trade-in list for JB Hi Fi (remember those?) for a deal where you can trade 3 games and get COD Modern Warfare 2 free. I traded in 15 games (a few from my own collection) for 5 copies of Modern Warfare 2, that had a trade in value at EB Games for basically full price return ($90-$100) as the game literally only just came out. I then went to GAME, who had a policy of matching/beating trade-in values for games, and traded in 5 copies of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 (The GAME staff were very suspicious when my friends and I were doing this - walking in and trading 1 game in each separately). I then went to another GAME store with a collective credit of $500-$600 and purchased a PS3 and some games. The GAME staff told me that the gift cards were individual credits and they cannot be used together. I ended up on the phone to the area manager for GAME who tried to tell me what I was doing was illegal. After some back and forth I ended up walking away with the PS3 and some games for the cost of the EB Games I bought at the start (about $60-$70).

    Shortly afterwards the GAME franchise dissolved :/

    • theguyrules on 15/02/2016 - 11:09

      I did a similar thing for MW2, but only buy buying 3 or so copies of Lego Indiana Jones (I think) cheap from Big W and using it to boost my trade-ins.
      Good game too.

    • phluffed on 15/02/2016 - 22:55
      +4

      Many people used this, that's why JB changed the way they worked it.
      I started at 5pm with a new JB opening "friends and family" night, picked up some new release games then traded them to EB at full trade in price (which was more than I paid in the first place). Used the trade in credit to buy specific pre owned titles, removed the stickers and traded them in at GAME under their policy for more credit, then got pre owned titles there for trade in back at JB for multiple copies of a new premium game. Took those games to a different EB up the road and after 4hrs in 2 shopping centres rolled $110 investment into a PS3 and 5 premium titles.

      • aliocroc on 16/02/2016 - 21:46

        That is incredibly productive!

  • realfancyman on 14/02/2016 - 15:33
    +1

    I'm not sure if this would work but your welcome to try it if you want. Buy a Coles $50 prepaid master card gift card or similar product and use it to pay for a village roadshow annual pass then spend the remaining $41. This would get you one month of theme parks for only $9 ($14 if you count the $5 card fee). Please comment if this works for you.

    • rye on 20/02/2016 - 00:00

      Like your thinking! Will have to investigate this…

  • luxx on 14/02/2016 - 15:39
    +1

    Back in the day, before the Euro, Germany used the Deutschmark. The Australian 10c coin was right on the same size and weight as the 1 DM coin, and 1 DM was roughly equal to AUD$1, give or take a bit.
    I was told this before going on a month long trip there and took about a shopping bag full of Australian 10c coins. I lived like a king from the vending machines.

    Anyone know of any other coin similarities? NZ coins don't count!

    • blablabla23 on 15/02/2016 - 01:32

      yeh the gold malaysian 1 dollar coin could easily pass as $1. Got one as change from a vending machine ages ago, didn't even notice until i tried to spend it at maccas and got laughed at.

      FYI 1 malaysian ringgit is worth roughly 30 aussie cents.

  • captobvious on 14/02/2016 - 16:34
    +15

    Tick the indigenous box on a job application.

    • devnull73 on 16/02/2016 - 19:53
      +1

      Ummm, do they actually ask? Whatever for?

      • captobvious on 17/02/2016 - 00:59

        At least 90% of job app forms have them especially government and large multination firms. Its usually near they disability question.

    • Gnosh on 17/02/2016 - 21:33

      Do they check??

      • captobvious on 17/02/2016 - 22:30

        No

        • altomic on 02/03/2016 - 23:16

          NT govt are cracking down on this.

  • realfancyman on 14/02/2016 - 16:51
    +1

    One still working (tested just before writing this comment) is you can subscribe to Vessel and immediately after cancel the subscription. You'll get the month of early access but you won't be charged. You can do this month after month. I've been doing it now for about 8 months. If anyone wants some photographic proof, I'd be happy to provide it.

  • shortgum on 14/02/2016 - 17:17
    +3

    Racing and Sport arbitrages for over 2 years now and still going!
    Not really sure this is a loophole but certainly going well if not too greedy! definitely wiser than average joe mum dad investor put savings into stock market for no returns.
    Always tempting to bet bigger for faster profits and open up more and more then other oversea bookies. But eventually seeing people gets unfair ban or restrictions on account. So keep me going in lower profit but last (maybe in yearsss) would be better.

    • Peace Maker on 14/02/2016 - 20:24
      -1

      Have you actually withdrawn any of the 'profit' out and used it? These are one of the biggest scams there are, just below a Nigerian Prince email. There were literally dozens of these being run from the Gold Coast. They give you fake profit statements.

      Edit: Link for those interested https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/news/losing-money-is-a-sure-bet…

      • shortgum on 14/02/2016 - 20:59
        +2

        Yes of coz. bookies nothing to do with Nigerian Prince. they are gambling corporate mugging problem gamblers and shut down people e.g. arbitrage bettor trader, for their profits. It's kind of immoral. but that's the way it is.

        Australian bookies will pay if you win but have to think carefully every step you deal with them. Simply a cat and mouse game. I tried withdraw as little as possible to keep under radar and hope winning mostly from Betfair. Definitely 100% better than blind invest to stock market only if you know what you doing.

        strong maths skill set is vital

        i think that scamwatch article is just for an average joe who have not a real knowledge about the actual skills involve in Sport or Racing Arbritage is.

        • stirlo on 15/02/2016 - 00:20
          +2

          Essentially the only way to do this is with bonus bets and special offers that are normally limited to under $100. I've made about $1k doing this but normally only $10-20 at a time. It's not a way to make thousands overnight…

        • p1 ama on 19/02/2016 - 12:25

          @stirlo:

          It's not a way to make thousands overnight…

          Nobody said it was, if anybody told you there was a way of making thousands overnight, they would be scamming you.

    • JIMB0 on 02/03/2016 - 19:52

      How much can you make out of this without them shutting you down via limiting?

      • shortgum on 03/03/2016 - 16:40

        i've been shut down by the big guys. ladbrokes, williamhill, bet365 but it still possible for low profit use. bet365 out of question.

        Open up all the possible account out there then take up their bonus first.

        my average week is $100-$200 lately. shittiest week is about $50 and when tournament in place e.g. world cup. can be as good as $500+. yet dont be too greedy

        check now a good arb Davis cup Australia v USA. ladbrokes + unibet or sportsbet. might be gone when you check! thanks nick for his injury news.

        • JIMB0 on 04/03/2016 - 00:37

          I've been doing some research on this and some sites say to go for really large bets in the first few weeks to take advanatge before they limit you. They reckon you could make 20-30 grand before getting limited. I'm wondering if it is worth betting smaller amounts to make it more sustainable.

          Have you already been limited and are making $100-$200 a week with smaller bets? How much time would you put into it?

          Cheers

        • juzz0 on 04/03/2016 - 03:28

          @JIMB0: 20-30 k by arbing bonus bets? Really? Maybe over eight years with twenty different books. Usually by the time you are five hundred up and mainly betting on bonus or promo markets they will block you, then ban you outright if you are seen as a "sharp" (after being a couple k up but it depends over the time interval). They have tracker cookies that lodge into your browser which detect your betting activity. I got out of betting months ago because I was stung by a book who paid me out a few grand (after a few multis came through) then took back the money citing a price error. Haven't bet since, dodgy the lot of them. Best use Pinny and speculate rather than arb which is against the terms of use of pretty much all Aussie books.

        • JIMB0 on 04/03/2016 - 09:44

          @juzz0: The site I was reading reckon they did it by betting thousands of dollars at a time. I don't really beleive it.

          Does the cookie track your betting activity across multiple bookies? Are they all sharing information to stop arbers?

        • shortgum on 05/03/2016 - 15:46

          @JIMB0: Op. have you setup your ozbargain account with message btw members? let me know happy to PM you

          There is like a myth how they limit accounts but eventually you will built your own experiences how to handle them. Every step i dealt with these muppets is carefully considered. how to deposit, how to withdraw, change details, call up customer services etc.

          Some bookies still class me as a loyal customer still send me random bonuses as at today. don't know how far it goes but at least a few is still out of their radar

  • brickwall on 14/02/2016 - 17:28
    +6

    Back when myki was not invented yet, if you validate your 2 hours tram ticket exactly on the hour e.g 2 PM, 3 PM and so on, the ticket is valid for 3 hours. We always time our travel to maximise this benefit :p

    • folken on 25/02/2016 - 22:50

      I remember those days :D

  • CI on 14/02/2016 - 17:32
    +11

    i have a subway email from 3years ago that gives me a free sub for any 600ml drink purchase. I have been using it for past 3 years, its still working. I could post it here but then no more free subs for me. email doesnt voucher doesnt have an expiry so 99% stores have accepted it so far - Tried Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Gold Coast, and the 1 time the manager wouldnt budge Port Augusta !

  • jonathonsunshine on 14/02/2016 - 19:11
    +5

    The Lord Alfred Hotel, also known as Hotel LA in Brisbane, it used to have "industry night" on Tuesdays where people who worked in hospitality would get 4 free drinks. They implemented this by handing out a card divieded in four, red, green, blue and yellow corners. Each corner could be stamped 4 times for four free drinks, and each week would be either red, blue, green or yellow week. The idea was that they could save money on cards by making people use the same card for 4 weeks.

    So… rock up first week, blue week, 4 free drinks. On the walk home you would normally find 2 or 3 other cards that people had turfed on the way. So next week, you had three cards to use for red week. and you'd find a couple of others on the way home that time as well and you get a new card anyway.

    There was a pool comp on that night, I was pretty good at pool but i was always too tipsy by the time i got to the finals…

  • cucumber on 14/02/2016 - 19:35
    +7

    Pirated windows 7 -> upgrade to legit windows 10.

    • realfancyman on 14/02/2016 - 19:50
      +7

      it doesnt give you a legit version of windows 10 it just lets you upgrade

      • cucumber on 14/02/2016 - 20:15

        oh ok. what's the difference?

        • realfancyman on 14/02/2016 - 20:31

          i think it's that you don't get updates.

        • goms on 14/02/2016 - 23:38

          if it's pirated, you will need to activate your win 10

        • Sertacv2 on 15/02/2016 - 00:10

          @goms: mines all good. I still get updates too?

        • triviums on 15/02/2016 - 08:36

          @realfancyman: I have used this exploit on at least 2 laptops. Both of them get updates.

        • cucumber on 15/02/2016 - 10:13

          I've been getting updates fine on at least 10 PCs. And they're all marked activated right after the upgrade.
          That's why I thought they're legit Windows 10?

        • mavis30551 on 15/02/2016 - 16:52

          @zerocul:

          I bought windows Vista years ago and upgraded for like $60 when 7 came out.

          Have upgraded each time and now I have 10

        • triviums on 15/02/2016 - 17:52

          @realfancyman: Yes that is correct for all windows versions except windows 10.

          There is an interview where the Microsoft Windows chief explains why they aren't doing that for windows 10:
          http://www.reuters.com/article/us-microsoft-china-idUSKBN0ME…

        • realfancyman on 15/02/2016 - 18:51

          @triviums: Any reason why anyone would pay for Windows then?

        • mskeggs on 15/02/2016 - 21:29
          +2

          @realfancyman:
          Corporate users need to show the valid license. I suppose some home users might have pangs of conscience.

        • Agret on 17/02/2016 - 00:20

          Well if you originally had a pirated Windows you don't have a legit COA to display that you own it, after upgrading to Windows 10 you still do not have any legitimate proof that you own Windows. If you are doing this at a business for instance and you get audited even though your Windows is "genuine" you don't have any proof of ownership so it is definitely not a legit copy.

  • Atrophy on 14/02/2016 - 20:03
    +4

    When CoD Modern Warfare 2 came out EB Games were offering some obscene amount for trade-in if you bought it back within the first week, something like $80 or so. JB-Hifi also let you trade 3 games for a brand new copy of it and the trade-in exclusions list wasn't very extensive at the time. Basically I could trade in CoD MW2 at EB Games for enough games to trade in for 2 copies of it again at JB, then go back to EB and trade it in again and do it a few more times. From my 1 copy of MW2 I managed to trade up to get a year of xbox live, Uncharted 2, $50 or MS credit and a copy of MW2 again.

    Good times.

    • realfancyman on 14/02/2016 - 20:32
      +1

      very popular exploit this one :)

  • TheDukeOfNukem on 14/02/2016 - 20:57
    +14

    Red Rooster.

    Every time you make a new account you get a 5 dollar voucher on their app. If you want to be really cheeky, you say it's your birthday and get a free combo on top of that.

    Make a new email, send the verification there, free 5 bucks, free burger, chips, and pop top kid's meal.

    Me, the girlfriend, a friend, his girlfriend, her sister, and this other guy went there all at once and cleaned up over 100 bucks worth of free food in the space of 5 minutes.

    For a while, me and the girlfriend, and occasionally the first mate mentioned, would be going in there twice a day for like 3 weeks. We got a photo of us put up in the back of a store saying to not serve us if we use the free thing.

    I also got around 10/12 kilos that in nearly half a year I still can't lose. Bastards got me back.

    • jelko on 15/02/2016 - 20:52
      -3

      Disgraceful. You should be ashamed.

    • hahaboy on 15/02/2016 - 23:15
      +5

      is this still a valid loophole? I want free 8 / 10 kgs too!

    • montorola on 16/02/2016 - 15:15
      +2

      At least you got a free photoshoot with your girlfriend, btw how did you know they put a pic of you guys up in the back, could you see it from the counter? lol

      • TheDukeOfNukem on 18/02/2016 - 16:33
        +1

        The mate I mentioned, he has a friend who works in the store who told us one day about the photo. Good times!

  • Webber on 14/02/2016 - 22:02
    +12

    I'll be light on the details for this one cos I use it almost every day and it has saved me thousands of dollars over the last 10 or so years.

    My industry wholesale supplier have all their products online for ordering, I discovered that if you add twenty of any item to the cart you get the volume discounted price and also that if you then change the quantity back to one it keeps the volume discount price for the one item. The discount is about 4% and I spend about 100k per year with this supplier so I figure I'm about 40 grand up over the 10 years.

    They have never said anything to me when picking up the goods and despite a recent website upgrade the glitch still works.

  • al2011 on 14/02/2016 - 22:06
    +11

    When I got my first prepaid phone in about 2005, Optus had plans that included free talk minutes to other Optus mobiles. To call people who weren't with Optus, I'd set my call redirect to the number i actually wanted to call and then call myself.

    Saved a couple of hundred dollars easy.

    • baybaboy on 15/02/2016 - 18:31
      +2

      telstra also had the same loophole back in the days.free calls Telstra to telstra but to call other mobiles we divert the number we wanted to call on our phone then call ourselves. even works to home numbers lol

      • bargaino on 15/02/2016 - 22:38

        The bonus with Telstra was they had free diversion on prepaid for many years.
        Some plans had free or cheap calls to a nominated Telstra number.
        So by calling yourself and diverting you got unlimited free or 20c flat calls.

        I think Optus charged 10c/min, which was good, but not free :-)

  • Azn310 on 14/02/2016 - 22:23
    +1

    Not sure if anyone posted this, but :

    free coffee at UTS in CBD
    $13 All day everyday parking at Wilson Haymarket carpark next to UTS if you get the ticket validated in UTS. They dont check ID or anything, it is done thru a self serve validation machine. Havent used it for 2 years now, not sure if any changes.

    • rambao9 on 16/02/2016 - 16:28
      +4

      It's in the library now… it was at the counter before at the entrance of UTS library where you get the pass for entry. At that point they still never checked ID even though it's literally at the counter with these ladies sitting there. But now I have no clue where the machine went, would be nice if someone gives us an update.

  • TurkishDelight on 14/02/2016 - 22:35
    +1

    I am not sure if it will work but make a free Gmail account>create a PSN account with it>add card details (buy a temporary card from the post office). Gather like 10-20 friends and purchase a game from psn store>give access to account details to all you friends so they can download it too and share the cost. Will be $5-10 for a new game that worths $100.

    I did it with farcry3 and it worked. Download the game and you don't even need to keep that account (anyway you can always save account under a different user).

    • mavis30551 on 15/02/2016 - 17:00

      Not sure if it still works?

      I know on my PS4 i had to change its settingsso it was my "main PS4" to play downloaded games on it, and I can only do it once every few months.

    • Agret on 17/02/2016 - 00:25
      +1

      For all of your friends they will need to be signed into that new account to play the games so they will have to take in turns playing, works best for singleplayer games. Since you have created the account and you say yes to assigning your PS4 as the primary then you can play the game at any time regardless if they are signed onto the account. You must not delete the account from your console though, you have to keep it there otherwise the license for it is deleted.

      This also works great for multiplayer games if you share with a single friend. I bought Black Ops 3 on an account which I activated as primary on my PS4 and downloaded it then I signed onto that account on my friends PS4 and downloaded the game on his console too. He can play it on his console while signed into the new account and I can play it on my console while signed into my original account.

      You can play 2 player split screen in CoD Black Ops 3 campaign with a max of 4 players for the campaign. If you have 2 PS4, 2 TV and the trick I mention you can buy 1 copy of the game digitally and play 4 player campaign co-op, it was a great fun night :) the game also has "Local" multiplayer (LAN mode) so even if you don't have active PS+ subscriptions you can play on LAN together.

      • TurkishDelight on 17/02/2016 - 00:34

        Wow

      • pizzaguy on 23/08/2016 - 10:24

        Hi there,

        So, can you download and play games on multiple ps4s anytime or not?

        You say no in the first paragraph, but then, apparently, it works in the next one…

        • Agret on 23/08/2016 - 23:39

          You can if:

          • You create an account and make it primary on your friends console.
          • You play using that account on your console but they play using their own account on their console.

          Whichever system has the account set as primary any account can use the PS+ sub and game licenses, any other console must be signed into that specific profile to have the access rights. That means if your internet is down you can't play your games offline but your friend could play offline or on any other profile since his console has your account set as the primary.

  • [Deactivated] on 14/02/2016 - 23:23

    We used to always go to the movies - buy two tickets and then one person would come out with both tickets and bring another person back in. Can bring in as many people as you want just rinse and repeat.

    • jelko on 15/02/2016 - 20:54
      -2

      So you're stealing. Aren't you the best.

    • T-man on 16/02/2016 - 23:37
      +1

      And where do they sit? Just stand and enjoy the movie?

      • Agret on 17/02/2016 - 09:39
        +1

        Hoyts only switched to assigned seating about 2yrs ago, before then you could just sit wherever you want. If you see a movie towards the end of its run there are tons of empty seats you could use. Just go out and give the 2nd ticket to a friend before the movie starts then send them a text as it begins and they can come sit in an empty seat

    • WT on 04/03/2016 - 15:11

      or just buy 1 ticket and go to a different movie after the first one finishes.

      Never really bothered doing this myself

      Only works in cinemas that have one entrance without allocated seats

  • konazz on 14/02/2016 - 23:43
    +24

    Need a new telephone port or power point installed? We had a really tricky like to run from downstairs to upstairs.

    Solution - Foxtel for 1 month and get them to install points in bedroom. The use new conduit to run cat5. Cost $30

    • cwongtech on 16/02/2016 - 00:30

      Nice!

    • TurkishDelight on 17/02/2016 - 00:52

      @konazz dosent foxtel uses RG6 cables?

      • cwongtech on 17/02/2016 - 03:19
        +1

        The use new conduit to run cat5. Cost $30

        You don't use the Foxtel cable, you just use the wallplate + conduit fitted out for it and swap it out for Ethernet :)

        • TurkishDelight on 17/02/2016 - 04:30

          yes but the wall plate has an RG6 female connector, how do you swap it to an Ethernet cable?

        • [Deactivated] on 17/02/2016 - 09:11

          @TurkishDelight: @congtech:

          nice avatars!

        • Agret on 17/02/2016 - 09:41
          +1

          @TurkishDelight: you unscrew it from the wall then screw in a cat6 one. For the cable you tie your ethernet cable around the rg6 cable securely then pull the cable through

        • TurkishDelight on 17/02/2016 - 10:22

          @Agret: right, thats cool.

        • TurkishDelight on 17/02/2016 - 10:24

          @astroberryz: much Thanks…..JDM Doge Woooo..

        • cwongtech on 17/02/2016 - 10:26

          @TurkishDelight:
          Wallplates are cheap (They require a mounting bracket which is pretty standard) + cost like $2-$4. You can get the keystone ones to make it even easier.
          The conduit is the tricky part. Wallplate swaps are really easy.

  • racmike on 14/02/2016 - 23:56
    +26

    This happened 15 years ago. A software company in Melbourne was looking for a Java developer. Applicants need to email their resume to the company and the company will provide a link to a 60 minute Java online exam via email. At the end of the exam, the scores will be emailed to the applicant and the company. The company would invite the top 5 applicants (based on the score) to the interview.

    My friend submitted a fake resume with a different name and sat the online exam. He scored 70%. He submitted another fake resume and sat the exam again. He repeated the process a few times until he got a score of 100%. He then submitted his real resume and scored 100%.

    He was invited to the interview and was offered the job. The pay was too little, so he didn't take the job after all.

    • hahaboy on 15/02/2016 - 23:17
      +3

      would have been awesome if he was able to change the scripts somehow and score 100% without actually doing the test. I don't know if that would actually work cause I don't know enough about scripting, but i will silently chuckle at my idea.

      • Fizzydrink on 18/02/2016 - 16:06
        +2

        they probably didnt know that that was the test.

    • WT on 04/03/2016 - 15:16
      +1

      would be a better story if he submitted another 4 fake's at 100% then he was the only one to turn up for interviews, therefore win by default

  • chiefbodge on 15/02/2016 - 00:19
    +18

    With Tiger Airways: Selecting debit mastercard as the credit card type even when using a normal mastercard to avoid the credit card fee.

    Citibank and ANZ 0% balance transfer offers: I signed up like 5 years ago with both of them and pay back at the end of the 12-15months 0% period. Phone them up to cancel and they offer me another 12months at 0%. Citibank I have done this 5 times and ANZ I have done it 3 times. I just ask them to do a balance transfer to 28 degrees and then ring up 28 degrees and ask for a cheque then whack it in the mortgage. Right now I have 20% of my mortgage interest free. I do this with other banks too but they have never offered a further interest free period like ANZ and Citi do, I have no idea why they keep on doing it considering they have never made a cent from me but I'm not complaining.

    • Hirolol on 15/02/2016 - 09:50
      +1

      How do you get 20% of your mortage interest free?

      • [Deactivated] on 15/02/2016 - 10:20

        +1 following.

      • chiefbodge on 15/02/2016 - 11:13
        +4

        Rather than attempting to explain it all again you can refer to my posts on this in another thread: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/178201#comment-2487072

        I sign up for 0% balance transfer offers and when it's close to expiring I move that balance to a new 0% offer - this money sits in my mortgage as offset. Right now I have 4 cards all with very large credit limits (equal to 20% of my mortgage) with 0% balance transfer offers - I don't want to go into specific amounts but I am saving thousands of dollars a year in interest. The Citibank and ANZ cards have been awesome because once I pay them off (with a new 0% card) they keep on giving me another 0% deal thereby saving me having to apply for more cards.

        • Hirolol on 16/02/2016 - 03:57

          But there are only a limited amount of 0% cards with 6 month limits usually, then Factoring in the cooling off period which i am not sure about, i would think that this cannot be sustained for a long period of time but its sounds like you have done it somehow.

        • NotAMoodle on 16/02/2016 - 05:23
          +2

          @Hirolol:

          http://bit.ly/1kdHrXM - there is not a limited amount of 0% balance transfer offers. Plenty out there.

        • Hirolol on 16/02/2016 - 11:45
          +1

          @dazzywazzy:
          Wow!
          With durations ranging from 6 months to 24 months!

          Thank you very much!!

        • chiefbodge on 16/02/2016 - 14:43
          +5

          @Hirolol:

          I have been doing this for 5 years now. In that time I have had over 10 cards (in addition to my cards I use every day: bmw amex / 28 degrees). Credit score hasn't changed during that time (it has in fact gotten slightly better). That said I'm not suggesting that this wont damage your credit rating - just that it hasn't damaged mine yet.

          My suggestion is if you don't want to sign up for lots of cards just get a citibank or ANZ 0% card - as I said earlier I have had both of these cards for years now and when my 0% period is about to expire I pay them back in full then ring them up and tell them I'm cancelling and they ask "what will it take to keep you as a customer" and I say "another 0% balance transfer period" and they do it - if you have one card with a large credit limit then you wont need to apply for cards all the time like I do.

          Lets say you get one citibank card with a $30,000 limit, you should be able to get a cheque to self then in 12 or 15 months or whatever pay the $30,000 back fully, ring up, threaten to cancel, get another balance transfer period, cheque to self and repeat for as long as they'll let you. (Done it 5 times with me so far). Obviously you'd need the proof of income to support them giving you such a large card though. You might also be able to ring them up after you have a history with them and ask for a bigger limit in anticipation of being given another 0% balance transfer offer when you go to cancel.

          On a 4% mortgage it's a great way to save over $1000 a year with very minimal effort.

        • montorola on 16/02/2016 - 15:22

          @chiefbodge:

          Well done, you're beating the banks at their own game haha

          when my 0% period is about to expire I pay them back in full then ring them up and tell them I'm cancelling and they ask "what will it take to keep you as a customer" and I say "another 0% balance transfer period" and they do it

          Don't they first ask you why you're looking at cancelling? What do you say to that?

        • chiefbodge on 16/02/2016 - 15:42

          @montorola:

          I'm completely honest - just say I only have the card for the 0% balance transfer offer and because the offer has expired I don't need the card anymore.

        • Hirolol on 16/02/2016 - 18:45

          @chiefbodge:
          How do i save comments, i want to save this for future restaurant

        • realfancyman on 16/02/2016 - 21:20

          @Hirolol: screenshot

        • T-man on 16/02/2016 - 23:53

          @chiefbodge:

          What if they say ok, we proceed the cancellation now, you should receive a confirmation letter in mail within 3-4 working days? haha..

        • chiefbodge on 16/02/2016 - 23:57

          @divious:

          It's no big deal if they do it just means I need to apply for more cards in the long run to save the same amount of money. Citibank / ANZ are just saving me the time of applying for another card, considering citibank have done it 5 times in a row I'm thinking perhaps they will never stop unless their policy changes (their policy seems to be keep a customer at all costs). I always try to roll my balances over to a new 0% card anyway (I do this to avoid having to transfer to 28 degrees and getting a cheque every time) so Citibank/ANZ renewing just gives me a larger balance than before.

        • T-man on 17/02/2016 - 00:32

          @chiefbodge:

          Thanks, your tactic is very helpful. I'll try next financial year as I just got a homeloan this year with 2 credit cards. My credit ranking also dropped to average, so just need to wait for a while before applying a new credit card.

        • T-man on 17/02/2016 - 09:16

          @chiefbodge:

          Just one more question, Citibank Platinum Reward card is having a bonus of 60,000 points at the moment, 0% balance transfer for 18 months, $149 annual fee for the first year. But I remember last year this card was on the promotion which you can get it free fee for life. Did you manage to get this card with fee free for life? Or you managed to extent the period of the balance transfer but still have to pay annual fee? Thanks

        • chiefbodge on 17/02/2016 - 09:42

          @divious:

          My citibank card had the annual fee waived when I signed up for the first year (usually $99). Subsequent years I have either managed to convince them to halve it or refund it, on the most recent time I completely forgot to ask about doing anything with it. Obviously annual fees eat into your profits so I try to choose cards which are free of annual fees or have very low annual fees (non platinum cards are better for this - My ANZ card has a 10k limit and is $30/y so is great value).

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