How can I transfer money from my credit card to a bank account?

You can transfer money from your credit card to a bank account through a direct transfer (in some cases), a normal cash advance, a convenience check, apps like Venmo, or money transfer services like Western Union. These options are expensive, so only transfer money from your credit card to a bank account in an emergency. There are some roundabout methods that might allow you to avoid fees, though.

First, let’s go through the most straightforward way to send money from a credit card to a bank account, which is a direct transfer facilitated by some credit card issuers. This transaction will likely count as a cash advance, and thus be subject to a high APR and immediate interest, but some credit card issuers might waive the cash advance fee.

How to Transfer Money From a Credit Card Directly to a Bank Account

1. Contact customer service or check your online account to see if the card’s issuer allows transfers to a bank account. For example, you can make an “internal transfer" from your U.S. Bank credit card to a U.S. Bank deposit account directly from your online account’s home page.
2. Sign in to your online credit card account and find the option to transfer funds to another account or get a cash advance.
3. Click the button to set up an internal transfer.
4. Choose the credit card you’ll be transferring funds from.
5. Choose the bank account that will be receiving the funds.
6. Enter the amount to transfer.
7. Review your request and submit it to complete the transfer.

U.S. Bank, USAA and Wells Fargo are among the major credit card companies that will allow you to transfer money directly from a credit card to a bank account online. Other cash advance and money transfer options are more common, though.

Other Ways to Transfer Money From a Credit Card to a Bank Account

Normal Cash Advances

You can use your card at an ATM or bank branch to perform a cash advance. Once you’ve obtained your cash, you could deposit it into your bank account.

It’s not a good idea to take out a cash advance if other options are available, due to the lack of a grace period, extra fees, and high cash advance APRs. In addition, your “cash advance limit,” or the amount you can borrow for a cash advance, will likely be lower than your overall credit limit, so keep that in mind.

Convenience Checks

Sometimes, credit card companies will give you convenience checks, which are checks that allow you to access your card’s credit line. In these cases, you can write a check to yourself, which you can then deposit into your bank account. However, be aware that the issuer’s cash advance fee and interest rate will apply to your balance.

Money-Transfer Services

You can use services like Western Union and MoneyGram, which allow you to transfer funds with a credit card online or from any of their locations. They let you identify the recipient with a phone number or email address. Other money-transfer services, such as Wise, may be online-only.

However, transactions made through money-transfer services like these can show up as cash advances on your credit card statement, no matter whom you send the money to. That means they come with any fee and interest rate your credit card charges for regular cash advances. Plus, these companies charge their own fees on top, making the transaction even more expensive.

Payment Apps

Online payment apps are basically digital wallets that securely store the user’s bank account, debit card, or credit card information. These apps allow users to transfer money from their credit card to another person’s bank account by entering the recipient’s phone number or e-mail address and without having to enter card details every time.

There are fees associated with this, so to avoid the additional costs, you should only transfer funds using your bank account or debit card. Popular payment apps include Venmo, PayPal, and Cash App.

• Venmo: You can use Venmo to pay a friend or family member or send payments for goods and services. Note that any person-to-person payment that goes through Venmo using a credit card will incur a 3% fee. There is no fee if you’re sending money to pay for goods and services. Bank transfers typically take one business day.
• PayPal: You will need to enter the recipient’s email address, and you must choose whether you’re paying for an item or service or sending money to a friend. Once the recipient receives the money, it usually takes just one business day to transfer it to their bank account. In most cases, if you send money to another person using a credit card, you will be charged a fee of 2.9% on the amount you send, plus a fixed fee which varies by currency. There is no fee when you use PayPal to pay for goods and services.
• Cash App: After you download the app, link your credit card to your Cash App account. With the recipient’s phone number, e-mail address, or $cashtag – a unique identifier for Cash App users – you can make a payment by simply tapping the "Pay" button.

If you use a credit card to send money to another person, you’ll incur a 3% fee, which is added to the total amount sent. There is no fee to send money as payment for goods and services.

Be aware that sending a cash advance to yourself or helping someone else to do so is against these apps’ terms and user agreements, so be sure to use these platforms only for sending money to a friend.

Credit Card Rewards

If you have a rewards balance on your card, especially if it’s a cash back card, you may be able to redeem it as a transfer to your bank account. Of course, this might not provide the greatest amount of extra cash in an emergency, but at least it won’t incur any fees.

Is It a Good Idea to Transfer Money From Your Credit Card to Your Bank?

It is not a good idea to transfer money from your credit card to your bank. Person to person credit card transactions made through mobile payment apps and money-transfer services are almost always considered cash advances by the card issuer. If you use a credit card for a cash advance, you’ll normally pay between 3% and 5% as a cash advance fee, plus a high APR on the advance amount that kicks in the same day.

There are some credit card issuers that may waive cash advance charges in certain situations, however. For example, if you have a USAA credit card, it will allow you to transfer a cash advance directly to a USAA checking or savings account with no cash advance fee. But that doesn’t save you from the cash advance APR. Plus, credit cards that allow this are uncommon.