Ditto OP, I found it easier to do the bank cheque from a transaction account rather than straight from the card - especially as bank staff will tell you again about what's involved and are you sure you want to.

Not only is the interest rate higher, it starts from day one so there are no interest free days. It goes behind other purchases so you need to pay them off before the cash advance is repaid. Some cards also have a cash advance fee of around 2% of the cash advance amount. Just thought I'd let you know in case you weren't aware, but yeah it sucks having to do it as a last resort, we've done it too