There are a number of ways today to get information about our credit card balances, transaction histories, and the like. We can set up weekly emails, use internet banking any time of day, or even get text message updates sent to our phones. But despite these and other options, most of us still rely on printed statements that appear in our mailboxes once each month to inform us of what we owe. Many of us, however, have noticed that attached to our bills are perforated “access checks,” or cash advance checks, that can be used like ordinary checks but are charged to our credit cards. While these checks may seem like a convenient way to pay contractors, landlords, or others that do not have the means of accepting a credit card directly, there are reasons to be wary of their use.

First, there is a risk of fraud. Like many renters, I move frequently, usually once every year, and while I am conscientious about officially changing my address, there is always the possibility of a lag, during which a statement may get delivered to someone else. The fate of these lost statements is unknown, but one would hope that they are either returned to the sender or eventually destroyed. In any case, without sensitive information included in the statement, even the most nefarious of recipients could do little more than pay off my debt, to which I would not be opposed. However, the inclusion of checks, and thereby a means of accessing my line of credit, adds an unnecessary risk to the privacy of my account.

The first concern, I admit, is highly circumstantial. The real question is: If you receive access checks with your credit card statement, should you use them? The short answer is maybe, as long as you are aware of the costs. For example, the Bank of America Platinum Plus credit card charges a three percent fee for cash advances, which may be negligible for small purchases. However, the real cost lies in the Cash Advance APR, which for this particular card is currently 21.24 percent, more than double the Standard APR. After the low introductory rate, the unsuspecting borrower could find himself hit with these high rates suddenly, and if big purchases were made with cash advances, this would be unnecessarily expensive for the well-off and potentially hurtful for those on a budget.

So if you receive access checks with your monthly statement, be aware of the costs involved in their use, and if you are considering taking a loan for a large purchase, alternatives such as home equity, car, or personal loans may be far less costly in the long term than cash advances on credit. The convenience of having blank checks mailed directly to your doorstep does not seem to negate the high cost involved with this kind of borrowing.

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