Cash Advance Interest Rates: Things you need to know

Before you withdraw money from your credit card, make sure to know the cash advance interest rate of your credit card company.

Guide to Cash Advance Interest Rates on Australian Credit Cards

Best Low Cash Advance Credit Card

The Bankwest Zero Platinum provides a great balance transfer offers as well as a low interest rate on cash advances which can come in handy if you’re in an emergency situation and need to withdraw cash from your credit card

• $0 annual fee
• 1% p.a. for 6 months (reverts to 17.99% p.a.) on purchases
• 4.99% p.a. for 12 months on balance transfers
• Cash Advance Rate of 18.99% p.a.
• 55 days interest free
• Minimum Income Requirement of $15,000 p.a.

Read the Bankwest Zero Platinum MasterCard terms and conditions.

As a credit card holder you are very much aware that credit card interest rates are the basis for how much you will end up paying for your debts. On the other hand, you are probably aware that balance transfer rates are different from your normal purchase interest rates and these balance transfer rates can help in saving on interests, especially if you are going to transfer your balance to a new credit card.

More about cash advance rates:

If you are going to use your credit card in order to obtain instant cash, then you will be using a cash advance feature wherein the interest rate is actually the APR or annual percentage rate. There are some cases where this rate can be as low as the purchase rate, but usually, most of the cash advance rates are higher.

The importance of knowing about cash advance rates:

There are a lot of reasons why you need to know how cash advance rates work before you are going to submit a credit card application. Here are some of the reasons:

1. A cash advance rate applies not only to ATM withdrawals. In general, you will be charged with cash advance rates when you are going to use your credit card for paying bills and purchasing traveler’s cheques.
2. Balance transfers might be affected by cash advance rates. Policies would usually vary from one credit card company to another. Some companies will charge you a cash advance rate if you are going to transfer your balances, those that are not paid during the introductory period (i.e. your existing credit card debt.)
3. There are no interest free days with cash advances. The 55 interest free days that are applicable to regular purchase rates are usually not applicable to cash advance rates. This simply means that a cash advance interest rate would immediately apply as soon as you have withdrawn cash.

Typically cash advance rates are not noticed by credit card applicants. People usually look for APR rates , card fees and other bonus features and entirely forget to check the cash advance rate in the process. Before you are going to submit your application for a credit card, make sure that you carefully read the terms first.

If you are interested in using a credit card for cash advances, you should think twice. Cash advances should really only be used for emergencies. Check out our comparison of credit cards with low cash advance interest rates

Check out today's featured offers:

Westpac Low Rate	Citibank Clear Platinum	Qantas AMEX Discovery	ANZ Platinum
0% p.a. for 6 months on purchases & balance transfers	2.9% p.a. for 12 months on balance transfers	$0 annual fee Up to 10,000 Bonus QFF Points	0% p.a. for 6 months on purchases & balance transfers

Subscribe to our newsletter and get "The Ultimate Guide to Balance Transfers"

Popular Credit Card Offers

			Interest Rate (p.a.)	Balance Transfer Rate (p.a.)	Annual fee	Cash Advance Rate (p.a.)
	Westpac Low Rate Card - 0% Offer	A credit card with a low rate offer on both balance transfers and purchases, plus a low annual fee.	0% for 6 months (reverts to 13.49% )	0% for 6 months	$45	21.49%
	Citibank Clear Platinum Card	Competitive interest rate on purchases and balance transfers offer.	11.99%	2.9% for 12 months	$99	21.74%
	St George Vertigo	Take advantage of this great offer from St.George with a low rate on purchases and a low balance transfer offer.	13.24%	0.99% for 12 months	$55	21.49%
	ANZ Platinum Credit Card	An introductory interest rate offer on balance transfers and purchases, plus a $0 first year annual fee.	0% for 6 months (reverts to 19.24% )	0% for 6 months	$0 annual fee for the first year( $87 thereafter)	20.99%