Taking money from Mastercard account
 

I have been told that if you top up your credit card account for a trip to Europe and then withdraw Euros from it you will receive better rates and lower charges. Is this true? Comments please.

First of all, you will need a pin to actually withdraw cash from your MC.

Secondly, depending on your card, you will still be charged a 3% foreign transaction fee. The details of which card is better for travel has been discussed about 100+ times on this forum.

You most likely will incur a hefty 'cash advance' fee if you withdraw cash at an ATM from your Credit card. It is a Debit card (or ATM card) that is usually recommended for obtaining cash while traveling overseas. Check your disclosure.

it wouldn't be a cash advance. It would be drawing on money that I have deposited in advance. I have never heard of this as a vehicle for travel and was wondering if it is viable. I have read many posts on this subject and have received valuable advice from them, but this is a new idea for me

Check with your credit card company.

1) Most won't let you pay more than your current "balance due". In other words, if you have say a $10,000 credit limit and a "zero" balance due you can't add an additional $5,000 to bring your available credit up to $15,000.

2) Regardless of your available credit if it's a credit card, any cash advance you take will incur a hefty cash advance fee, i.e., interest on the cash advance from the day you withdraw the money until the day it is repaid in full.

I think you are confusing a Credit Card with a Debit Card or ATM Card which are linked to either a checking or saving account. Subject to the daily cash withdrawal limits imposed by your bank you can with draw cash from your account up to the total amount you have on deposit in that account.

<<<I have been told that if you top up your credit card account for a trip to Europe and then withdraw Euros from it you will receive better rates and lower charges. Is this true? >>>

No it isn't true.

A debit card attached to your bank account is how you withdraw cash at ATMs. That gives you the best rate and a pretty low fee (often just a flat fee of a $2-5). If you exchange US cash for Euros then you'll get a pretty crummy exchange rate.

If you use your credit card for this then it's a cash advance and you might be paying 25% interest on those amounts from the day you take it out until you pay it off. It doesn't matter if you want to pay ahead, you can generally only pay up to about 10% more than your balance owed so you can't really build up a base anyway.

Ita, you understand clearly how to create a surplus on your credit card account so that money can be withdrawn without incurring the horrendous interest rates the cards charge for cash advances. My MasterCard will certainly accept more than the balance due since the company can earn money elsewhere on the surplus. Decades ago, before ATM cards, I lived for four months in a foreign country this way.
But there will still be a transaction charge and the usual converstion rate so it's simpler, now, to use a bank ATM/debit card.

Some cards may allow to give them extra money, but not all will. And regardless, if you draw cash instead of paying for a product or service, you are taking a cash advance.

I don't see how that would work. It's still a "cash advance" regardless of what your credit card balance is, right? And those have fees and you start paying a high rate of interest right away.

Why wouldn't you just put the money in your checking account and use an ATM card instead?

No, not true. If you take out cash using your credit card, you will start paying (high) interest right away. For cash withdrawals there is no 30 day grace period.

You probably heard this about your debit card (not a credit card!!) - this is true. Debit card is like an ATM card - you take cash off your account in the bank, not borrow it from your credit card.

I don't have a debit card, only ATM and credit card. ATM is good for taking out cash, credit card is good for purchases if you pay the balance off every month not to pay interest fees.

Oh, one more thing - there is also a "pre-paid card" when you put your money on it to use it later - this is the worst!! stay away from it. They charge every time you use it for anything.

The use of the term "top up" makes me think that the OP is talking about a pre-paid card and not a credit card or a debit card.