Cash advances are a convenient way to access funds from your credit card, but they come with a few restrictions. The cash advance limit is usually calculated as a percentage of the credit limit and is the maximum amount of cash you can withdraw or transfer. There is no interest-free period for cash advances, so you will be charged interest starting immediately and you will be charged an additional fee. Your bank may also consider foreign currency purchases and risky transactions, such as gambling, as a cash advance.
You can usually only borrow up to your card's cash advance limit and not your total credit limit. For the cash advance limit, check your credit card statement or contact the issuing company. You can withdraw cash up to the cash advance limit, which may be lower than the credit limit they give you for purchases. There is no minimum amount of cash advance.
Cash advances are subject to ATM access and the daily cash advance limits of the bank from which the advance is requested. Log in to Regions Online Banking to view the total amount available for cash advances from your credit card account by selecting the account and viewing Credit available in cash. Cash advances by credit card are expensive enough to be considered only in the event of a real emergency. You can get a cash advance at a Citibank ATM or UnionPay, but you must first get a 4-digit access code (unnecessary for cash advances at the branch).
As with any purchase, the cash advance will appear as a transaction on your card's monthly statement and interest will accrue until it is paid. Getting a cash advance may seem like a good idea right now, but it can quickly lead you to accumulate debts. Credit cards, which include many cards offered by American Express, have no set credit limits, so these cards set fixed maximum limits for cash advances. With most credit union credit cards like mine, there is no cash advance fee and the interest rate is the same as for making a purchase. In addition to the cash advance fee, you will also be charged an ATM fee when you use an ATM for a cash advance with credit card.
The annual percentage rate (APR) charged to you for a cash advance may not be the same as the APR for purchases, and you can find it on your credit card agreement or by contacting your card issuer. You don't get this luxury with cash advances; interest starts to accrue on the day you receive the cash advance. Alternatively, you can use the card's Express Cash feature to access cash from a linked financial institution account (such as a checking account), similar to how a debit card works. Other ways to get a cash advance include interacting with a cashier at a financial institution, requesting direct deposit online or through a mobile application, or automatically covering an overdraft on a checking account or other linked financial account. The available cash advance limit may be lower than the total limit if you already have a credit card balance.
If you find that you need cash advances over the limit repeatedly, consider asking the card issuer for a higher cash advance limit or look for a new card that is willing to grant you a higher cash access line. Most store cards and some credit cards for bad credit won't allow you to get cash advances, so it's always a good idea to call your issuer ahead of time and ask. A cash advance is a service offered by credit card issuers that gives cardholders access to a portion of their credit line by withdrawing cash or, in some cases, a paper check provided by the issuer. Even so, cash advances come with many costs and limitations, so before you go down this path, be sure to research alternative funding, such as the methods listed below.
