From mid-2025, Miles & More credit cards will no longer be backed by DKB, but by Deutsche Bank.
(Photo: imago/Rüdiger Wölk)
Frankfurt The bonus credit card market is on the move. At the beginning of the week it was announced that the Lufthansa Miles & More Credit Card was changing its bank. From mid-2025, Deutsche Bank will issue payment cards for Lufthansa’s frequent flyer program. So far it is the online bank DKB.
There could also soon be a change in the corresponding Eurowings credit cards. The major British bank Barclays is considering selling its private customer business in Germany. This business includes issuing credit cards, including the Eurowings credit card.
What are bonus credit cards?
In the case of bonus credit cards, known in technical jargon as “co-branding”, banks issue a credit card together with a partner company under their brand. The card bears the name of the partner – such as Miles & More or Tchibo Card Plus.
The tech group Apple and the US bank Goldman Sachs caused a stir when they launched the Apple Card in the USA four years ago. Users usually have advantages when using a co-branded credit card, such as discounts.
In addition, banks and companies are cooperating with the US payment groups Visa and Mastercard when issuing co-branded credit cards. Card payments are processed via their systems – whether at the cash register or online.
What is currently changing on the German market?
Some banks are going out of business. This applies to Landesbank Berlin, once the market leader in the co-branding market, which has long managed the ADAC credit cards and issued the Amazon credit cards. She announced the winding up of this line of business in 2021. Solarisbank has taken over the mandate for the ADAC credit cards.
Commerzbank and Deutsche Bahn ended their credit card cooperation last year. Commerzbank also ended its credit card cooperation with Tchibo at the end of June 2023. The credit card cooperation with the travel group Tui will remain in place, according to the bank.
The business with bonus credit cards usually yields little for the banks. That’s because the fees banks receive have been capped in the EU. The so-called interchange fee may not exceed 0.3 percent of the turnover of a purchase. The bonus for the card user must also be paid from this. In addition, a system fee is due to Mastercard and Visa.
>> Read more here: What bank customers should know about Maestro-Aus on the Girocard
In view of the low margins, Sebastian Maus, partner at the consulting firm Roland Berger, expects bonus credit cards to continue to decline. “Some offers will therefore probably be withdrawn from the market.” Maus considers the co-branding business to be “largely unattractive”. There are few good card portfolios that give banks access to wealthier clients, for example.
Banks can earn more if they offer so-called revolving credit cards, also known as “real credit cards”. The bank usually only debits a small part of the open amount from the current account, the rest remains on the credit card account. For this open amount, she charges interest, which can sometimes be very high. In some cases, additional fees are due. Such cards can have major disadvantages for consumers.
Will there still be an Amazon credit card?
That is unclear. Amazon did not respond to a Handelsblatt inquiry as to whether the US group was looking for a new banking partner or had already found one.
So far there is a Visa credit card from Amazon, which the Landesbank Berlin has issued. Tchibo no longer offers a credit card.
Is the Apple Card coming to Germany?
That is currently unlikely. Because even in the US, Apple apparently has to look for a new banking partner. The US business newspaper “Wall Street Journal” and the US stock exchange broadcaster CNBC recently reported that Goldman Sachs is looking for ways to end its cooperation with Apple. Discussions were being held with American Express about handing over the Apple cards, among other things.
Goldman Sachs announced earlier this year that losses in parts of its retail banking business have totaled $3 billion since 2020. It is obvious that the business with Apple cards is anything but profitable. Banks in the USA can earn far more with credit cards. The interchange fee there is often up to two percent.
More: Around 15 million Sparkasse Girocards will be able to go online