You can get cash back on your credit card at the register if you have a Discover credit card. Discover’s “Cash Over” benefit allows cardholders to withdraw up to $120 every 24 hours when checking out at over 60 participating merchants. This doesn’t trigger a cash advance fee and the balance is subject to your normal APR. The … read full answerWalmart® Store Card and Capital One® Walmart Rewards® Mastercard® offer a similar benefit for up to $100 at Walmart stores, too. Other than these options, you’ll need to use a debit card to get cash back at the register.
You can get also get cash back from a credit card at an ATM by doing what’s known as a cash advance. However, this typically comes with expensive fees and APRs, so it’s not ideal unless you’re in an emergency situation.
In addition, some credit cards give you cash back rewards with every purchase you make, redeemable for a statement credit, check, bank account deposit and more. Certain cards give you the same amount of cash back for every dollar you spend, regardless of where you spend it, while others reward you more for certain types of purchases.
In other words, there are three main ways to get cash back with a credit card: cash back at the register, cash advances and cash back rewards. But they have differing effects on your wallet. Cash rewards come at no extra cost to you and add up to extra money in your pocket, but are less immediate. Cash advances, on the other hand, are very costly and penalize you for taking them out. And cash back at the register is very rare with credit cards. With that, we’ll break down cash rewards and cash advances in a bit more detail below.
How to Get Cash Back Rewards on your Credit Card
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Pick the Right Rewards Card. Cash back rewards are one of three major types of rewards, points and miles being the other two. If your card has cash back rewards, all you need to do to earn them is use your credit card. Typically, you’ll earn at least 1% cash back on all purchases, and many cards offer higher rates for some or all categories of purchases. For example, you might get 2% cash back on travel, gas, groceries or another type of purchase while earning 1% for everything else. If you’re unsure where to start your search, take a look at WalletHub’s picks for the best cash back credit cards.
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Spend Wisely. Cash back cards may reward certain purchases (e.g. gas, groceries) more highly than others. Some cards have bonus categories that always stay the same, and others have ones that rotate each quarter.
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Redeem Regularly. Once you earn cash back, you can redeem it for a check, statement credit or bank account deposit. You may have other options, such as gift cards, but they’re not as versatile and often provide less value than cash back.
Another much costlier way to get cash from your credit card is a cash advance. This type of transaction lets you use your credit card to withdraw money from an ATM, like you would with a debit card.
How to Get a Cash Advance From Your Credit Card
- Call your issuer and ask for a PIN.
- Once you get the PIN, you can use it to get money from ATMs. You can withdraw up to your “cash advance limit,” which is listed on your statement.
- The credit card issuer charges you a “cash advance fee,” usually at least 3% of the amount you withdraw.
- Your balance starts to accrue interest immediately, at an APR that is likely to be well over 20%.
It’s not a good idea to do a cash advance unless it’s an emergency situation. And if you do have to get one, make sure you pay it back as quickly as possible to minimize the interest.
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