Cash advance.
In plain English
A cash advance turns the card into an expensive cash machine: ATM withdrawals, some wire-style transactions, and often things like casino chips or crypto purchases get coded as advances. Three costs stack: an upfront fee (commonly 5% or a $10 floor), a higher APR than purchases carry, and zero grace period, so interest starts the moment the cash appears.
01Why it matters
People reach for advances in tight moments without knowing they're the most expensive feature on the card, and the codes are invisible: some transactions become advances without looking like one.
02The math, step by step
A $400 ATM advance at a 5% fee and 29.99% advance APR: $20 fee immediately, plus interest accruing from day one at a rate above the purchase APR. Repaid in one month, the cash cost roughly $30, an effective cost near 90% annualized.
03What this is NOT
The grace period never applies, payments often go to lower-rate balances first (by law, amounts above the minimum go to the highest rate), and "convenience checks" from the issuer are usually advances in disguise.
04Receipts
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Plain-English answers from our glossary. Receipts included. Never advice.
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