I recently inquired about prospective finance charges pertaining to my Capital One Visa.
I called and asked the customer service rep the following question:
“Is getting a cash advance the same as making a purchase in that after that billing cycle, I will have 30 days to pay off the cash advance amount, and pay no finance charges, just as one would with a normal purchase on the card”
The assumptions are:
Zero previous balance
APR for purchases and cash advances are the same
I am trying to determine if getting a cash advance is technically identical to making a purchase of the same amount within a given period in a billing cycle and finance charges not assessed if payment in full within alloted 30 day time.
The customer service rep needed to ask a supervisor, and when he finally gave me an answer, he didn’t sound very sure. His uncertainty and poor english left me confused, so I turn to fellow dopers for a clear cut answer.
I’d also point out that Capital One has litterally dozens of different credit card programs with dozens of different deals.
So you ned to be sure you’re looking at the terms for your card, not some other one they offer. Your terms may also change temporarily when they offer some promotional deal; if you get a cash advance under the promo, the deal may be different yet.
Hving said that, of the numerous cards I have or have had in the last 10 years, almost none treat a cash advance exactly the same as a purchase. Some withdrawal fee & interest accruing from the moment of withdrawal are common terms, even for platinum ultra fat-cat cards. On the lower-end cards cash advances are often subject to a different (higher) APR as well.
So if I had to bet on your terms sight-unseen I’d bet that your card has different (less favorable) terms for cash advances verus purchases.
I assume this is (at least partly) because, if they were treated the same, the cash advance would be less profitable for the credit card company, since in that case they don’t receive a fee from the company you made a purchase from?
That’s part of it.
Sometimes they’ll send you a check to do the balance transfer with, and not check too carefully as to where you deposit it.
It’s risky. I wouldn’t bother with it barring very particular circumstances.
I thought so. It’s sad that they hire customer service people who can’t speak english well, have limited knowledge beyond their “most frequently asked questions”, and are so confused that they give me an incorrect answer which is the difference between ZERO fees and potentially hundreds of dollars.
A.R. Cane answers your specific question, but in general, I’m unaware of any credit card which does not charge interest on cash advances from the moment the are withdrawn. Nor of any cards which do not charge sizeable fees. A credit card cash advance is really a last resort measure, and rarely (if ever?) makes sense to use.
I would just offer one bit of advice about getting cash with those checks they send you all the time. I bought my car with one and was very, very happy. But a word to the novice - when borrowing this way be sure that the minimum fee is reasonable as a percentage of the money borrowed and that you can pay off the loan before the interest starts to accrue (even if this means going to a credit union or another bank.)
ALWAYS REMEMBER: A credit card company can raise your interest rate in most states on 30 days notice and you can’t do a thing, so MAKE SURE that you have completely paid off all debt on that card before you borrow the cash. If you must use a credit card after borrowing the cash NEVER use the same card because future payments on the card will always be applied to the lowest interest item. That means the $40.00 grocery bill will remain on the card at 12-18% until your entire zero interest balance is paid off.
They do leave some windows open for you to take advantage but you better be careful.