uds0

Much better. A specific question is so much easier to answer with certainty.

I was responding to:

"this isn't a debit card so I could see being hit with a cash advance fee on at least the cashback portion of the transaction."

in reference to the specific First Tech credit card being unusual since it, like a few others that are typically credit unions, has no cash advance fee. If the whole card balance is paid off that same day, then there should not even be any interest.

A debit card cash transaction is a cash withdrawal (not a cash advance/loan which is done via credit card). Unfortunately, "Cash advance" is sometimes used by banks to describe a cash withdrawal via a bank teller, but that is still really a cash withdrawal that that bank gets reimbursed from your bank.

Using a credit card cash advance with no CAF avoids even the 1% ISA fee most debit card issuers pass through, but unfortunately can generate ATM operator fees that are typically not levied on debit card cash withdrawals.

When I recently did a local informal survey to test the practicality of using cash advances on a no cash advance fee card, all 6 ATMs charged $2-$3 for credit card cash advances, but $0 on debit card cash withdrawals. I asked a few issuers about that seemingly inconsistent behavior, and the response was pretty much "we don't charge for debit cards but do for credit cards used at ATMs". Even the ATM fee reimbursement feature a few banks like Schwab and State Farm Bank and some credit unions like First Tech have doesn't apply to credit cards from the same institutions. I find that the credit and debit rules and behavior are unrelated despite being issued by the same institution.