Credit card checks are designed to let you use your credit line as cash. You could pay off bills, for example, but you would just be transferring the balance to your credit card. If you are in a tricky money situation one month, you could loan yourself money or even pay the rent with a credit card check. On the surface, this might not sound like a bad idea, but remember that although credit cards give you a certain window of time to pay your debts before they start charging interest, credit card checks do not. Often, they will come with a fee, such as the greater of 3 percent or $10. This fee means that a $1000 check could immediately face a $30 additional charge.
Before using one, be sure to check the interest offer and the length of the interest offer. If you can't pay the amount back before the offer expires, think twice before you write the check.
