Migros Cumulus Visa Credit Card Review 2024
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After stopping its partnership with Cembra, Migros Bank introduced its new credit card: The Cumulus Visa credit card.
Since the Cumulus Mastercard from Cembra was one of the best credit cards available, we need to look at this new Cumulus Visa credit card.
By the end of this review, you will know whether you should use this new Cumulus Visa credit card by Migros Bank.
| Yearly fee | 0 CHF |
|---|---|
| Card | Visa |
| Cashback | 1% in Migros and 0.33% in other shops |
| Foreign exchange fee | 0% (but 2% surcharge by Migros Bank) |
| Interest rate | 11.95% |
| Emitter | Viseca |
The fall of the Cumulus Mastercard
As you may know, Cembra was issuing the Cumulus Mastercard until recently. It was an excellent credit card, and I have used it for several years.
However, things changed in May 2022 when Migros announced the end of this 15-year partnership. Indeed, Migros decided that Migros Bank would issue a new Cumulus credit card directly. The old card is still valid for its users, but new cards will not be issued anymore.
Users cannot order more of this excellent Cumulus Mastercard. They need to know what cards they should use, so in this review, we look at the new option of the Cumulus Visa credit card by Migros Bank.
Cumulus Visa credit card
Migros Bank started issuing the new Cumulus Visa credit card in 2022. One difference with the previous card was that this is now on the Visa network instead of the Mastercard network. But this should make little to no difference for users.
This card is free of any monthly or annual charge. This is important because most users should look for a free credit card before looking at the cashback.
After the price, we look at the cashback. The Cumulus Visa credit has two cashback rewards:
- 1% at Migros shops
- 0.33% at all other shops
This cashback is not cash. The cashback is in the form of Cumulus points. Cumulus points are like cash, but you can only use them at Migros shops. Unless you never shop at Migros shops, these points should be a good system.
You will receive 2% cash back in the first year at Migros shops. Even though this is large, you should be careful about using this as a criterion.
Generally, I recommend not using temporary benefits as criteria for comparing two services since these benefits will eventually disappear. It is still great if you opt for this card, but do not choose it just because of that. Temporary benefits are only there to attract more customers.
So, except for the first year, the cashback of the Cumulus Visa credit card is the same as the cashback of the late Cumulus Mastercard.
The fees
It is also essential to talk about the fees of the card.
As mentioned before, the card has no monthly or yearly fees. However, some fees depend on how you use the card.
You can also get an additional card for free, for instance, for your spouse or partner. This is great to share one account with multiple cards.
If you do not pay the credit card balance in full, you will pay a 9.4% interest rate on the amount due. This fee is not too bad as far as credit card debt goes, but it is still a considerable interest rate.
If you are serious about personal finance, you should never carry credit card debt. If you do, you should focus on fixing that before optimizing your credit cards.
With this card, you have a few options for free withdrawals. You can withdraw money at Migros checkouts for free, up to 1000 CHF per day. You can also withdraw twice a year abroad.
After this, if you use this card to withdraw money in Switzerland or abroad, you will pay a 2.5% fee on the withdrawal amount. Credit cards are usually the worst way to get cash in Switzerland or abroad. So, you should avoid this fee as well. But it is great that you have some options to withdraw cash directly at Migros checkouts.
Here are some other fees:
- 2 CHF per paper statement.
- 30 CHF if you pay the balance in full but late.
- 20 CHF if you need a replacement card.
All these fees are relatively standard, neither cheap nor particularly expensive. However, you can avoid all these fees, which is excellent! But it is good to know about them before ordering this card.
This card is unique: it has no foreign currency transaction fee. Most credit cards have between 1.5% to 2.5% foreign currency exchange fee. You will pay a hefty fee when you use them abroad or in a currency other than CHF. So it is excellent that one card finally has no foreign exchange fee.
However, foreign currency transactions with this card are not free! Indeed, these transactions go through the Migros Bank currency exchange network. And conversions through this network have a surcharge between 1.5% and 2% compared to the interbank exchange rate. So, while this is much better than other credit cards, you should still not use this credit card abroad.
The problem is that Migros is actively advertising this card as having no currency exchange fees. I think this is a big issue because they are simply hiding the currency conversion in their own banks and claiming the card itself is free of extra fees.
Nevertheless, there are some cases where you have to pay this fee. The way to avoid it is to use a debit card (like Neon) with a better currency exchange rate. However, sometimes debit cards are refused, like reserving a hotel. In these cases, you will have to use a credit card. No credit card offers free foreign currency exchange. So about a 2% surcharge is not too bad!
Since you can avoid all the fees, we can still consider the Migros Cumulus Visa a free card! However, the marketing of Migros is highly debatable.
The insurance benefits
Many credit cards come with some insurance benefits. So, we can quickly review the insurance benefits of the Cumulus Visa credit card.
The Cumulus Visa credit card comes with several different insurance benefits:
- Price protection for up to 2000 CHF
- Travel insurance for rescue (up to 60’000 CHF)
- Trip interruption insurance for up to 4’000 CHF
- Online account protection for up to 10’000 CHF
- Internet legal protection for up to 10’000 CHF
- Purchase protection for up to 2000 CHF
All these insurance benefits come free of charge with the card.
Insurance benefits on credit cards are not essential. Most people will not use any of these benefits. And if you want to be covered for some of these items, you should probably take full insurance.
That said, it is still good to have insurance benefits if you use this card, but I would not use this as a criterion for choosing a credit card.
Alternatives
We compare the Migros Cumulus Visa credit card against some alternatives.
Cumulus Visa vs Cumulus Mastercard
Since many people have the Cembra Cumulus Mastercard, it is essential to compare the previous Cumulus credit card and the new one!
We start with the fees. The base fees are the same since both cards are free! The avoidable fees are lower on the Cumulus Visa than when Cembra issued the card. However, it should not matter much since you should avoid them.
One advantage of the new Cumulus Visa is that there is no foreign exchange fee. Even though you should avoid this fee as much as possible, it is worth mentioning. Unfortunately, it is not possible to avoid this fee sometimes. In this case, the Cumulus Visa will be much better than the Cumulus Mastercard.
We should also compare the cashback. This comparison is not interesting since both cards have precisely the same cashback.
As for insurance benefits, the new Cumulus Visa comes with extra price protection insurance and three online protection insurance benefits. This is good if you switch anyway!
One slight advantage is that you will get e-bills with Migros, while Cembra does not offer them.
Overall, the new Cumulus Visa by Migros Bank is slightly better than the previous Cumulus Mastercard by Cembra.
Migros Cumulus Visa vs Certo One
A great Swiss credit card with excellent cashback (up to 1%!), very flexible, and with a good mobile application.
- No yearly fee
- 1% cashback in three shops
Cembra was the issuer of the previous Cumulus Mastercard. In response to the loss of the partnership, they started two credit cards. The most interesting of both is the Certo One Mastercard World by Cembra. So, we must compare the Migros Cumulus Visa and the Cembra Certo One Mastercard.
The base fees of both cards are the same: they are both free. The avoidable fees are significantly lower than the Cumulus Visa.
Also, Certo One is very expensive to use with foreign currencies. The Migros Cumulus Visa is affordable, although not free, either.
Since you can avoid all the fees, we should compare these cards solely based on the cashback. And this is where Certo One is significantly better:
- Certo’s cashback is cash that gets credited to your bill, while you can only use Cumulus points at Migros.
- Certos’ cashback is 1% at three shops of your choice, while Cumulus Visa only has 1% cash back at Migros. Both cards have 0.33% cashback in other shops.
Insurance benefits are slightly better for the Migros Cumulus since you get extra online protection for your accounts. However, this is enough to turn the needle, and I would still choose extra cashback over insurance benefits I am unlikely to use.
Again, Migros offers e-bills, while Cembra is still very late. So, if you like using electronic bills, that is a slight advantage in favor of Migros Cumulus Visa.
So, for me, the new Cumulus Visa credit card is not as good as the new Certo One Mastercard World by Cembra.
For more information, I have written an extensive review of the Certo One Mastercard credit cards.
FAQ
Are transactions in foreign currencies free with Migros Cumulus Visa?
Not really. This card does not have a surcharge directly on these transactions, however, the card uses Migros Bank exchange rate which is generally about 2% worse than the interbank exchange rate.
How much cashback will you get with Migros Cumulus Visa?
You will get 1% cashback at Migros and 0.33% in all other shops.
Who is Migros Cumulus Visa good for?
This credit card is good for people shopping at lot at Migros and using their card mostly in Switzerland.
Who is Migros Cumulus Visa not good for?
The Migros Cumulus Visa is not great for people wanting to optimize their cashback to the max. It is also not ideal to use abroad (but it is cheaper than some alternatives on that count).
Migros Cumulus Visa Summary
The Migros Cumulus Visa is a new credit card introduced by Migros Bank. They give a cashback in Cumulus points.
Product Brand: Migros Bank
3
Migros Cumulus Visa Pros
Let's summarize the main advantages of Migros Cumulus Visa:
- 1% cashback in Migros
- 0.33% cashback in all other shops
- Free card
- Free additional card
- Extra insurance benefits
- Support for e-bills
Migros Cumulus Visa Cons
Let's summarize the main disadvantages of Migros Cumulus Visa:
- Hidden conversion fees while Migros claim there are none
- The cashback can only be used at Migros
- You get 1% cash back only at Migros
Conclusion
This new Cumulus Visa credit card is interesting. It has the same cashback as its successor, and the fees are significantly lower (but you can avoid them). The insurance benefits are also improved.
However, it is not much better than before. And Cembra is fighting back after losing the Cumulus credit card. The new Certo One Mastercard World credit card, by Cembra, is superior in many points to the new Cumulus Visa card.
For me, the simple fact that Migros claims this card has no foreign exchange fees, while it does under the hood, is a big red flag. They should be honest with their customers.
I plan to move from the Cumulus Mastercard to the new Certo One Mastercard World from Cembra. The Cembra card is superior in its cashback systems, with better and higher cashback.
If you want to learn more about credit cards, you can learn about my credit card strategy.
What about you? What do you think about this new credit card?
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“If you use this card to withdraw money in Switzerland or abroad, you will pay a 2.5% fee on the withdrawal amount”
That’s seems to be not entirely correct. According to Migros Bank paper(https://www.migrosbank.ch/dam/jcr:1a1463e0-ad4c-429e-aa67-7be90334ff2c/service-and-price-overview.pdf)
“Withdraw cash free of charge at Migros checkouts (up to CHF 1’000 per day) and twice a year abroad (up to an equivalent of max. CHF 500 each).”
I can confirm I was able to withdraw 100EUR in Germany free of charge. While free cash withdrawal look like direct lose to the bank that’s what it is.
Interesting, I did not see this! I will have to update the review, thanks for sharing!
Hey thanks for this analysis. Have you founds other credit cards with better fx rates in Switzerland? I usually use wise or neon abroad but it can be troublesome to make sure there is always enough in the account.
By the way, you can still reserve your hotel with this credit card , but at checkout pay with a different one (debit). I do that all the time. Booked with Amex cash back, they take the deposit on same card, then at check out use neon.
Hi Nick,
Now, I don’t know any really good credit card with good fx rates, this one appears among the best…
Very good point about reserving and paying with different cards! I never did that, but it should indeed work quite well.
Merci!
Hi Baptiste,
About ”
However, foreign currency transactions with this card are not free! Indeed, these transactions go through the Migros Bank currency exchange network. And conversions through this network have a surcharge between 1.5% and 2% compared to the interbank exchange rate”
Could you please share the link forMigros Bank currency exchange network?
I was not able to find it.
Br,
Domenico
Hi Domenico,
I got this from moneyland (here for instance). They compare the markups regularly compared to the interbank rate. Migros itself does not share this information transparently.
Hello Poor Swiss,
I have a very simple question. How the cumulus points can be used? In the other cards, you can the cashback deducted directly in the monthly payment slip (usually at the end of the year). But with the cumulus points where can you use these? they send you a letter?
There are two ways:
* You can get these cash coupons in the Migros app
* You can get them by letter
In both cases, you can use them in any Migros shop.
Just to understand. I recently recieved my migros VISA card. I shop mainly at migros so I already have my cumulus card. I also have my Amex Swiss card for 1% cash back.
Are you telling me that if I spend at migros I can only gain cumulus points via either my cumulus card OR my credit card and not both? So the 2% (first year) cashback on the credit card can’t combine with my cumulus card to equate to 3%? And what happens when I get the 20x points for buying certain products? If correct then this card really doesn’t sound advantageous for those who shop at migros.
Thanks
Hi Chaz,
Your understanding is correct (or at least, it’s the same as my understanding) :)
I don’t know about the 20x points, though. But it’s true that the Migros card has never been the best card to shop at Migros, which is pretty dumb…
Thanks for your answer.
A second question I have is, I mainly got the migros card because of the no foreign exchange fees on transactions. But you mention that it’s still better to still use neon for such payments.
My question is if it’s still better to use neon even considering I would get 0.33% cashback with migros card? Is it really 1.5% more expensive to spend my migros visa credit card overseas in comparison with using neon? If so then yeah I would be 1.2% off worse..
Kind regards
Chaz
This card is better than most credit cards. But it’s indeed still significantly worse than Neon to pay abroad. Neon has about 0.4% (because of Mastercard) surcharge and Migros card has about 1.5% card, so it’s about 1.1% extra surcharge. if you remove the 0.3% cashback, it’s still 0.8% more expensive than Neon. I would say it depends on whether you use it a lot abroad or not. The more you use it, the more significant the difference will become.
But if you pay with Amex Swisscard at Migros (it is possible) and scan your cumulus points card then you can getting 2% cashback (1% with Amex giving cash and 1% with migros cumulus points). Let me know if I am not correct.
You are correct :)
When you have a 20x points offer it will not become a 40x offer :) All default multipliers on the card will just apply to the actual price and the 20x multiplier will be applied again to the actual price. Source: Saw it on the receipt.
The good thing is that you can collect cumulus and Supercard points (~1% cash back) PLUS 1% cash back with the certo card !
Before we had only cumulus points with the migros card.
That’s correct and indeed good, with the Certo card, you can still use Cumulus at Migros on top of the cashback :)
A second thought…
If you can choose the 3 shops for the 1% cashback with Certo One, do you still keep your Swisscard Cashback strategy with Amex? Or did you simplify? Normally Aldi and Lidl don’t accept Amex so Certo One is excellent option for these, right?
A little time ago, I stopped using the Amex to simplify my credit cards. It was very timely because once I receive the Certo One (ordered but not received) I will be able to have as good cashback as before in most shops.
The AMEX is still useful because you can only have three shops with Certo One, so the amex can complement it. But I feel like it lost some of its usefulness.
Great and timely post as I just recently received my Certo card from Cembra and was wondering if I should change my use away from Cumulus already.
Thanks a million!
Hi Baptiste,
Thanks a lot for the great post as usual! Afaik the new Cembra Certo does not give you:
“1% at three shops of your choice”
but rather at Migros, Coop and SBB (i.e., you don’t get to choose)
Hi Dom,
That’s not correct. There are actually two new Cembra cards:
* The Certo with 1% at three shops
* The Certo One with 1% at three shops of your choice
I have an article about these two cards: https://thepoorswiss.com/certo-one-mastercard-world-review/
Hi Baptiste, I guess that to get the “cashback” with the Migros credit card you need to be a Cumulus member, and as a Cumulus member you get 1% cashback at Migros anyway (also without this credit card), so where’s the benefit? Thanks!
Hi Davide,
The cashback is indeed in form of Cumulus. You are right that’s kind of a trick. With this card, the max you can get is 1% at Migros, with either the cumulus card or the cumulus credit card. So, if you only shop at Migros, it makes no difference over just having the Cumulus card.
The difference is that this card gives you 0.3% cashback in other shops as well.