US Bank Checking Account Advance = fast money
I'm do most of my banking online and one day while I was checking my balance, I noticed a new clickable link "Request Checking Account Advance". Since I never heard of it before, I was curious and clicked. Turns out, if you have an established US Bank checking account in good standing and have had at least 2 direct deposit is over $100 in the past 6 months, you are eligible for a cash advance using the next possible direct deposit as collateral.
I read the terms of service and found out my credit limit was half of my last direct deposit, so it was $460. You could request an advance in increments of $20. The interest rate is a little steep - 10%, but still lower than most paycheck advance companies I had seen. I can always use a few extra bucks and figured I'd give it a try and see how simple and easy it really was. It was actually a quick 4 click process and presto, my checking account now had a magical extra $20 in it - ready for withdrawal immediately.
I learned the hard way however, that if you don't have a guaranteed direct deposit coming in any time soon, it probably isn't a good idea to take the advance. You have 35 days to pay off the advance and if you don't have any direct deposits come in that time frame, they withdraw the money from your account even if you don't have it in your account - they just complete the process as an overdraft.
While I think this is a great option in case of an emergency, such as an accidental overdraft and having the need to pull your checking account out of the negative, it is too much of a temptation for someone like me where money burns a hole in my pocket. I managed to max out my advance and soon owed $506 (460 for the advance and 46 for the interest) to my bank that I could not pay off. Guess where my stimulas check went, lol.
pageviews
Link to this review from your blog or website
Select all of the text in the box with your mouse, then right click and select copy
Popularity Score
Overall Rating:
Checking Account Advance Provider:
US Bank It was a gift Category: Finances & Insurance / Cash Advances Published: June 01, 2008 13:51
Author Profile:
|
Rank: 116th (
1)
ShareScore: 71%
Gender: Female
Age: 37
Education Level: college
City: St Paul
Country: United States
Industry: Sales
Position: Everything & Anything!
Income: $20,000.00 - $40,000.00
More reviews by this Author
- Here are three other reviews you may like.
Check into Cash, lifesaver and polite too.
Getting a cash advance from CashNetUsa ( review )
1)
It does sound like a great product -- but thanks for the warning. I've got a US Bank checking and savings account, and my money is all direct deposited, but I've never really needed an advance. I did have a reserve line for overdrafts, but after having it at $1000 for over a year, they cut it to $200 for no apparent reason. I haven't used it in, well, ages, but they said gave me three different, and contradictory, answers, none of which made sense, for why they did that. So I'm a little peeved with them. But I love having everybody in my branch know my name! LOL! (small towns...)
My poor mother, who has no financial sense whatsoever had this same thing through Wells Fargo. Boy did she ever get herself bolloxed up with this. It took us 6 months to finally clean up her bank account and threaten the banker with throttling if he ever let her loose with extra money again:)
Yes check advances are generally only for emergencies but your right I like that they only charge 10%.
That stimulus check really came in handy for you it sounds like!
I have that at my bank also. I too learned the hard way that it always isn't a good thing. I haven't used it in about a year now :)
Good to know this exists, but for emergency situations only.
Interesting, I've never heard of this. Thanks for sharing.
Dont count chickens, like I have done. This can be an expensive addiction!.
Good info to have. Gotta watch out for cash advance things. Thanks
Agree with you that if you don't have a guaranteed direct deposit coming in any time soon, it is not a good idea to take the advance since the interest rate is 10%.