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answersHi Kaz,
Cherry Pie is right. With Cash Advances you start to pay interest the day that you withdraw cash so there will be no interest free period. Generally cash advance rates will have a higher interest rate, most cash advance rates are above 20%.
There are some banks such as NAB that have Credit Cards that will direct payments to the most expensive part of your credit card debt first but most cards will require you to pay off the balance in full before you can wipe out the cash advance debt. The Australian Government is in the process of introducing new credit card reforms that will start on from 1 July, 2012. And this will be one of the requirements for all new credit card applications.
Cash advances are best avoided but there are some credit cards that have low cash advance rates or cash advance rates that are the same as purchase rates such as the Community First McGrath Pink Visa card.
If you have a credit card that you are paying high interest on, an option for you could be to transfer that debt to a new credit card with a low balance transfer rate. You will save on interest payments but just be sure to pay off any debt within the intro rate period otherwise you could end up paying high interest again. Some cards will revert back to the high cash advance rate so watch this trap. Compare balance transfer offers and read our article Crushing Debt: a guide to balance transfer offers. Some of the offers will now be expired but it will give you an explanation of how balance transfer cards work.
You can also use the Mozo Credit Card Health Check took, it will instantly tell you the top 5 offers on the market for your situation.
Hope this helps.
Team Mozo
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