Swisscard Cashback Credit Card Review 2024 – Free and 1% Cashback
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Recently Swisscard announced a new offer for credit cards: Swisscard Cashback. They offer an American Express (Amex) and a MasterCard or a Visa. They have already offered several cards. But these new Cashback cards are really interesting.
First of all, these cards are free! This fact is essential because a small fee will render your cashback useless unless you spend a lot of money. But these are not the only free cards in Switzerland! Interestingly, they offer 5% cashback in the first three months (limited to 100 CHF). After that, the cashback bonus becomes 1% on the American Express card and 0.2% on the MasterCard and Visa cards.
In this article, we cover everything about these cards.
| Yearly fee | 0 CHF |
|---|---|
| Card | AMEX and VISA / Mastercard |
| Cashback | 1% with AMEX, 0.20% otherwise |
| Foreign exchange fee | 2.50% |
| Interest rate | 11.95% |
| Emitter | Swisscard |
Swisscard Cashback Credit Card
A cashback of 1% is more than other free cards in Switzerland are offering! Of course, you need to be able to use the card as much as possible to use that extra cashback. Doing so may be difficult since American Express cards are not as well accepted as Visa and MasterCard, especially in Switzerland.
Swisscard Cashback cards come in two different sets:
- An American Express and a Visa
- An American Express and a MasterCard
So, if you opt for their offer, you will always have two cards. What is important is that only one card is interesting! The American Express card has a 1% cashback, which is more than other free credit cards in Switzerland. On the other hand, the Visa and MasterCard cards only have 0.2% cashback, which is lower than the best credit cards in Switzerland.
The idea is to use only American Express. You should not use the other credit card. If you can use the Amex, you should use it and use your secondary card when you cannot. That way, you will have 1% cashback on American Express purchases and 0.33% for other purchases.
The cards have a standard maximum limit of 10’000 CHF per month. We should never need that much. Depending on your income, you may not get the maximum.
1% cashback
As I already said, the most interesting point about this card is the 1% cashback. My current credit card only has 0.33% cashback.
I spend about 10’000 CHF on my credit card each year. This total is only on domestic purchases. I make international purchases with my Neon card. A 1% bonus on that amount is 100 CHF. This bonus is about 67 CHF more than I would get with the Cumulus MasterCard. This difference is a nice increase but not a huge one.
There is also a bonus of 5% cashback in the first three months. However, this is limited to a maximum of 100 CHF.
For me, it will not be a huge difference. At most, I will spend 3000 CHF in one month on my credit card. In this case, this would be a bonus of 100 CHF. Such a bonus is not life-changing. But it would still be interesting. On the other hand, this is still limited to what I can use American Express for.
The fees
I said the cards were free. You do not have to pay an annual or monthly fee. On the other hand, many things are not free of charge with these cards. These extra fees are how these companies get money!
First of all, these cards are incredibly costly for withdrawing money. If you withdraw money in Switzerland, you will pay 3.75% of fees or at least 5 CHF. Abroad, you will also pay a 3.75% fee but at least 10 CHF. These fees are pretty bad! All credit cards are bad for withdrawing money. As a rule, you should never withdraw money using a credit card.
Another thing this card is pretty bad at is payments in foreign currency. You will pay 2.5% of your payment if it is not in Swiss Francs. So, you should never use this card for foreign payments. If you want to make foreign payments for a fair price, you should use a Neon card.
Finally, if you carry a balance on your credit card, you will pay a hefty interest of 11.95%. Credit card interest is how credit card companies make most of their income. Of course, if you are serious about personal finance, you should never have credit card debt. Credit card debt is the worst kind of debt you can have!
Moreover, there are also many smaller fees. For instance, you must pay 1.95 CHF per statement if you want a paper statement. If you call them, you will pay 1.90 CHF per call. If you pay at the counter, you will also pay a fee. You will have to pay for everything you want on paper. If you are careful, you can avoid all these fees! But you need to be aware of them!
American Express in Switzerland
The main problem with this offer is that the interesting card with 1% cashback is an American Express card. And American Express cards are much less supported in Switzerland than MasterCard and Visa. Even in the United States, having a MasterCard or a VISA is generally easier. It is a bit crazy, given the name of the card!
It depends on the size of the shop. Support for American Express cards is improving. It used to be very poor. However, large retailers such as Migros and Coop now accept American Express cards.
It is worse for online stores. Most websites do not accept American Express cards, but many support PayPal, which supports American Express.
If you have experience with Amex cards in Switzerland, I would like to hear about it!
Solution: Two cards
Unfortunately, one card does not rule them all! Since American Express support in Switzerland and abroad is not great, the solution is to keep two cards. However, the strategy is not to use Visa or MasterCard from SwissCard. The cashback on these cards is too low.
The strategy is to use the American Express card as much as possible. And then, use your Visa/Mastercard from Migros or Coop to get 0.33% back. With that, you will have a maximum cashback in both situations.
Of course, this is not as practical as using a single credit card. I can understand that some people do not want this. This is especially true since it will not give you a lot of income. In my case, I can generate, in the best case, 66 CHF more each year by using this card next to my current credit card.
There is also a second advantage of having a second credit card. With it, you have a second line of credit if you need it. Credit cards can complement your emergency fund well. But you need to be careful not to use this credit lightly and spend more because you have more credit cards. And be especially careful about always paying your balance in full.
I said the solution was to use two cards. The optimal solution is to use three cards. You still have to use another card for foreign currencies!
Ordering a Swisscard Cashback card
To order this card, I filled out the online form for ordering an American Express and a Visa. The procedure is straightforward, but you must set a lot of information. This is three times more complicated than my old Cumulus credit card. I do not know why they require so much information about this. They could simplify the procedure.
Moreover, they contacted me twice during the procedure for specific information. I can easily say this is the worst experience of all the credit card applications I have ever done. But I may have been unlucky.
Once everything was finally filled out and accepted, I received the cards quite quickly and could immediately start using them.
Alternatives
We can quickly compare the Swisscard Cashback card against some alternatives.
Swisscard Cashback vs Cembra 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
The Certo One credit card by Cembra is a strong contender to Swisscard Cashback.
The Certo One offers 1% cashback in three shops of your choice. In other shops, you will get 0.3% cashback. The Cashback Amex will give you 1% everywhere.
However, Amex is not accepted everywhere, while Certo One is a Mastercard, which is accepted in 99% of places. This availability is a big advantage of Certo.
Other than that, both cards are very similar and free.
For me, the Certo One is a better card than the Swisscard Cashback simply because it is a Mastercard. However, the Swisscard Cashback is better if you want to optimize cash back to the maximum.
FAQ
How much cashback do you get with Swisscard Cashback?
With the Swisscard Cashback American Express, you will get 1% cash back. With the Swisscard Cashback Visa, you will get 0.2% cash back.
Who is Swisscard Cashback good for?
This card is good for people that want to maximize the cashback on their credit card, by holding an American Express.
Who is Swisscard Cashback not good for?
Swisscard Cashback is not great if you cannot use often an American Express, since the cashback is only good with this card.
Swisscard Cashback Summary
The Swisscard Cashback American Express is a credit card by Swisscard. This credit card gives 1% cashback on each transactions.
Product Brand: Swisscard
4.5
Swisscard Cashback Pros
Let's summarize the main advantages of Swisscard Cashback:
- 1% cashback.
- Two different cards.
- No yearly fee.
Swisscard Cashback Cons
Let's summarize the main disadvantages of Swisscard Cashback:
- American Express is not widely accepted.
- Transactions in foreign currencies are expensive.
Conclusion
This credit card offers a good offer! 1% cashback is nice, considering Switzerland’s market. This is especially true since this card has no annual fee. The other credit card with 1% cashback is the TCS Travel Mastercard Gold. However, this other card is not free!
However, this new offer is not enough by itself. First, American Express cards are not accepted everywhere. That means you must use a Visa or a MasterCard to use credit cards as much as possible. And the Visa and Mastercard Swisscard cards offer less cashback than the Migros and Coop credit cards. Therefore, you should keep your other credit card and use the Amex card for everything you can, as well as the other one when you cannot use the Amex.
Finally, you should, of course, not use these cards to withdraw money. And you should never use them to pay in foreign currencies. For this last one, you should use a Neon card.
Now, for most people, having several cards will be too much. And I completely understand this. I do not mind the small effort since I like optimization. But if you only want one credit card for your domestic purchases, I still recommend the Certo One Mastercard.
If you want this card, you can check the Swisscard Cashback website.
What do you think about this new credit card on the market? Do you plan to order?
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Do you have the 40CHF referral code?
https://www.cashback-cards.ch/en/cashback-cards-referral
I would happily give that to you.
Hi Manuel,
Thanks :)
I have updated my code in the article to the one for 40 CHF!
You can use WC40XKEXB, and we will both get 40 CHF!
Cheers
You won’t make many friends paying with Amex. The shop owner pay higher commission, higher than with a Visa/Mastercard, and much higher than with a Maestro. They pay more so you get paid a little cashback by the end of the year. Not very efficient.
If they do not want to accept Amex, they are free to do so. Plenty of shops refuse them. But if they accept Amex, I do not see why I would not profit from higher cashback if I have the option.
Hello,
Great article and amazing blog!
I just wanted to say that apparently cashback card now offers a “duo” amex + either visa or mastercard.
Hi,
They have been offering the duo since the beginning. This is actually what I have got. The issue is that the cashback on the second card is only 0.2%, so I prefer using my Cumulus Mastercard.
The amex is really the interesting part.
Thanks for stopping by!
The cash back card is 1) zero fees and you 2) get paid to spend 🙂
(Removed affiliate code)
Hi, anyone tried to setup Apple Pay for the Cashback cards? They mention it’s supported, “to verify it” you have to call them on the paid land line. Why would I want to call for something that has been designed for self/configuration?
Hi Ludwig,
I never tried since I do not use Appley Pay nor Google Pay. But should not the configuration be simply done from the Apple Pay app, no?
Did you try to set up it?
Yes, you do it from the app, but it is required to call to verify.
Not sure why but I find apply pay very useful and wouldn’t mind the extra one-time hassle
Swisscard have just added the functionality to verify via SMS. Finally works without the need of calling the service helpdesk!
Hi Ludwig,
Thanks for sharing, this is good to know!
Hello,
Thank you for this article, very useful.
I have actually signed up for the Cashback cards using your promo code, and I have received the cards today So far the welcome 10chf aren’t showing but let’s wait a few more days.
Concerning the process, it went super fast and smoothly, it took more or less a week between sign up and reception on the cards.
My limit is lower than what I would have wanted so I was thinking of “topping up” my amex, basically sending credit to my card using a bank account, but I can’t seem to find this option on the app. Would you know how to do this?
Thank you very much,
Hi Aurelie,
Thanks for using my code!
Normally, the bonus should arrive after the reception of the cards. It can take a while I believe. At least on my side, I see the bonus way later. I hope it goes faster for customers.
I am glad that it went better for you than it went for me!
I am not entirely sure you can do that. I have sometimes paid more than I should when I paid my credit card bills, but I am not entirely sure that this raises the balance. My only guess would be to use the orange bill that they give you from the website.
But if you want to make sure, you will have to contact them. You may also want to ask them if they could raise your limit.
Thanks for stopping by!
For information, I did use the orange slip, it took a few hours to be credited to my card account but it did work, it raised my limit.
Thanks!
Hi Aurélie,
Thanks for the confirmation! It’s good that it works :)
Hi there,
Thanks a lot for your analysis and your suggestions, extremely helpful and interesting.
A thought from my side: Most credit card companies also offer insurances for the services that were paid by using their credit card. It would be highly interesting to see an analysis that also involves those additional benefits. For example to see what way is more efficient: either choose a credit card that is not free but properly covers insurance aspects (e.g. travel) or choose a free credit card and additionally add travel insurance with an insurance company.
Best,
Fero
Hi Fero,
That’s a good point. I never considered that. I generally do not pay insurance for travel because in the long-term it does not pay off especially since we plan cheap vacations.
But for people that travel a lot or with valuable things, it could be interesting indeed!
I will try to take this into account the next time I talk about credit cards!
Thanks for stopping by!
Hi there,
Great articles, i just got to know “you” and I must thank you for the whole investigation, super helpful!
One question…
I’m kind of convinced to switch my PostFinance Credit Card to the Swisscard cashback ;) but as I’m pretty new to Credit in general, and both my accounts are at PostFinance, how does it work? How do you get the money on Swisscard…you transfer it from your Migrosbank, you get bills? :D I have no clue how credit works haha.
And btw, can you clarify me if there could be cancellation fees or long bureaucracies in case (for whatever reason) I’m not happy with the Swisscard cashback service?
Thanks for your time
Hi Rita,
Thanks for your kind words :)
Yes, you will receive a bill on a website and email notification. You can also opt for direct debit I think but this is something I do not like.
For what I know, there should be no cancellation fees. In any case, as long as you do not use it and you do not have any balance, it should be free. So you can keep it open a long time without issues. If you want to be sure, you will have to read the terms and conditions.
Thanks for stopping by!
I think the cashback is credited in the account only after one year, right? Is there a way of monitoring the amount that is being accumulated over the year?
Hi Marcos,
Yes, you are right, the cashback is only paid once a year. This information is not present in their applications. Both their mobile application and their web application are really bad.
However, the information is present on the monthly bills in PDF that you can get from the website.
Thanks for stopping by!
Hi there!
Actually there is one extra optimization to make.
Not sure if Migros accepts AmEx, but even if they don’t you should pay with your cashback Visa.
Why? Because Migros will give you your 1% anyway with your Cumulus card. There are no extra points for paying with the Cumulus MasterCard. So if you pay with the Cashback card, you’ll get 1%+0.2%=1.2% back.
Haven’t tried this myself. Please let us know!
Hi Ed,
Thanks! That’s very good advice indeed! I am planning to use my Amex at Migros in order to 2%. But if I cannot use it, I could use the Visa indeed for 1.2%. That’s an excellent point!
I will try this once I receive the new cards, hopefully very soon
Thanks for the tip!