topic Re: Amex cash advance question in Credit Cards

Amex cash advance question

Anonymous — Mon, 09 Jul 2018 07:00:48 GMT

Hi! Can someone explain to me what exactly a cash advance is fro Amex? I know the basics. I have a 200 dollar one, so I can go to an ATM and take out 200 dollars. But im wondering things like... A. Does it affect your credit? B. How do you pay it back? C. Does it just go on your statement as a normal charge? Any info you can share is greatly apprecitated! Thanks!

Re: Amex cash advance question

CreditInspired — Mon, 09 Jul 2018 11:14:44 GMT

Yes, all those things but the huge disadvantage is the interest you have to pay on the cash advance is much higher than the interest for a purchase. It can affect your score if it causes high utilization.

Re: Amex cash advance question

fuzzle — Mon, 09 Jul 2018 11:22:19 GMT

There is a fee and there is no interest-free grace period. So even if you pay in full next statement it might cost $15 for $200, which is like 90% APR.

Re: Amex cash advance question

sarge12 — Mon, 09 Jul 2018 11:31:04 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Hi! Can someone explain to me what exactly a cash advance is fro Amex? I know the basics. I have a 200 dollar one, so I can go to an ATM and take out 200 dollars. But im wondering things like... A. Does it affect your credit? B. How do you pay it back? C. Does it just go on your statement as a normal charge? Any info you can share is greatly apprecitated! Thanks!

A cash advance on a credit card is one of the things I would advise to just say no to. It differs from a normal sale charge in that the interest is generally higher and starts accruing immediately...no grace period!!! It is better than a finance company or payday loan usually, but not much! Just don't do it...pretend that cash advances on credit cards do not exist, it is a ridiculously expensive loan in most cases.

Re: Amex cash advance question

HeavenOhio — Mon, 09 Jul 2018 12:55:34 GMT

When you take out a cash advance, you're not only paying immediate interest on the advance, you're also paying interest on every single charge. If you do take out an advance, it's best to use the card for nothing else until the advance is paid off and you see a statement balance of zero. The zero statement balance will tell you that your grace period has been reset. Because of the possibility of trailing interest, achieving a zero balance might take two statements after the cash advance has been paid.

Re: Amex cash advance question

K-in-Boston — Mon, 09 Jul 2018 14:26:55 GMT

It's also worth noting that there are a lot of reports of Amex not liking it when people do cash advances on their cards. Most of the cards allow it, but they're meant more for an absolute emeregency. If I needed a cash advance, I would much rather just use a convenience check from another lender.

Re: Amex cash advance question

Cookiegrabber — Tue, 10 Jul 2018 05:25:57 GMT

In line with what @K-in-Boston said, cash advances tell a lender that you are short on cash, because -- why else would you need a high interest cash loan?

Re: Amex cash advance question

arkane — Tue, 10 Jul 2018 05:44:19 GMT

@sarge12 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Hi! Can someone explain to me what exactly a cash advance is fro Amex? I know the basics. I have a 200 dollar one, so I can go to an ATM and take out 200 dollars. But im wondering things like... A. Does it affect your credit? B. How do you pay it back? C. Does it just go on your statement as a normal charge? Any info you can share is greatly apprecitated! Thanks!
A cash advance on a credit card is one of the things I would advise to just say no to. It differs from a normal sale charge in that the interest is generally higher and starts accruing immediately...no grace period!!! It is better than a finance company or payday loan usually, but not much! Just don't do it...pretend that cash advances on credit cards do not exist, it is a ridiculously expensive loan in most cases.

Yep it's essentially an on-demand payday loan. For this reason I killed the cash advance line on all the cards that would let me drop it to 0. (BoA can't/won't drop it below $200 for some reason)

Re: Amex cash advance question

NRB525 — Tue, 10 Jul 2018 10:34:36 GMT

Questions to ask yourself before taking the cash advance:

1) Can I use the credit card to pay for the item I want to buy? Some merchants absolutely won’t take credit.
2) Can I use a debit card instead?
3) Why did I not bring more local currency on my trip? I was in São Paulo BR four years ago on business, with some personal sightseeing planned I converted something like $500 over to Reals. Turns out one of the cab rides did not take cards at all, a one-way trip to Alphaville late at night, so I used a large portion of my Reals to pay on the spot. When you really need the cash advance, it may not be possible to get to a cash machine, so plan ahead.

Re: Amex cash advance question

AverageJoesCredit — Tue, 10 Jul 2018 13:26:50 GMT

I cant stand this feature on a cc. With all the negative affects it can have or its perceptions, they need to do away with this. They feature it so predominantly as a feature its ridiculous. Why feature something you shouldn't use. If you are going to offer something like that then offer it and let a user use it with no negative connotations.if they dont pay it back there are consequences and the lenders wins with more money. Sorry this feature drives me nuts.