Cash advance charges on credit cards

markaa_2

I was in the USA recently & I put money on my credit card in so I was in credit. I could then take out cash as I needed it.
Why was I then charged £3.00 for a cash advance. They already had the money, surely they are charging me to advance me my own money?

YorkshireBoy

Simple answer...it's in the T&C's. They provided a service and charged you for it.

BTW, pre-loading credit cards is a dangerous game. If the positive balance is large, then it's possible their AML systems will flag up and block the account...leaving you high and dry.

Better to use a Nationwide Flex Account for overseas cash withdrawals.

NickX

The cash advance fee applies whether the card is in credit or not. You will have benefited from not paying interest on the cash withdrawal though.

There are some cards that do not apply such fees for Cash Withdrawals, Abbey Zero being one of them.

markaa_2

Thanks for all the replies. I have a Nationwide credit card at present but will look into the Abbey Zero. Usually let them know if I am abroad so hopefully my account will be ok. Always try & pay by credit card rather than cash as you seem to get a better exchange rate. This is easy in the USA but you do sometimes need I.D as they don't have chip & pin. Will take my drivers licence next time.

King_Of_Fools

markaa wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies. I have a Nationwide credit card at present but will look into the Abbey Zero. Usually let them know if I am abroad so hopefully my account will be ok. Always try & pay by credit card rather than cash as you seem to get a better exchange rate. This is easy in the USA but you do sometimes need I.D as they don't have chip & pin. Will take my drivers licence next time.

The Abbey Zero is no longer available. What you want is the Nationwide Flex Account this give the same exchange rate as their credit card and no cash advance fees. You can just load up the account before you go.

YorkshireBoy

King_Of_Fools wrote: »

The Abbey Zero is no longer available.

It's still available in branch (and possibly by telephone)...or at least was last weekend.