Stiftung Warentest checked 32 nationwide available credit cards and determined which are particularly cheap and even free of charge. We show you the recommended providers.

Does your house bank offer a credit card? A nice offer – but perhaps also associated with comparatively high costs. It may well be worth getting a credit card from an alternative provider to save a lot of money every year. Cost drivers are in particular Annual fees, transaction fees, ATM withdrawal costs or Annual interest for partial payments. Some or all of these costs can be avoided.

Recommended credit cards 2023 according to Stiftung Warentest

Among the 32 cards tested (credit cards and debit cards), Stiftung Warentest (Financial test issue 05/2023) highlighted six low-cost providers. Important: In order to save costs, Stiftung Warentest generally recommends that Disable partial payment and switch to full compensation instead – otherwise high interest rates may apply. The only offer with free checking account is the Mastercard credit card from Norisbank. With the other cards, an existing current account is debited – so they are an alternative to the (expensive) card from the house bank.

These are the recommended offers. They are currently all free of annual fees. Clicking on the name takes you directly to the provider:

  • Norisbank: Mastercard credit card with free current account (without partial payment). Virtually free of charge. No Google Pay.
  • ICS Visa World Card: Credit card without checking account. Partial payments and withdrawals from ATMs may incur costs. No Apple Pay, no Google Pay.
  • Awa7 (Hanseatic Bank): Visa credit card without checking account. High annual interest for partial payments. Tree donations when opening the credit card account and every 100 euros spent on the card.
  • Barclays: Visa credit card without checking account. High annual interest on partial payments. With internet delivery protection insurance.
  • Hanseatic Bank Genialcard: Visa credit card without checking account. High annual interest for partial payments.
  • Paysol (Hanseatic Bank) Germany Credit Card Classic (Visa): Credit card without checking account. High annual interest for partial payments.

Other credit cards at a glance:

Paying by credit card: These are the advantages and disadvantages

All credit cards mentioned can be used in shops pay contactless – a hygienic payment method that has become more popular in the course of the Corona pandemic and is also preferred by some retailers. Many providers also support methods such as Apple Pay and Google Pay, so that the plastic card can remain in the wallet and the cell phone handles the payment process instead. According to Stiftung Warentest, credit cards are primarily for online purchases and Travel useful.

The fact that credit cards can be used to “postpone” expenses can be seen as a disadvantage. For example, if the connected checking account is only debited at the end of the month – then the moment of truth can strike for careless consumers. The sometimes high credit lines exacerbate the situation. So if you generally tend to live beyond your means, you should rethink the use of credit cards. Part payment with extremely high interest rates then it’s really out of the question.