CBA Charging Cash Advance on Gift Card Purchases from Woolworths Gift Cards

hotmustardsauce on 19/09/2025 - 07:05
Last edited 19/09/2025 - 14:10 by 1 other user

Warning to anyone with a cba credit card.

I have been charged a cash advance fee for a wish gift card purchase paid via PayPal and in the process of going through a dispute.

A number of other similar issues have been reported on reddit, whirlpool and australian frequent flyer forums.

I imagine this is happening at scale, netting the bank millions of $ in added fees

Update: Not only do they charge the cash advance fee, cba charges interest at their prohibitive rate (20%+) on the amount until the full balance is paid off. This is the full balance including other purchases (non gift card)

Final update: Submitted a complaint with AFCA. Lo and behold they contacted me to offer a refund of fees

Financial Credit Card Gift Card

Related Stores

Commonwealth Bank
Commonwealth Bank
Woolworths Gift Cards
Woolworths Gift Cards

Comments

  • Silmo on 19/09/2025 - 07:18
    +1

    What website or app that you used to buy the gift card?

  • CodeXD on 19/09/2025 - 08:02

    Which CBA credit card?

    • JimmyF on 19/09/2025 - 08:53
      +8

      Because cash wasn't given, gift cards can't be exchanged for cash, only goods at the store.

      • JIMB0 on 19/09/2025 - 09:44
        -3

        On the back it says to treat it as cash.

        • JimmyF on 19/09/2025 - 10:21
          +2

          As in it can't be traced or refunded, but it isn't cash. I can't go to any store and use it like cash.

  • Far Cough on 19/09/2025 - 08:20
    +3

    cba doing cba things

  • CodeXD on 19/09/2025 - 08:59

    looks like safest way to pay now is to use zip pay credit card so all your points credit card purchase go through that

    • ukulele on 22/09/2025 - 06:26

      i do this with my bas. mrs is loving the points

  • askbargain on 19/09/2025 - 09:02
    +2

    Stop using CBA?

  • JimB on 19/09/2025 - 09:19

    Which store?

    I had an issue with CBA treating my Liven purchases as Cash Advance.

    • WookieMonster on 19/09/2025 - 12:09
      +2

      I am not overly surprised by Liven being treated as a cash advance, because of the MCC that is apparently assigned to it by its payment provider.

      It used to be assigned MCC 5814 (Fast Food Restaurants), but someone reported in January 2025 that the MCC was changed to 6540 (Funding Transactions). If you want a rather long-winded explanation for the reason I think this MCC would always be considered a cash advance, read this comment.

      • JimB on 19/09/2025 - 14:50

        Very informative.

        That's what Liven told me, it's out of their hands.

        I wonder if it's just CBA or all CC Merchants who treat it a cash advance.

        I've since using Liven via my debit card.

        • WookieMonster on 19/09/2025 - 14:59
          +1

          My hunch is that most credit cards would consider MCC 6540 a cash advance, but I unfortunately have no data to back this up.

  • 22slurpee on 19/09/2025 - 09:43
    +1

    same thing - buying Woolworths Gift Cards using PayPal.

    Appears as: PAYPAL *WOWGIFTCARD -I got it refunded after calling CBA

    • CodeXD on 19/09/2025 - 09:49
      +2

      Maybe it is a paypal thing

    • leigh8904 on 19/09/2025 - 10:10

      Yes same has happened to me. I did not bother trying to get the fee refunded, just counted it as a $4 learning experience. Also copped a bit of interest on cash advance.
      Curiously, if you purchase same Woolworths gift card through PayPal, but using pay-in-4, no cash advance fee from CBA.
      I have CBA low rate card.

  • bbinc on 19/09/2025 - 09:46
    -6

    Most of the banks do that. AMEX doesn't. So I use my no annual fee AMEX, and pick up the QFF points.

    • payton on 19/09/2025 - 11:38
      +2

      Most of the banks do that.

      No they don't. Where'd you pull this from?

    • timhn on 20/09/2025 - 12:21

      @bbinc, don't spread unfound rumours.

      Bought $500 WoW gc from same site as OP and paid by my ANZ Rewards card. No cash advance fees. Same with my NAB card - paid last month.

      Never being charged fee as OP before from all CCs I had in the last 10yr or so - all the big4 and some others.

      May be I'll becareful if apply CC with CBA from now.

      • bamzero on 20/09/2025 - 12:32

        It's PayPal not the card directly. You can pay directly with CBA CC at the same site and there won't be any cash advance fees. I don't know if it happens with other cards via PayPal too though.

  • Dollar General on 19/09/2025 - 10:18
    +3

    This is what happens when you get staff back into the office to ‘collaborate” on new ideas

    • JIMB0 on 19/09/2025 - 10:43

      Sounds like they got some input from human resources, they're very creative when it comes to interpreting clauses in the company's favour.

  • MS Paint on 19/09/2025 - 10:39
    +1

    ADAGCHS - am I doing this right @mapax

  • Sharon S on 20/09/2025 - 08:37

    Hi this has happened to me before. The gift card purchase was made from my CBA credit card via Paypal. I called CBA and they reversed the charge (they were able to do that as a one off). They told me not to buy gift cards via online sites that sell gift cards only to avoid future cash advance fees. These days I buy gift cards from physical supermarket stores like Coles (as CBA cannot tell if they are gift cards or groceries). I also stopped using the Liven app (this was touched on in other comments).

  • churlish on 20/09/2025 - 11:01

    I often buy dan murphys discounted gift cards through rewards gift card site, using paypal pay in 4 through my cba low fee mastercard and have never been charged a cash advance fee.

    My statement only shows it as "Paypal (Pay in 4)"

  • bamzero on 20/09/2025 - 11:35

    Yep

    It's something at Paypals end as can purchase directly with card like normal. Turn on gambling lock to stop getting surprise cash advances..

    (When it happened to me back then, I contacted them right away as the app notified me of a cash advance. They agreed to refund me, but I had to contact them again later to get the interest charged refunded also (might have done this via app chat)

  • LFO on 20/09/2025 - 11:40
    +1

    Final update: Submitted a complaint with AFCA. Lo and behold they contacted me to offer a refund of fees

    Happy ending indeed.
    Thank you for all updates

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