Most of my blog articles are written in reaction to what I experienced in the last weeks. So this one.
I have newly received a letter from my bank, stating that I will have to pay a fee of several euro per month if I wanted to keep the VISA credid card I got from them. At first, I was kind of surprised: not about the fee, but about the credit card.
No big deal for me: I never used it, as I have another which is my main credit card, so I wasn’t worried at all, however I had to cancel it, as otherwise the bank would debit money if I did nothing.
Then I asked myself: What if someone is not in the same situation, but they have just one credit card and suddenly they have to pay for it? I don’t think it’s fair, as the bank already gets a fee from all transaction we do.
So what if you need a credit card right now, because your old one doesn’t suit your needs anymore? Or perhaps you are coming from abroad and your actual credit card charges fees when you withdraw money here in Germany?
In this credit card comparison, I will examine the conditions of the best free credit cards, so that you don’t face this problems anymore.
Useful information about credit card for expats in Germany
Before I start this credit card comparison, I would like to educate you about the different types of credit cards and make recommendations for different needs. A free credit card should an excellent basic travel card and allow free cash withdrawals at almost all ATMs, best anywhere in the world. Prepaid cards are a great solution for those who cannot get a classic credit card, i.e. because of a negative Schufa rating. They are also suitable for young people who want to slowly get to grips with credit cards without overdoing.
What is import to know when using a credit card abroad (outside the Euro-zone)?
When traveling outside the Eurozone, you can often choose which currency to use when paying and withdrawing. Always choose the local currency. If you choose “in Euro”, you will usually get a bad exchange rate. If you choose the local currency, the amount is often converted using an exchange rate of the credit card company, which can be viewed on the Internet and is usually much cheaper.
Can I pay contactless with a credit card?
With many credit cards you can now pay contactless by simply holding the card to the cash terminal. Whether this works with a specific credit card or not depends not on the card type, but on your bank.
What is the best credit card: Visa or Mastercard?
Both Visa and Mastercard credit cards are accepted worldwide, so you don’t have to worry about choosing the right card, at least in Europe.
Travelling abroad it could make a difference, as each country is a unique case itself. In Internet forums you can often find the information where which credit cards work well. Or take two cards with you, one Mastercard and one Visa credit card.
Find out which is the best credit card for you here in the credit card comparison:
Credit Card Comparison – The Best Free Credit Cards
Barclaycard Visa
TF Bank Mastercard Gold
the best free credit card for international travelers
Fees
–
–
Ease of Use
Great!
Great!
Pros
- completely free of charge
- no foreign currency fees
- free cash withdrawals worldwide*
- Apple & Google Pay ready
- Free loan up to 2 months
- completely free of charge
- no foreign currency fees
- free cash withdrawals worldwide*
- Apple & Google Pay ready
- free Travel Insurance
- 5% cashback on travel or car rental bookings
- Free loan up to 7 weeks
* Some issuing offices, banks and ATMs charge their own fees, which are indepenent on the credit card issuer.
dsadasdas
Where can I get the Barclaycard Visa credit card?
You can apply for the PAYBACK American Express credit card here: https://www.barclays.de/lp/barclays-visa-kostenlos/*
Where can I get the TF Bank Mastercard Gold credit card?
You can apply for the PAYBACK American Express credit card here: https://tfbank.de/tf-kreditkarte
The Best Free Debit Cards and Prepaid Credit Cards for Expats in Germany
Debit cards and prepaid credit cards are not “real” credit cards, as you do not get money from the bank as credit, but you must have a positive balance when you carry out the transaction. This means that you have to transfer money onto the card account in order to use the card. This protects you from getting into debt – and the banks from losing money.
Normally, debit cards and prepaid credit cards are particularly suitable for people who do not have a regular or sufficiently high income. Since you always have a credit balance on the card, many providers will give you the card without a credit check at the Schufa.
Regardless of whether you choose one of the debit cards and prepaid credit cards listed below or consider others entirely, please be aware of the following points, which can sometimes be treacherous.
Differences to normal credit cards
What limitations do debit cards and prepaid credit cards have?
All credit cards have limits on how much money you can spend or withdraw in a day. Prepaid and debit cards have more restrictive limits than regular credit cards.
What additional fees can debit cards and prepaid credit cards have?
In addition to the usual fees for paying or withdrawing money, some providers can charge additional fees that I did not expect – for example, for transferring money onto the card account or when the prepaid or debit card isn’t used.
Are debit cards and prepaid credit cards as flexible as regular credit cards?
As the name already reveals, debit cards and prepaid credit cards are prepaid-only; they don’t work without prepayment. On the one hand, you have a much better cost control, but on the other, it makes the card inflexible to use, as you can’t use it when your card account is low on money.
What issues can arise from the inflexibility?
Making a deposit becomes difficult. When booking hotels or rental cars, if you use debit cards and prepaid credit cards
problems can arise because credit cards are often used as collateral. This means that the hotel or rental car company normally blocks a certain amount in advance, for example for the room rate or the price of the rental car plus the deposit.
As the deposit feature doesn’t for with debit cards and prepaid credit cards – and many people don’t usually have tousands of euro on the bank account – many hotels and rental car companies do not even accept these cards – no matter how much credit is on them.
It’s best to ask before you book a hotel or rental car if they also accept debit cards and prepaid credit cards.
So why use debit cards and prepaid credit cards in the first place?
In Germany, service providers such as banks can protect themselves against insolvent customers by querying the creditworthiness of applicants with certain institutions, for example “Schufa”. If the result is negativ, the service providers can deny someone the service, for example a credit card. In such cases, debit cards and prepaid credit cards are valid alternatives.
I recommend that you only use a debit cards and prepaid credit cards if you cannot get a regular credit card. Otherwise you are better off with a free credit card.
Do debit cards and prepaid credit cards have charging fees?
You must charge prepaid credit cards with money before using them. This is not always free of charge. The price can vary and depends on how you top up the money, i.e. via bank transfer via services such as Klarna and Neteller or topping up the card via Bitcoins.
Do debit cards and prepaid credit cards have inactivity fees?
Some service providers indeed charge you for not using your card, or not using it enough.
Credit Card Comparison – The Best Free Debit Cards and Prepaid Credit Cards for Expats
Nuri Visa Debit
The best free debit credit card
Payback Visa Prepaid
The best free** prepaid credit card
Fees
–
–
Ease of Use
Great!
Great!
Pros
- no annual fee
- withdraw cash worldwide free of charge
- pay worldwide free of charge*
- top up credit according to your needs
- withdraw cash worldwide free of charge*
- Payback bonus program
- Payback bonus point do not expire
Cons
- hotels and car renting services may reject it
- hotels and car renting services may reject it
* Some issuing offices, banks and ATMs charge their own fees, which are indepenent on the credit card issuer.
** The Payback Visa Prepaid is free of charge in the first 12 months. After that, there is an annual fee of 29 euro.
Where can I get the Nuri Visa Debit card?
You can apply for the PAYBACK American Express credit card here: https://nuri.com/
Where can I get the Payback Visa Prepaid card?
You can apply for the PAYBACK American Express credit card here: https://www.payback.de/info/visa/visa-guthabenkarte
Is American Express a good credit card in Germany?
American Express was one of the most prestigious credit cards to have some time ago. Nowadays, the American Express has still a solid reputation in Europe and especially in Germany, but the old glory is fading away, as American Express credit cards aren’t very popular in Germany.
One of the biggest disadvantages of the American Express credit cards is that they have a low acceptance rate by many merchants. Many expats complain that American Express credit cards are accepted only in the bigger cities, and it can be a problem to pay with American Express in smaller shops, even when they accept Mastercard or Visa.
This is due to the high fee that American Express is charging merchants in Europe. In fact, a EU regulation from 2015 limited the so-called interchange fees for Visa and Mastercard credit cards to 0.3% of the sales total, resulting in falling costs for merchants. American Express is exempt from this regulation because, unlike Visa and Mastercard, they process payment transactions directly and not via an external bank.
Therefore, merchants accepting American Express credit cards pay higher fees than the 0.3% accepting Visa and Mastercard. This is the reason why American Express has a low acceptance rate in Germany and in Europe in general.
Would I recommend American Express as credit card?
Still, there are few American Express cards that are worth looking into. In 2010, American Express bought up Germany’s largest bonus program Payback, which has a customer base of many millions. This was followed by the introduction of the Payback American Express credit card, which is now permanently free.
As a result, many Payback partners, including dm and Rewe soon started accepting American Express credit cards. In the meantime, almost all major German grocery retailers are among the American Express acceptance points.
In addition to stationary retail, you can also often pay online with American Express credit cards. Here, acceptance is even higher than in local retail.
Even if an online retailer does not accept the American Express credit card itself, it is worth taking a look at the other payment methods. If you can pay via PayPal, this is a way to still pay with your American Express credit card. The same applies to the AmazonPay service.
So having an American Express credit cards now is okayish. The big benefit I see is having – and using – the Payback American Express credit card.
What is Payback American Express credit card?
In Germany, you can apply for a Payback American Express credit card. card in selected markets. It combines the American Express credit card – and all the benefits associated with it – with the most famous German coupon program Payback, allowing you to collect point and get goodies or cashback.
Advantages of the Payback American Express credit card
The main advantages of this credit card are:
- no annual fees
- 1 Payback point for every €2 spent
- owning the card, the points do not expire
- 90-day return window for purchases up to €300
- Access to Amex Offers
- 1.000 Payback points as a signup bonu
- Access to American Express Experiences platform
- Apple Pay (no Google Pay in Germany)
Disadvantages of the Payback American Express credit card
The Payback American Express credit card does indeed have few disadvantages, related to the American Express partner network and the costs in general:
- lower acceptance than Visa and Mastercard
- high ATM fees: 4% – at least 5 euro
- 2% currency exchange fee
Where can I get a Payback American Express credit card?
You can apply for the PAYBACK American Express credit card here: https://www.americanexpress.com/de/kreditkarte/payback-karte/
From my perspective, the Payback American Express credit card is especially useful if you’ll be using it a lot for offline and online shopping. For a broader and more flexible use, I still recommend a Visa or a Mastercard.
- Which are the Best Free Credit Cards?
- A list of the Best Free Debit Cards and Prepaid Credit Cards for expats in Germany.
- How do I get the payback american express credit card?
* What the star means:
I only promote products that I am convinced of and in many cases use myself. For links marked with a *, I receive a small commission if a contract or purchase is made through the linked provider. There are no additional costs for you and I can cover the costs for hosting the blog to provide you with useful information and tips. As an Amazon partner I earn on qualified sales.
Please read the disclaimer.