A cash advance is withdrawing cash on a credit card, which counts as borrowing and therefore carries its own fees and interest rules.
A cash advance is withdrawing cash on a credit card, which counts as borrowing and therefore carries its own fees and interest rules.
Also called: Credit card cash withdrawal.
How it works#
Advances almost always fall outside the interest-free period: interest runs from the day of withdrawal, on top of a percentage fee and any charge from the machine’s operator. If the machine also converts into your home currency, three separate markups land on one withdrawal. A debit card without foreign usage fees is nearly always the cheaper route to cash abroad.
Not to be confused with#
A cash advance is not the same as a purchase: purchases are interest-free until the statement is due, advances are not.
In German#
The German term is Bargeldvorschuss. German version of this term
Related terms#
- APR: APR is the price of borrowing on a card account, expressed as an annual percentage rate.
- Foreign transaction fee: A foreign transaction fee is a percentage charge added by the card issuer on purchases that are not in the card’s billing currency.
- Dynamic currency conversion: Dynamic currency conversion is the offer to settle a payment abroad in your own home currency, with the merchant side choosing the exchange rate.
Articles that use this term#
TopicEvery article and term onCards and money.