cash advance using a debit card?

Ambler

Hello. Has anyone done a cash advance with a credit card to access a fairly substantial amount of cash? I have a debit card from HSBC (USA) with a Mastercard logo. TheoreticallyI should be able to use this at any HSBC branch world-wide (hah!) to get a cash advance, which actually would access my checking account. I have only done this successfully once, in Bangkok. Any experience with this? I'm still grappling with how I'll get access to cash for an apartment deposit before I open a bank account in India.

Thanks.

PS Sorry if this posts twice--for some reason the first time I tried to post it it didn't show up...so I'm trying again.

Hal

If your bank is a member of Cirrus or Plus or Maestro, you should be able to withdraw directly from your chequing account with your HSBC debit card. The trick is finding an Indian bank that atkes your debit card. There's bound to be one, just takes some trial and error sometimes.

obione980

Most banks set daily limits for cash withdrawals by card from ATMs. However - if you notify your home branch of the HSBC, by fax (or phone if you have set up phone banking) that you intend to withdraw cash - specify the amount - from the 'xyz' branch of the HSBC - and you have Government issued photo ID (preferably 2 examples, say passport and drivers licence or similar) you should be fine.

Good Luck. Banks are sometimes reluctant to give you your own money.

Ambler

Quote: Most banks set daily limits for cash withdrawals by card from ATMs.

Yes, this is my concern. My daily allowance is $500, more than enough for living, but to gather enough for a (possible) 10 month deposit on a 20,000 per month rupee apartment means a lot of trips to the ATM!

I'll try what you suggest and talk to my bank in the US. To complicate matters I don't actually live in the US at the moment, so am trying to arrange all of this via internet and phone (which is kind of difficult because most Americans can't wrap their brains around the fact that I live in Asia and that, no, 800 toll free numbers don't work internationally! Sorry, a bit of a rant).

ISN

If you need immediate cash, then bring Travelers Cheque, and then convert it to cash. If you are paying a advance for your apartment it is better to not pay in cash because you will not have any record of payment so bring Travelers Cheque and convert it to local Cashiers Cheque.

P.S: Do not convert your Travelers Cheque directly to cash and then to Cashiers Cheque, because banks will not take cash for large sums when you request a Cashiers Cheque, they want to know how you got that money, so it will be better to hold the money in Travelers Cheque and convert it to Cashiers Cheque only when you have a requirement.

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Ambler

Thanks, ISN! Good suggestions as always.

brownboy66

a bit confused here. In your first post you talk about a cash advance from your credit card, but in the next sentence you mention its a debit card and that you're withdrawing from you cheque account? Is it by chance a combo card (both a credit and a debit card). I've got one of those by the way. Apologies - not trying to be pedantic - just trying to follow you train of thought and get it clear in my own head.

If you're withdrawing money from your credit account - then its a cash advance (and large, nasty interest rates will apply). If you are taking money out of your transaction or savings account (i.e - from the debit portion of the card so to speak) - then its a standard electronic cash withdrawal.

Either way - if you bank has imposed a daily maximum for electronic withdrawals then there is probably very little you can do except make withdrawals over a number of days until you have the amount you need.

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Ambler

Sorry, Brown Boy--I'm in full packing/moving mode and I'm sure I wasn't clear in my OP. My debit card has a Mastercard logo from HSBC USA, and thus can be used in place of a credit card. When I first opened the account and asked about withdrawing money with little or no fees overseas, I was told that one of the most economical ways was to go to an HSBC branch and ask for a "cash advance"--it runs like a cash advance, but the money I receive is not from a credit account, rather it comes straight from my checking account. It's similar to using a debit card with a Mastercard or Visa card logo in place of a credit card--most shops don't know that it's not a credit transaction, that in place of credit you are actually accessing your own money through the ease of a credit card transaction. The "cash advance" using the debit card gets around the $500 limit per day ATM withdrawal, and since the money comes directly from my checking account there are no ugly cash advance fees that normally come with a cash advance on a credit card.

That said, I've only done this successfully once, in Bangkok. I'm going to give it a try in Chennai. I'll also plan on taking some travelers' checks, having emailed HSBC in Chennai to be sure I can cash them (according to the customer service person who emailed me back, I can).