The vast majority of credit card transactions are purchases. With credit cards consumers can go to the mall, buy some new clothes, and hand the clerk the credit card when it comes time to pay. You may or may not have to show identification, and then that's it. However, credit cards also offer cash advances, and while in many cases you have to go to an actual bank with your credit card to get the advance, is just as many cases you can take the credit card to an ATM machine and get the advance that way. In order to do this you will need your credit card's personal identification number, or PIN.
Credit cards need PIN numbers in the exact same way that a bank's debit card needs a PIN number: in order to access the cash with the debit or credit card, you need to know the secret code to punch in. Your credit card's PIN number will not be needed if you take your credit card to a bank and show the necessary identification to prove that you are the card holder.
One of the biggest issues with your credit card's PIN number is that there's a very high likelihood that you are going to forget it. Why? Because hardly anyone ever gets cash advances with their credit cards - the costs, in both interest and service fees, are staggering and most people will only get a cash advance on their credit card if it's absolutely necessary. So the PIN number almost never gets used, and as a result, is almost always forgotten.
To learn more about your credit card's PIN number, cash advances, interest rates, cash advance fees, and any other topic concerning your credit card, call your credit card company and ask to speak with a representative. They are available to answer all your questions, so take advantage of their services.
