Ask Andy: convenience checks - Action News 5 - Memphis, Tennessee

Ask Andy: convenience checks

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MEMPHIS, TN -

(WMC TV) - Convenience checks -- those checks that come with your credit card or card statement -- you know if you cash one of those, it's a charge to your credit card, right?

What you may not know is there are other charges when you cash a convenience check. Big charges.

Bill Hardekopf, CEO of LowCards.com, said expect these extra charges when cashing a credit card convenience check:

* CONVENIENCE FEE. Hardekopf said this fee's typically as much as three or four percent of the check amount.

* INTEREST RATE. A convenience check's interest rate is not your card's purchase APR. It's your card's APR for cash advances. That's usually more than 20 percent!

* NO POINTS, REWARDS OR PURCHASE PROTECTIONS. Your card may be a rewards card, but the convenience checks are not rewards checks. Any purchases made with them will not earn points or rewards.

Hardekopf added if you exceed your card's credit limit with a convenience check, it will bounce like any other check. You will be held responsible for passing a bad check.

The best way to pass a credit card's convenience checks is right into the shredder. Destroy them and ask your card-issuer to stop sending them.

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