If you take your credit card to an ATM, you can use it to get a cold, hard cash advance – but it will cost you. Before using this service, make sure you know what fees and interest rates to expect, so you won’t get any big surprises on your credit card statements. Credit card cash advance basics A cash advance, broadly speaking, is a loan. When you need cash fast, you can get these particular loans from a few different places, including payday lenders (which typically charge a three-digit annual percentage rate) and your credit card issuers.