Money & Finance · Category
9 guides on credit cards for expats in Germany, each dated and linked to the office that decides.
Credit Cards Stop leaving money on the table. As of October 2026, expats in Germany can earn meaningful cashback and points using the right card combinations to offset high living costs.
Every guide
Credit CardsA 30 July 2026 market review of 60 German cards found only 17 charge zero annual fee and zero foreign transaction fee, the rest hide costs in FX markups up to 2.99%.
Credit CardsTF Bank and Advanzia both issue free gold Mastercards with zero foreign transaction fees to newcomers with no German credit file, no Schufa history required.
Credit CardsYou arrive with no Schufa file, and German lenders treat that almost like a bad one. How the score is built, how long it takes, and the small moves that start a clean file.
Credit CardsGermany runs on cash and girocard far more than newcomers expect, and most banks want a Schufa file before they hand you a credit card. Here are the cards that skip that, and where a card actually helps.
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The Sunday briefing
New guides, rule changes with the date they took effect, and the occasional correction. One short email a week, and I write every one myself.