Unlike regular credit card purchases, cash advances do not include an interest-free grace period. You have a financial emergency. You need money. You have no friends or family who can lend you this interest-free money (although we recommend that you sign a personal loan agreement if possible).
For obvious reasons, you would certainly prefer an interest-free cash advance to get through this difficult time, but what is the probability that you will get one?
Short answer: If you borrow money on an advance or personal loan, you will have to pay interest or fees. This is how it works.
A cash advance is a feature of your credit card.
Before we see why it is impossible to get an interest-free advance, let’s first determine what exactly is an advance. It is basically a way to withdraw money with your credit card.
The process of obtaining an advance is similar to withdrawing money from your bank account with a debit card. You put your credit card in the ATM, choose the amount you want to withdraw and you get your money.
However, you must pay fees in addition to any ATM fees to receive this advance. And since this is a loan and not a real cash withdrawal, as it would be with a debit card, you may have to repay this money.
In this sense, it is very similar to a regular purchase with your credit card. All you do is add more money to your total balance. After all, credit cards are a line of credit, which means that by using your card, you will be taking out a loan that you may have to pay.
One big difference between credit cards and regular loans is that, when used correctly, you can borrow money from your card without paying money for interest. Does this mean that you can also get an interest-free advance?
Unfortunately no.
Unlike regular purchases, credit card cash advances do not have a grace period. The vast majority of credit cards have an interest-free grace period for regular purchases. A grace period is a period of time before a particular purchase earns interest. The grace period for credit cards is generally 30 days.
As long as you pay your credit card bill on time and in full each month, you avoid paying interest, which means you get interest-free credit. Pretty good, right?
Unfortunately, this is not the case with cash advances on credit cards. There is no grace period for prepayment loans, so interest accrues immediately.
To compare interest rates, use a number called Annual Percentage Rate (APR), which measures the cost of a loan or credit card, including fees and interest, over a year.
The average annual interest rate on a credit card is just over 16%. However, the average annual interest rate for a credit card advance is almost 24%. And that’s just the average rate. The lower your credit score, the higher the rate you are likely to pay. Therefore, you may not only interest in your advance but also more than with a normal purchase.
Cash advances and interest-free cash loans don’t really exist.
In general, it is very difficult for you to find interest-free loans and cash advances, with lenders earning your money with a few exceptions. Since former farmers in the Middle East started borrowing animals and seeds, they have been asking for their loans to be repaid with additional benefits in addition to their problems.
As mentioned earlier, your credit rating determines the interest rate you will have to pay on the loans you will receive. But don’t let these higher rates skyrocket. This will make it harder to get better interest rates on future loans and credit cards, which means more money will be paid for interest. So far we have assumed that you have a credit card. What if you don’t?
