Are you an employee or international student struggling to get your first credit card in Germany? Most banks won’t give you one without a credit history, but I’ve got some great news for you. The Gebührenfrei Mastercard GOLD Credit Card is here to save the day! In this article, I’ll tell you all about the features of this amazing credit card, what you need to be careful of when using it, and my personal experience with it over the past 7 years. Trust me, this COULD be the Best Free Credit Card in Germany for most people.
Best free credit card (Gebührenfrei) in Germany
As the name of the Credit Card itself mentions that this card is Free of Cost. This means that there is no maintenance fee when you get it.
But how can this be free? There must be a catch? Well just Like all credit cards, Advanzia bank earns through interest rate on late payments. So, as long as you are financially reasonable and stick to the repayment deadline, it is probably the best free credit card you can get in Germany.
Features of the Advanzia Gebührenfrei Credit Card
 | Travel liability insurance Health insurance for travel abroad Travel Accident Insurance Travel cancellation insurance Baggage insurance Transport accident insurance 5% discount on rental cars 0€ Registration Fee 0€ Maintenance Fee Free Registration |
Who can get Advanzia Mastercard Gold Credit Card?
All you need is a residential address in Germany to get this credit card. So anyone can get it! Students, employees or spouses who do not have a job can get this free credit card in Germany. Another great thing about the Gebuhrenfrei Credit card is that you do not need to verify your identity. More on that later on in the article.
I remember the day when I first heard of this credit card back in 2016 when I was a student without a job. I registered for it after a couple of days and I got the card within a week or so.
How to register for the Advanzia Mastercard Gold?
The signup process is very simple, just click this link and you will come to the following screen.
Just fill out your details and click submit. That’s it. This is the whole registration process.
Gebührenfrei Identity and Address Verification
Advanzia bank will mail your credit card to your German address within 28 days after the registration. This will serve as verification of your address.
To pay your credit card bill, you can use your bank account, which will confirm your identity. As a result, you won’t need to go through the entire identification process like PostIdent. This is particularly helpful for people whose passports are not accepted for PostIdent.
In addition to the credit card you will get an activation card and a post card with credit card agreement. After reading the document you can sign the activation card and send it to advanzia bank.
The address and other details are already mentioned on this card and the postage fee will be paid by Advanzia bank, so all you will need to do is sign and drop the envelope in a post box.
How to Get the Gebührenfrei PIN and Credit Card?
As soon as Advanzia bank receives your signed activation card, your credit card will be activated and you will get a confirmation e-mail.
At this point, you can use the Toll-Free Mastercard Gold within your personal credit limit. After a couple of days you will get the PIN separately by post which you can use to withdraw from an ATM. The letter will also indicate your personal credit limit approved for you.
What is the Credit Limit for the Gebührenfrei Mastercard GOLD?
The credit limit can be a little lower at the beginning because Advanzia bank does not have a customer relationship with you. For many it can be in the low hundreds of Euros.
As a new customer Advanzia Bank needs to know your payment behavior first. Your credit limit can be checked and increased after just a few months after regular incoming payments have been made.
Cash withdrawal with the Gebührenfrei Credit card
You can withdraw Cash with your Gebührenfrei Credit card but Cash Withdrawals using Advanzia Mastercard Gold are not treated differently and cash withdrawal using credit cards are due immediately. So, the interest on cash withdrawal will be applicable from the first day.
With the Gebuhrenfrei Mastercard gold, cash withdrawals are free of charge with ATMs that have the mastercard logo. But In some cases, banks ATM’S charge a small processing fee for using a foreign card. This fee may between 2 to 5 Euro per cash transaction.
The ATMs operated by banks are obligated to inform the cardholder of the handling fee at the ATM, and the cardholder must agree to this charge BEFORE the cash withdrawal – otherwise, this transaction does not take place. If you notice that the banks require such processing fees, you should try another bank ATM’s.
Also you should never use those generic ATMs you find all over Europe as they have extremely high processing fees! I have never personally used this card for Cash withdrawals as I think there are other better options available to handle cash.
Advanzia Mastercard Gold credit card Billing Cycle
The billing cycle of Advanzia Mastercard Gold credit card starts from the 3rd of each month and ends the 2nd of the next month, and the deadline to pay each billing cycle month is the 20th of next month.
For example, the billing cycle for March starts on 3.March till 2nd April. The credit card statement is sent by email on the 3 April, and the deadline for payment would be 20th April.
Between the billing cycle and the deadline day you can have an interest free payment. For example if you used your credit card to buy something on 30th march, this purchase will be in the march billing cycle and you will have until 20th april to repay this amount without paying an interest on it.
So depending on when you make your card purchase, you will have between 20 days and 47 days interest-free period to make the payment.
How to Pay the Gebührenfrei Credit Card Bill?
On the 3rd of Each month you will get an email similar to this one
You will also get an invoice as well in the attachment. This will have details you can use to pay your credit card bill using manual bank transfer.
Each month, you must take the initiative to transfer funds from your bank account to your Advanzia Credit Card account. This is not done automatically, so be sure to transfer the funds on time.
To ensure no interest charges are incurred, make the transfer online at least two business days prior to the due date.
It is not possible to maintain a large credit balance on your credit card account. With each invoice you will also get a minimum payment amount. This will vary depending on the limit you have utilized. This minimum amount is the least that you HAVE to pay, any remaining amount will incur interest. I always pay the full amount at least a week before the deadline and ideally on the same day as I get the invoice. This way I do not have to pay any interest on the credit card usage.
What is the Interest Rate for the Gebührenfrei Credit Card?
The interest rate has increased to 23,89 % (at the time of posting this article it was 20.63% pa) effective interest rate from the day of the transaction. If you use the installment option, monthly interest of 1.73% will accrue from the transaction date. For Cash withdrawals interest is currently charged at 1.73% per month from the payment date, so there is no interest-free payment term.
Let’s do some interest calculations but before we do that please hit the like button if you are getting value from this video.
Alright To calculate the interest charged on your balance, you can use the following formula:
(balance x interest rate x number of days) / 365For example, if you have a balance of €1,000 and you carry it for 30 days, the interest charged would be:
(€1,000 x 22.89% x 30) / 365 = €18.81So, you would be charged €18.81 in interest for carrying a balance of €1,000 for 30 days past the due date.
Travel Insurance with the Gebührenfrei Credit card
In addition to the fee free cash withdrawals, you also get free Travel insurance If you have paid at least 50% of the total travel costs with an approved transport company with the Free Mastercard Gold. The cardholder and up to 3 other fellow passengers are insured for a period from 2 to 90 days. Additionally you get
- Travel liability insurance: up to €350,000 per incident
- Health insurance for travel abroad: up to €1,000,000, including coverage of dentist costs
- Travel Accident Insurance: €40,000
- Travel cancellation insurance: excess of 20%, at least €100
- Baggage insurance: €2,500 for 1 person, total liability limited to €3,000 when traveling with several people
- Transport accident insurance
- Restrictions for persons aged 67 and over
Contact Details for Gebührenfrei Credit card
You can contact them at this number: 0800 880 1120 . It generally takes some time to get connected with a representative.
Personally my experience with this Credit Card has been very good but many people do have problems with their customer care. Maybe I am used to waiting on hold for multiple minutes without complaining, I dont know. But people say that the customer support takes a long time and the people there do not understand problems correctly.
They also have a strong accent. As a foreigner myself, I did notice an accent but nothing so strong that I could not understand them on the phone.
You can ask questions about travel insurance on : +49 (0) 345 – 21 97 30 30. There you can also request the forms for reporting damage.
In case of medical emergencies during your trip, you can contact Eurocenter: +420 221 860 658 (24/7)
Discount on Rental Cars with the Advanzia Bank Gebührenfrei Credit Card
Another great addon with the Geburenfrei credit card is the 5% discount on Rental cars.
Simply go to this link https://www.mietwagen.de/advanzia , book your rental card and 5% of the rental value will be automatically credited to your credit card account one month after you return the rental car booked . Remember Canceled bookings and withdrawals are excluded from the special refund.
What to remember when getting this Free Credit Card in Germany?
Always remember that there is no auto payment option so you HAVE to pay the bill manually! Also cash withdrawals are currently charged at 1.73% per month from the payment date, so there is no interest-free payment term.
There is a Foreign transaction fee meaning that if you use this credit card to make a purchase in a foreign currency, you will be charged a fee of 1.73% of the transaction amount.
For some people the credit limit might be too low at the beginning but it can be increased when you regularly use the Advanzia Bank Gebuhrenfrei Credit Card.
Why is Gebührenfrei the Best Free Credit Card in Germany?
As an Expat in Germany, it will take you some time to fulfill the requirements for many credit cards. In many cities it can take months to get city registration, open a bank account and start building your credit score. But with the Gebührenfrei Mastercard Gold Credit Card you just need a registered address to apply for the credit card. This can be a life saver for Students, Job seekers and Spouses without a job and that is the reason why I think the Advanzia Bank Mastercard Gold Credit Card is the Best Free Credit Card in Germany!
FAQ
Q. What is Gebührenfrei?
Gebührenfrei is a free of cost Credit Card from the Advanzia bank
Q. Can Students get the Gebührenfrei Credit Card?
Yes Students can get the Gebührenfrei Credit Card?
Q. Is Advanzia Bank reputable?
Advanzia Bank is a European digital bank based in Munsbach, Luxembourg and was established in 2005. Customers can be sure that their data and financial transactions are protected and that they are treated with absolute confidentiality.
Q. What is the interest rate the Gebührenfrei Credit Card?
The interest rate at the time of posting this article is 20.63% pa effective interest rate from the day of the transaction. For Cash withdrawals interest is currently charged at 1.53% per month from the payment date.
Q. What is the Advanzia credit card limit?
The credit limit is based on each individual customers credit score and can range from a few hundred euros to tens of thousands of euros
Q. How do I pay with the Advanzia Gebührenfrei Mastercard Gold Credit Card bill?
On the 3rd of Each month you will get an invoice via email which you can pay by manual transfer by the 20th of the month
This article contains Affiliate links, I may earn a commission if you use the link and make an account at no additional cost to you
Disclaimer: None of the content in this article is meant to be considered as investment advice, as I am not a financial expert and am only sharing my experience with stock investing. The information is based on my own research and is only accurate at the time of posting this article but may not be accurate at the time you are reading it.