Cologne Book flights and the hotel quickly, rent a car on site and pay for dinner in the restaurant: a credit card is a useful helper for the upcoming summer vacation.
“I advise everyone to create a free credit card for travel,” says Tim Koniarski, Managing Director of Cards and Accounts at the comparison portal Check24. “If you don’t use your credit card, you don’t pay any fees, but you play it safe. There are always situations abroad where only credit cards are accepted.”
It is important to distinguish it from the debit card, which is available free of charge with some current accounts. Although it looks confusingly similar to a credit card, it is rarely accepted abroad. In contrast to a credit card, it does not grant its user credit, but debits the account directly when making a payment.
Unlike debit cards, most checking accounts do not come with a free credit card. Therefore, consumers have to look for alternatives themselves.
There are many free credit cards without account commitment, but the devil is in the details. If you look closely, the conditions of these credit cards differ from each other.
The FMH ranking
FMH-Finanzberatung evaluated exclusively for the Handelsblatt which free credit cards without account commitment currently offer the best conditions. A total of 18 credit cards were compared. These not only attract new customers with different bonuses, but also have different fees for withdrawing from ATMs and paying in foreign currency.
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In its ranking, the FMH paid particular attention to the debit interest that accrues each year with a partial payment – i.e. if the repayment of the amount spent is spread over several months.
“Interest rates have risen significantly compared to the previous year,” notes Ania Scholz from FMH-Finanzberatung. The investment expert cites the Hanseatic Bank’s GenialCard as an example: “Interest rates there rose from 12.82 percent in the previous year to 15.32 percent.” The reason for this is the key interest rates, which the European Central Bank (ECB) has continuously raised since the beginning of 2022.
Three credit cards received the grade “very good”
This means that the GenialCard is still very good compared to most other credit cards and therefore wins the race for the credit cards with the best conditions: FMH awards the grade “very good”. In addition to the interest, the GenialCard also scores with free cash withdrawals from ATMs worldwide and free payments in foreign currencies.
In addition, the special conditions have convinced the FMH team: new customers receive three months interest-free payment in installments and a five percent discount when booking travel through the partner companies of the Hanseatic Bank. In addition, new customers have access to the voucher portal of the financial institution.
In addition to the GenialCard, two other credit cards received the grade “very good” in the ranking. This includes another card from Hanseatic Bank – the awa7. It offers the same new customer bonuses as the GenialCard. However, she also advertises to customers who are sustainability-oriented by planting a tree for every purchase over 100 euros.
On the other hand, the debit interest for partial payments is 18.12 percent, well above that of the competing card from the same bank. Therefore, it is only enough for third place in the ranking.
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The silver medal goes to Norwegian Bank’s Bank Norwegian card. At 17.99 percent, the credit card has a slightly higher interest rate than the first-placed card and advertises other special conditions for new customers: a welcome credit of 15 euros and a further 15 euros on the card after the first payment. Customers also have up to 45 days to settle their bills and always transfer them themselves.
Travel Insurance and Interest-Free Purchases – Why Customers Should Be Mindful
In addition, Norwegian Bank offers its credit card holders travel insurance if they book their trip with a credit card. With this offer, Norwegian Bank is not the only one in the ranking. Travel insurance is also offered free of charge by the Mastercard Gold and WeCanHelp Mastercard from Advanzia Bank, all of which have been rated “good”, and the TF Mastercard Gold from TF Bank.
However, caution is always required with such travel insurance: “Customers should read through in advance whether the conditions meet their individual entitlement to risk protection,” recommends Check24 credit card expert Koniarski.
Advanzia Bank credit cards not only score well with travel insurance, but also with the option of paying back the purchase of goods within 51 days without interest. However, those who do not comply with the 51 days pay a relatively higher interest rate than most other providers in comparison: this is around 20.8 percent for both Advanzia cards.
With the current interest rates, consumers should use their credit cards with caution more than ever, says FMH expert Scholz. “Customers should keep an overview and not just pay everywhere with a credit card.”
She advises using the card only as a small buffer and as a travel companion abroad. “But making real purchases with it and paying in installments for twelve months – I would really think twice about that,” she warns. Because with such purchases, consumers usually get away with an installment loan much cheaper.
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