Can You Withdraw Money From A Credit Card Without A PIN?

Do you know if you could withdraw money from a credit card without a PIN? this is one of the questions our readers ask a lot. Well, we´ve got you covered.

Using a credit card is a fast and easy way to pay on the go, set up online payments, and make payments over the phone.

However, if you need cash and you don’t have a PIN, that’s a different story entirely. Often enough, most people have a PIN for cash withdrawals from a credit card.

So, can you withdraw money from a credit card without a PIN? If you don’t have a pin, or you are waiting on your PIN number to arrive in the mail—which can take 5 – 7 business days—you can draw out cash with your credit card. You’ll have to go to your bank, however, and speak to a teller to get it done.

In most cases, it’s called a cash advance on your credit card and it will come in the form of a check—access or convenience check—that you can fill out and cash at the bank.

This will draw the money directly from your credit line rather than your checking or savings account.

Keep in mind that this usually comes at a pretty steep APR, so that’s something you should both check into and understand before cashing that check.

Of course, there are other ways to get cash from a credit card without a PIN and we’ll cover them here.

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How To Get Cash From A Credit Card With No PIN (Stolen Credit Card)

Most credit card issuers won’t give you a PIN number over the phone.

You may get lucky and get a temporary PIN but, in most cases, you’re going to have to choose a PIN and wait for several business days for them to mail it to you.

You may have some options at your disposal while you wait, however.

In-network ATMs
Cashback after purchase
Convenience and/or access check
Prepaid debit cards
Gift Cards

If you happen to have an in-network ATM near you—which always seems to be something that’s prevalent or non-existent with nothing in between—It’s possible that you can hit up that ATM and you may be able to withdraw cash without using a PIN number.

However, those are few and far between and even in-network ATMs for credit cards are requiring a PIN these days.

One foolproof method is to get cashback after a purchase. Most convenient stores will do up to $25 cashback while others will give you more.

Some major chain retailers have a much higher limit on what they will give you in terms of cashback.

Convenience and access checks were discussed above, and you should really be cautious of the high APR rate unless, of course, you absolutely have to have the cash.

If you decide to go to the bank to get cash in this way, you’ll need both a credit card and a state-issued ID, such as your driver’s license in order to complete the transaction.

Prepaid debit cards are useful as well. You have a temporary PIN with these and can use them at in-network ATMs to draw out cash.

All you’ll have to do is use your credit card to purchase one and then use the prepaid card like cash or draw it out.

Gift cards work the same way, although they don’t often allow you to withdraw cash directly from them. Most of these methods really require you to take a few extra steps to get to the point where you can draw out cash.

Are There Places That Don’t Take A Credit Card?

All this talk about pulling cash from a credit card without a PIN may lead some to wonder why you would need to.

Aren’t credit cards accepted everywhere and for almost anything? You’d be surprised at the places that still won’t accept a credit card or may only take a certain type of credit card.

The primary reason a business would not accept a credit card—or they’ll accept Mastercard and not VISA or vice versa—is because of fees and, of course, who those retail chains are partnered with.

There are four major credit cards: Mastercard, VISA, American Express, and Discover.

The latter two charge a higher “swipe” fee than Mastercard and VISA. A swipe fee is a cost that the card company passes on to the retail chain for the processing of the card.

Big retail giants, such as Costco, can afford to just completely force out three major credit card companies and only accept one.

The effect that it has is typically galvanic and the credit card companies will lower their fees in order to get back in the good graces of a retail chain.

Where Costco is concerned, they’re partnered with VISA, therefore VISA is the only credit card that Costco will accept. Keep in mind, we’re talking about credit cards only.

Costco will happily accept a Mastercard debit card from your bank.

When some of the fees get too high per swipe, these retail giants can afford to lock them out.

So, if you’re trying to use a particular type of credit card and the cashier tells you it isn’t accepted, remember, it doesn’t have anything to do with them. It has everything to do with business.

You can also expect certain places to not take credit, debit, or any kind of plastic card. Places like the laundromat, barbershops, gaming centers, nail salons, and the vast majority of vending machines simply don’t take them—although vending machines are changing that trend.

If you’re dryer just blew out and you’re waiting on your PIN in the mail, you may need some cash and quickly.

Other Ways To Use Your Credit Card When You Can’t Get Cash

Western Union and MoneyGram are options if you need to send money. You don’t have to go down to either one and present them with cash in order to transfer money to a friend in need.

However, it will likely be treated as a cash advance.

Of course, you could send the money to one of your family members and collect the cash on the other end. That would be a method of transforming your credit line into a source of physical cash.

In order to pay merchants, you can always do so through PayPal, Venmo, and Cash App. Any of these three accounts will allow you to link a credit card to your account, just like a debit card.

If the business that you need to pay will accept any of the above, problem solved.

You can also take a similar route with Amazon through Amazon Pay. It has to be marked as a payment to a merchant, however, or the fees may be very high.

Although credit cards aren’t as universally accepted as some would assume, there are still ways of getting around the fact that some retailers just won’t take one.

This is especially true with the rise of digital payment services.

Final Word

No one wants to be stuck in the unenviable position of holding $1,000 of plastic and not being able to use it when it’s needed.

Fortunately, there are some ways and loopholes to exploit to either get the cash you need or make a payment through some alternative method.

However, until the day that credit card companies stop charging high rates for credit card swipes, odds are you will run into a situation where your credit card is not accepted, and cash is the only alternative.

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