No Cash Advance Fee Credit Card
Q: Is there such thing as a credit card that doesn’t charge cash advance fees? Mine charges really high fees and I would like to avoid them if at all possible.
A: When it comes to cash advances, many credit cards are notorious for ripping off customers with outrageous fees and interest rates. This is really unfair, because personally I don’t see any valid reason why you should be charged more than what you would for a standard purchase. To the best of my knowledge there is no such thing as a no cash advance fee credit card, but fortunately, you do have a couple other options which I will discuss in a moment.
The typical credit card cash advance fee is:
Upfront fee of 3% or $10.00 minimum (whichever is greater)
Even if you only borrow the money for an hour, you will still have to pay this very expensive fee!
Cash advance interest rate
The APR on cash advances is typically much higher than your purchase APR. For example, most of my cards have an interest rate for cash advances in the mid-20’s percent. Keep in mind this is in addition to the upfront fee you have to pay.
Think about it… if you took a cash advance for $300 and paid it back just two days later, due to the $10 fee the annualized rate you paid to borrow that money, it would equal a whopping 39,608 percent!
Best alternatives?
A credit card with no cash advance fee may not be possible, but fortunately you do have some options.
- If you need the money to pay someone that doesn’t accept card payments, you may want to ask if they will accept a Paypal payment. You can use your credit card to make Paypal payments and most banks typically treat those the same as any other purchase.
- The best option though is not only the most flexible, but it will also save you money. This is about the closest you can come to a no cash advance fee credit card… When you apply for a new card, some offers (but not all) will give you 0% APR on both purchases and balance transfers. With the 0% on purchases, you now have the freedom to make new purchases interest free while the promotional period is in effect. This can save you a considerable amount of money!
Check out our sponsored list of the best credit cards that give 0% on purchases which is updated almost daily.
USAA also has no cash advance fee cards if you move the money to your USAA checking account online – with click of a button. Very convenient. I opened a checking account in 5 minutes.
And, if no checking account, they charge 3% or max of $75! So, borrow $7500 and you pay just one per cent. You gotta be ex-mil, or mil dependent, or mil spouse to get the card, though.
You’re right Jon- Penfed is great and I actually have my auto loan through them. However like you said, there are so many hoops to jump through to get approved for their credit card (sending in proof of income, etc) and then with the ultra high credit scores they require, I usually don’t recommend their cards for financing purposes. But with that said, they do offer good rewards if you can survive their approval process
PenFed Visa Platinum – no cash advance fee (permanently), no minimum interest charge (also permanently). You have to jump through hoops to get it though.
Capital One has a no cash advance fee card. Current best offer is 5.99pct rate with no cash advance fee for 12 months. Their rates used to be much more competitive, but my card went from 7.9pct to 17.9pct reg purchase rate, and higher cash advance fee – so I’ve only kept them for special offers and always pay off within time period (or transfer to better offer – but, watch those cash advance fees – for sure).