Swiss Credit Card Comparison 2024

You can easily find the Swiss credit card which best suits your needs using the interactive credit card comparison on moneyland.ch. Just select the profile which matches your needs. Take a moment to consider how you will use your card.

If there are specific card benefits which could save you money, such as travel or insurance benefits, use the filter and sort tools to compare cards which include these benefits.

If you only need a credit card to make payments, simply select the cheapest Swiss credit card available for your user profile.

Compare Swiss credit cards now

Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Diners Club International credit cards are offered in Switzerland. Visa and Mastercard are the most widely accepted by Swiss merchants, while American Express and Diners Club International cards are less widely accepted.

Many Swiss card issuers offer the same credit cards in both Visa and Mastercard versions, with identical fees and benefits. Both Visa and Mastercard have similar levels of acceptance in Switzerland, so this difference is primarily important for international purchases. Take a moment to look into whether Visa or Mastercard is more widely accepted in countries where you expect to use your credit card.

Swiss card issuers generally differentiate between prepaid cards, standard or “silver” credit cards, gold credit cards and platinum credit cards. How a card is marketed depends on the complimentary benefits and/or the available line of credit which it provides. The credit card comparison lets you limit results to one or several classes of credit cards.

It is worth noting that annual card fees are generally lowest for basic and silver credit cards and are highest for platinum credit cards. You can find more information about credit card classes here: prepaid card guide; gold credit card guide; platinum credit card guide.

The moneyland.ch credit card comparison includes cards from all relevant Swiss card issuers. These include Bonuscard, Cembra Money Bank, Cornèrcard, PostFinance, SIX, Swisscard, TopCard (UBS), UBS and Viseca. Many Swiss banks partner with card issuers to offer credit cards to their account holders. While card payments may be managed by the bank in this case, customer service is generally provided by the card issuer.

In addition to card issuers, many banks, associations, airlines and retailers offer credit cards in partnership with card issuers.

Swiss companies which co-issue credit cards include: the Aargauische Kantonalbank (AKB); Air France-KLM; the ACS; BancaStato; Bank Cler; the Basler Kantonalbank (BKB); the Berner Kantonalbank (BEKB); Conforama; Coop; Cornèrtrader, Credit Suisse; Fnac; Lipo; Manor; Migros; Migros Bank; Poinz, Raiffeisen banks; the St. Galler Kantonalbank (SGKB); TCS; the Thurgauer Kantonalbank; Valiant; the Banque Cantonale Vaudoise (BCV); the Zürcher Kantonalbank (ZKB).

Many regional and private banks also co-issue credit cards, or offer cards issued directly by card issuers.

The unbiased credit card comparison on moneyland.ch accounts for most costs. These include:

• Annual card fees. Many Swiss credit cards have annual fees which you pay each year just to use them. Some cards have introductory annual fees for the first year which are lower than the standard annual fee which applies after that. These introductory offers are accounted for in comparisons.
• Foreign transaction fees. Swiss credit cards generally have foreign transaction fees. You pay the foreign transaction fee every time you make a purchase from a non-Swiss merchant.
• Currency exchange markups. Swiss card issuers generally add markups to currency exchange rates. These markups add an extra cost when you make purchases in foreign currencies. The comparison accounts for currency exchange rates based on regular sampling.
• Cash advance fees (credit cards) or cash withdrawal fees charged by card issuers. Fees for withdrawing cash are generally high, but most issuers charge higher minimum fees for withdrawals outside of the country. Note that ATM operators outside of Switzerland may charge fees for the use of ATMs. These cannot be accounted for because they vary between ATM operators.
• Discounts. Possible discounts are accounted for in the comparison.
• Rewards. If a credit card rewards you with cash back or points for purchases, the comparison credits these against the card’s costs.

You can find the bases of calculations here.

When you use a Swiss credit card to pay for purchases from Swiss merchants in Swiss francs, you as the card user do not pay any fees for the transaction. The transaction fees are covered by the merchant. Some merchants in Switzerland add the merchant fees as a markup on your bill or only accept card payments for purchases above certain thresholds.

When you use a Swiss credit card to pay for purchases from foreign merchants, you typically pay a foreign transaction fee. If you pay in a currency other than Swiss francs, you also typically pay a hidden fee in the form of a markup on the currency exchange rate. Exchange rates vary between card issuers, but are typically much higher than interbank exchange rates. The moneyland.ch comparison accounts for both foreign transaction fees and currency exchange markups (based on regular samplings of EUR/CHF exchange rates).

You can find more information about credit card foreign transaction costs here.

A number of credit cards which do not have annual card fees are offered in Switzerland. These are often referred to as free credit cards, but this term is misleading, as these cards are only do have incidental fees and charges.

Incidental fees and charges include:

• Interest on negative credit card balances carried over past the due date.
• Foreign transaction fees for purchases outside of Switzerland.
• Currency exchange markups for purchases outside of Switzerland.
• Cash advance/cash withdrawal fees for cash withdrawals.
• Penalty fees for late payments.
• Fees for paper card statements.
• Fees for bill payment via deposit slip.
• Fees for customer service lines.

You can find more information about Swiss no-annual-fee credit cards here.

The moneyland.ch credit card comparison accounts for more than 50 different card features and services. Features and services which may be included on Swiss credit cards include:

• 24-hour customer service.
• Custom card designs.
• Tap-and-go (contactless payments).
• Card account apps.
• Emergency cash advances.
• SMS notifications.
• Free supplementary cards.

You can easily filter and sort credit cards based on the features and services provided using the credit card comparison.

Many Swiss credit cards include complimentary insurance coverages as a cardholder benefit. You can easily sort and filter credit cards based on the insurance coverages which they provide using the filter and sort tolls in the interactive credit card comparison.

Insurance coverages which may be included as complimentary cardholder benefits include:

• Guaranteed returns for purchases.
• Legal insurance.
• Luggage insurance.
• Price protection.
• Purchase protection insurance.
• Rental car collision damage waiver.
• Travel interruption expenses coverage.
• Travel medical insurance.
• Travel search and rescue insurance.
• Trip cancellation and interruption insurance.

You can find more information in the guide to credit card insurance benefits.

Many Swiss credit cards have rewards programs and reward you when you use your card to make purchases. Rewards credit cards offered in Switzerland may reward you with:

• Cash back (in the form of statement credits).
• Donations (rewards are donated to a charitable association).
• Frequent flyer miles which can be redeemed towards award flights.
• Points which can be redeemed for vouchers, goods or services.

Some Swiss credit cards include cardholder privileges. These may include:

• Airport lounge access (complimentary or discounted).
• Concierge services.
• Discounts on purchases from specific merchants.
• Coupons or vouchers from specific merchants.

You can find more information in the guide to credit card rewards programs.

Many Swiss credit cards now work with Apple Pay, Fitbit Pay, Garmin Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, and/or Swatch Pay. You can easily filter cards based on the mobile payments solutions you use in the interactive credit card comparison.

moneyland.ch regular conducts customer satisfaction surveys of credit card users in Switzerland. These surveys rate overall satisfaction, the friendliness of employees, the clarity of information and customer support.

On the whole, card users in Switzerland are generally satisfied with their credit cards. However, there are differences in customer satisfaction between different card issuers.

You can find detailed customer satisfaction ratings on the info pages corresponding to each credit card. You can also sort credit cards based on customer satisfaction.

While some Swiss credit cards are charge cards which require full bill payment by the due date, many Swiss credit cards come with the option of carrying a negative account balance. You are only required to pay a minimum monthly payment by the due date. The rest of your negative balance can be carried indefinitely. You pay interest on negative balances based on their size and the length of time over which you carry them.

Many Swiss card issuers use an effective interest rate of 14 percent per annum – the highest interest rate allowed by the Swiss consumer credit law. This makes Swiss credit cards an expensive loan instrument. Paying your credit card bill in full by the due date (via a direct debit order, for example) is highly recommended. If you need a loan, personal loans are generally a more affordable – if less convenient – solution for obtaining financing.

Your credit card’s line of credit determines how much you can spend with the credit card. Lines of credit vary between credit cards and also depend on your creditworthiness. As a general rule, gold and platinum credit cards have higher maximum lines of credit than standard credit cards. The maximum line of credit for each credit card is clearly shown on the results page of the moneyland.ch credit card comparison.

Note that the figures shown in the comparison are the maximum lines of credit possible. The line of credit which you receive is based on your creditworthiness and income, and may be lower than the maximum possible line of credit.

Tip: With many credit cards, if your line of credit is too low for your needs, you can simply deposit money into your credit card account to create a positive balance.

In this case, the positive balance combined with your line of credit determine how much you can spend with your credit card.

The credit card comparison on moneyland.ch only includes standard Swiss credit cards. The cards offered by Revolut, Wise and other neobanks are not credit cards. They are debit cards or, in some cases, prepaid cards which function as debit cards. Cards from foreign issuers such as Revolut and Wise cannot be included in the Swiss credit card comparison.

However, moneyland.ch does conduct regular, unbiased studies and comparisons which include neobank cards. These studies have shown that the cards from neobanks like Neon, Revolut and Wise perform well for foreign transactions because they have low foreign transaction fees and favorable currency exchange rates. This makes them an interesting option for making purchases from foreign merchants. Note that neobank cards are not as widely accepted as conventional credit cards, so carrying a Swiss credit card with you as a backup when you travel abroad is recommended.