Today, more so than ever, credit card companies are allowing cash advances to their customers. Not all credit cards will allow this, but many of them do. While it is tempting to use this service at times, consumers should be very careful before taking that cash from the credit card. Here are some issues concerning cash advances that you should know about.
For the most part, credit card companies treat a cash advance differently than they do a purchase. Of particular importance to consumers is the interest rate that the company may charge for the advance. You should carefully check to see how much more interest you will be charged for the cash advance as compared to the purchase interest rate. In many instances, the interest rate for the cash advance will be much higher than the purchase rate. Do not assume that the purchase rate will apply to the cash advance. Check on this before you take the money.
Most (but not all) credit card companies will allow you to get the cash advance from an ATM machine. Other companies, however, may send you checks in the mail. You can learn how the company handles this by reading the billing information that you get from them. You...