Migros Cumulus Mastercard vs Coop Supercardplus foreign transaction fees

How does the foreign transaction fee of the Migros Cumulus Mastercard compare with that of the Coop Supercardplus?

Hi there,

The foreign transaction fee of the Migros Cumulus Mastercard is currently 1.5%. The Coop Supercardplus also has a 1.5% foreign transaction fee.

In addition to foreign transaction fees, it is also important to look at the exchange rate spreads used for currency conversions. Exchange rates vary between issuers. The Migros Cumulus Mastercard is issued by Cembra Money Bank. The Coop Supercardplus is issued by Swisscard AECS.

The moneyland.ch credit card comparison gives you the option of specifying how many foreign currency transactions you expect to make. Both foreign transaction fees and the CHF/EUR rates of banks are accounted for in the comparison. Approximated foreign transaction costs are shown in the "Purchases abroad costs" field in the cost breakdown which accompanies each listed card.

Example:

A comparison on the 30.10.2017 based on a user who makes 50 purchases in euros annually with an equivalent value of 5000 Swiss francs shows total foreign transaction costs of CHF 331.35 for the Coop Supercardplus and CHF 385.35 for the Migros Cumulus Mastercard. However, total costs can change along with exchange rates.

Best regards from Moneyguru

More on this topic:
Swiss credit card comparison
Guide to credit card foreign transaction fees

Hi moneyland team,

As a Supercard credit card holder I came across your I came across this article on your site: https://www.moneyland.ch/en/coop-supercard-new-fees-benefits-2018

I wanted to add some information which may be useful to cardholders.

When studying the services and fees brochure for the card, I came across this text (point 7 in the fine print at the bottom):

“The exchange rate includes a surcharge. This can be consulted at ubs.com/cards when using the UBS exchange rate and requested from customer service.”

I looked it up and found a price list on the UBS website, and as I understand it, you pay a minimum surcharge of 1.7% for foreign transactions on top of the advertised 1.5% foreign transaction fee. Together, that comes to a 3.2% fee for payments outside Switzerland.

The Topcard Standard/Classic has a 1.75% foreign transaction fee, but there is no footnote about a surcharge.

With my old Supercardplus from Swisscard and with the new Cashback credit card, the foreign transaction fee is still 1.5% unless I missed something.

With Coop’s move to Topcard, tens of thousands of people will get the new Supercard credit card, but how many of them will read the find print?

I hope this information helps and that you can integrate it into your comparisons.

Kind regards

Thank you very much for your feedback.

All Swiss credit card issuers mark up currency exchange rates. This is known as the currency exchange spread. It is a hidden fee which applies on top of the foreign transaction fee.

The credit card comparison on moneyland.ch is the only Swiss credit card comparison which accounts for these currency exchange spreads in addition to foreign transaction fees.

 Currency exchange spreads can change on a daily basis and are generally not clearly shown to credit card holders. One exception to this rule is Swisscard AECS, which publishes its historical currency exchange rates. In order to account for currency exchange spreads in the credit card comparison, moneyland.ch checks exchange rates and records currency exchange spreads at regular intervals.

You can find more information on costs associated with using credit cards abroad in the moneyland.ch guide to foreign transaction fees.

TopCard, PostFinance and UBS credit cards use UBS currency exchange rates. This also applies to the new Coop Supercard credit card which is issued by TopCard.

The old Coop Supercardplus credit card is issued by Swisscard, which also issues the new Cashback American Express credit card and the Cashback Visa and Mastercard credit cards. Swisscard uses its own exchange rates. The Migros Cumulus Mastercard uses the Cembra Money Bank currency exchange rates.

Our records show that the currency exchange rates used by Swisscard and UBS are generally similar.

Best regards from Moneyguru