The most-recommended credit card for Germany + journeys

The DKB credit card could become your new favourite card :) Why?

Being a DKB-customer you receive on top of the completely free DKB credit card one of Germany’s best current accounts, a free Girocard and options on further useful bank services.

This means for you in the future:

• No fees for credit card + Girocard
  In the past months, many banks have increased or introduced fees for different types of cards that are linked to a current account! Both DKB-cards remain definitely free of charge also in the future!

• 

  No account management fees
  Likewise, almost all banks have started with account management fees, so it is a rarity, if a bank predicts for the next years: unconditionally free of charge!

  For fast decision takers ► www.dkb.de (information and account opening page of the bank)

• 

  no fees for withdrawals at foreign banks
  Withdraw cash worldwide free of charge in the future. The DKB will never ever charge you any fee for that. See details in the course of this article.

• 

  No foreign transaction fee at payments in foreign currencies
  A point that is ignored by many: on trips abroad, other banks charge up to 3 % fees at payments or withdrawals in other currencies.

• 

  Emergency card and/or emergency money
  If the credit card is broken, one gets a replacement card free of charge sent to the home address by most banks. This is a problem, if you are on a journey. The DKB issues an emergency credit card or emergency money or both within 48 hours. Costs? none! Value? Often saves the whole journey!

• 

  Discounted loans
  Also a point that many do not know: DKB-current account customers do not only have better chances to get an instalment loan or a real estate financing, but also a better interest rate being an existing customer!

• 

  Available for you around the clock
  The end of, “Contact your branch office during the opening hours.” The DKB is available for you by phone around the clock. Also on Christmas.

For fast decision-takers ► www.dkb.de (information and account opening page of the bank)

Really life-changing?

I know that my headline sounds quite bold to many people. Many might be reminded of the Bild-newspaper style.

However, in fact, the DKB plays a big role in changing my financial life.

After being a DKB-customer since many years, I am not willing to pay high fees for things that banks have to provide anyways or only cost the bank a few cents!

True words

I am also no longer willing to be consoled by the slogan:

ÿes, if you want to have a credit card, then you must first …"

Oh, I have heard this sentence often. Just last year again at a product test!

Or:

"Contact Madam or Sir Smith, when this person is back again next week!“

With the DKB, I have become much more competent, because the bank supplies me with everything that I need – without selling me something!

Besides that, I have met savings bank-employees, who think that their customers are financially blithering idiots and therefore, presume to guide their financial decisions.

I say that they think of them consciously as “incompetent” in order to do with them whatever they want!

The truth is: the DKB is my absolute favourite bank since more than 12 years and on some days, I almost write until my fingers are sore, so that smart bank customers like you can get the best instructions on our special portal and therefore, not only recognize the potential behind an account and card switch, but immediately have the guide to implement everything step-by-step.

To make it even easier for you, I have developed a video course, in which you can selectively enter in chapters, in order to get the specific knowledge about the optimal functioning of bank, account and cards. More on that at the end of this page.

Here you go directly to the DKB-credit card ► www.dkb.de (information and account opening page of the bank)

What the DKB-credit card can do for you

Briefly:

• save interest
• save fees
• replaced quickly if lost.

Just this trivial list is more than 90 per cent of all other available credit cards on the German market offer. Let’s take a look at the details to realize the hidden and complete potential.

Proof No. 1: You save interest

The DKB Visa Card is a true credit card.

That means: besides the current account, you can dispose of a separate credit card account with an own (additional) credit line.

All transactions of the credit card – card payments, as well as cash withdrawals (!) – are gathered on the credit card account up to one month without interest. Just shortly before the month change, an automatic settlement with the current account takes place.

Let’s assume that you are on average with Euros 2,000 in the red and would have to pay 10 per cent loan interest. If you would make your expenses through the DKB-credit card (yes, also cash withdrawals would be possible), then this would be a saving of Euros 200 per year. Every year!

Of course, this is a naive assumption, but many people underestimate the effects of loan interest, as studies demonstrate again and again!

Want to change your payment behaviour?

Facts and functioning:

DKB-customers get:

• Credit card with separate credit card account
  credit line depending on the creditworthiness up to Euros 15,000 possible
• Current account with Girocard
  overdraft facility depending on the creditworthiness up to Euros 15,000 possible

Transactions using the Girocard are immediately deducted from the current account. If the current account is in the overdraft facility, then loan interest is charged.

Transactions using the credit card go into the red on the credit card account.

On the credit card account, no loan interest applies. This is a very important difference to the many credit card companies that are partially responsible that many people are afraid of high credit card interest rates!

Difference to the credit card companies:
No loan interest applies!

If the credit card account has a negative balance on the date of settlement, then it is automatically settled with the current account.

If there is enough balance on the current account, then not a single cent of interest applies.

If the current account should go into the red due to the automatic settlement, then only the favourable overdraft interest is charged. This is two to three times cheaper than the interest of pure credit card companies!

Can we tick off the point that you save interest with the DKB-credit card?

Proof No. 2: you save fees

With the DKB-credit card, you save a whole lot of fees. The main savings are:

• Withdrawal fees at foreign ATMs
  Withdrawing cash at foreign ATMs is free of charge using the credit card on the part of the DKB. This applies to all ATMs around the globe that accept Visa Cards.
• Foreign currency fees
  Normally, banks charge a foreign transaction fee at card payments or cash withdrawals in another currency than the Euro. Barclaycard charges 1.99 per cent of the card transaction for this. At the DKB, it is 0.0 per cent.

How the withdrawing of cash and the use abroad work in detail, we will observe on this page. At this point, we are happy with the fact that the DKB provides you free of charge with important services, for which other banks charge – partially very high – fees.

Proof No. 3: Replaced quickly if lost

Whether stolen or only lost – if the credit card is gone, one often faces a huge problem. Especially, if one is on a journey or staying abroad.

Most banks send the replacement card only to the submitted home address.

But what is it good for? Of course, you can ask someone to empty your mailbox and send the card to your temporal residence abroad. But, how long does it take? In most cases, it takes too long.

The DKB helps its customers not only by sending the new DKB Visa Card via courier to the abroad, there is also the possibility to get a Visa-emergency card or emergency money in cash within 48 hours .

Would you estimate such a service in an emergency?

At another big bank, this service costs Euros 150 or 180 per case. But not for you, if you are an active customer of the DKB. These are all new customers of the bank for one whole year and then, if they use the account regularly. This is measured by the bank at a monthly money income of Euros 700. This applies to approx. 87 per cent of our subscribed readers.

Emergency-service is free of charge!

And with this another documentation to proof No. 2 that one saves fees with the DKB-credit card!

Here you can go directly to the DKB-credit card ► www.dkb.de (information and account management page of the bank)

Card use in Germany

Withdraw cash free of charge

The most popular feature is withdrawing cash at foreign ATMs. There are people, who only have opened the DKB-account, because they were

• tired of looking constantly for an appropriate ATM and therefore, have paid time and transport costs, or
• are tired of paying withdrawal fees at foreign banks.

With the credit card of the DKB, you can withdraw Euros 50 up to 1,000 at the ATM per day.

Several withdrawals per day are possible. The arising fees are automatically borne by the DKB for you.

Please do not be deceived by the note stickers of the savings bank that say that one has to pay a withdrawal fee of Euros 4.50 there. Actually, many former savings bank customers still use the savings bank ATMs to withdraw cash after an account switch (article in German).

This should be good news for the savings bank, as it earns money with each withdrawal by a foreign customer.

In order to enjoy these great conditions unchanged for a long time, please, take advantage of it responsibly.

Pay with the card

Small amounts up to Euros 25 can even be paid contactless with the DKB credit card.

This is being implemented more and more in credit cards, however, the DKB was one of the first bigger banks that offered this comfortable service to its customers.

Card payments must generally be confirmed with the PIN, which is by far much more secure than the signature procedure, as it is still standard at the MasterCard of my Raiffeisenbank.

On the front side, you can find the credit card number and the chip. On the back side, there is the CV-code for Internet payments, as well as the telephone number of the bank. The account number is not on the card out of security reasons.

That all card transaction are gathered free of interest on the credit card account until the automatic and monthly settlement with the current account, you have already found out further above.

If you get to some “point of sale”, where a credit card payment is not accepted, then you simply withdraw cash free of charge with the Visa Card somewhere nearby or use the DKB Girocard. You can see that you are well supplied with the DKB in all situations!

Here you go directly to the DKB-credit card ► www.dkb.de (information and account opening page of the bank)

Card use abroad

There were times, in which the DKB promoted its credit card intensively as “travel card“. Perhaps this is a reason, why one can find it as a recommendation on so many travel blogs.

If one concentrates on the hard facts, one can comprehend that it is so popular among the travellers:

• free credit card
• free cash withdrawing around the globe
• free currency exchange (no foreign transaction fee)
• free emergency card/emergency cash
• customer service around the clock

I personally have used the DKB Visa Card already on five continents. Although I am testing some other credit cards for our readers from time to time, the DKB still is my favourite card on the road!

Refund of the foreign transaction fee

The DKB has never charged a foreign transaction fee for withdrawing cash at the ATM. This has always been free of charge and still is today!

However until the 1st of December 2016, there was the foreign transaction fee in the amount of 1.75 per cent of the card payment. This possibly has been cancelled due to our article (article in German), in which we have shown that the cancellation would be advantageous for the bank and customers!

This has been solved quickly as follows: the 1.75 per cent at credit card payments will be deducted at first, but until the end of the month, it is refunded on the current account:

Here you can go directly to the DKB-credit card ► www.dkb.de (information and account opening page of the bank)

Usage as …?

Whether and how the DKB-credit card is appropriate for you, you can decide for yourself. From years of community-experiences, I can tell you the DKB-purposes of the readers:

• travel credit card
• emergency credit card (secondary credit card besides the main account)
• secondary account with credit card
• main account with credit card
• joint account (two or more account and card holders possible)
• account and card for Internet-shopping

Here you can go directly to the DKB-credit card ► www.dkb.de (information and account opening page of the bank)

You should avoid this in any case!

Unfortunately, there can be a rejection of the application on account opening and issuance of the credit card, because some people fill the online application imprudently.

So that this will not happen to you, you can see the three most frequent mistakes/solutions:

• Please state the complete income
  This has nothing to do with data protection or data minimization. As you could read above, it is a true credit card with a credit line. That means that the bank implements an income and creditworthiness check automatically. Therefore, summarize all types of income in one amount. Do not forget any income. Apprentices and students often forget to add the child support!
• Please state the employment correctly
  The application of a credit line, this is the case at a credit card, is not meaningful during a period of unemployment. One should manage such transitions smartly. For example, students in the weeks between end of school and start of the University or on a journey and adults in the sabbatical are not unemployed in the classic meaning. Simply state the nearest employment period.
• Be polite
  In about 5 per cent of cases, there is a manual processing of the card application – whenever the computer has no clear recommendation for accepting or rejecting the customer. The bank itself is interested in gaining new customers. Therefore, it can be that a staff member will contact you and has a question or asks for proof (in 95 % of cases, no proof has to be submitted), e.g. a pay slip or a University student certificate. There were rejections of the account application, because one was unpolite and rough. This is understandable. Who wants to have such a customer?

You can find comprehensive tips on the account opening here in a step-by-step instruction and here are the three mistakes again discussed in detail. I wish you success with the card application.

Ready for the DKB-credit card?

Here you can go directly to the DKB-credit card ► www.dkb.de (information and account opening page of the bank)

Do you want an own credit card motif?

If you become a new customer of the DKB, you automatically get the DKB-credit card sent in the classic and noble design. See above!

Then you can order a new card with own motif anytime and as often as you want. For this, just upload a photo of your choice:

For example, what do you think of a vacation photo? Family photo? Annual goals? Or just the simple graphical note on the card to not spend too much money? 😉

If you should not like the design at any point of time, you can change it. Per checking of the picture including the card production and sending, the DKB charges Euros 20. You decide, whether it is worth the trouble.

Important to know: the credit card number and the PIN will stay the same! The expiry date changes, as the cards always have a 5-year term.

Card number and PIN stay the same

After card expiry, one gets automatically and free of charge a credit card in the standard design. If it should be a desired motif again, then the procedure of picture upload will start again.

Fast-start with the DKB-credit card

If you have decided in the course of the article to test the advantages of the DKB-credit card, then I congratulate you to your decision and immediately give you important tips to a fast-start with the DKB.

Obtaining, setup and increase of the credit line

Brief introduction of the terminology:

• The credit line or the credit limit is the amount, with which you can go into the red with the card.
• The overdraft facility is the amount that you can still spend with the card. This can be less than the credit line (if you have already made payments) or higher (if you have deposited money on the credit card account – more on that further below).

With the account opening, you automatically receive your first credit line as an overdraft facility on the current account and the same amount again as a credit line on the Visa Card. In the online banking, you can query the mount in the financial status – this is the first page after logging in. Simply click on the “details” for it:

For new customers, the first credit line is Euros 100, 500 or 1,000. Depending on the values that you have reached at the income and creditworthiness check. Card application from abroad generally only get Euros 100.

Please remember that many banks do not set up a credit line, as long as they do not know the customer a little better!

Next step: increase credit line

For this, you simply arrange to transfer the salary to the DKB. Salary payments are automatically recognized by the bank. In most cases, the credit line increases after the second salary transfer to double the amount of the salary.

If this is not enough for you or perhaps even too much, you can apply for an increase or lowering of the credit line in the online banking:

Alternative?

Now, it can also be that you do not want to transfer your salary to the DKB-account … or you want to use the advantages of the DKB Visa Card to a higher grade immediately and do not have time to wait until the increase through the bank… There is also a solution for this matter!

Increase the overdraft facility

The overdraft facility is the actual amount that you can spend with the card. You can increase it by depositing money to the credit card. You can do this easily by rebooking money from the current acocunt to the credit card account.

All money that you have rebooked to the credit card is at your full disposal.

The overdraft facility is calculated through the credit line + transfer. For example, you being a new customer get a credit line of Euros 500. As you are going to travel and need the credit card for free withdrawing of cash, as well as fee-free card payments, you want to have a limit of Euros 2,500. To reach this amount, you simply rebook Euros 2,000.

A rebooking is simply an internal transfer:

On further pages of this special portal, you can see how one can automatize such rebookings.

Moreover, I recommend to subscribe to the free DKB video course (in German) in order to learn quickly and easily, as well as with the support of our smart-bank-customer-community, the most important tips and tricks around the DKB-credit card!

How will it continue?

• Order the free DKB-credit card
  Go directly to the DKB-credit card ► www.dkb.de (direct entrance into the online application)
• Register for the free DKB-video course
  Go to the registration page

With the registration to the video course, you get:

• via e-mail the link to 20 video-lessons
• and with this the most important facts from 10 years of experience
• plus access to further internal pages ✔

This means for you: optimal account and card use, as well as avoiding expensive mistakes!

At the registration here, you get into the German area of our special portal and receive the German newsletter every Sunday. If you prefer English, please register ► here. You will then get important updates monthly via e-mail. You can unsubscribe by clicking on the link at the end of every e-mail.

Both done?

In the matter of DKB-credit card, there is still the legitimating. You can do this by either taking the classic way via PostIdent or via webcam. For this, please wait for a note of the bank in your e-mail inbox.

Until all account and card documents have arrived, about two weeks go by.

During this time, you can get familiar with the credit card and further DKB-service in the video course or discover further thrilling subjects on our special portal.

Picture material by Fotolia: iconshow (money light), vege (watch), Eisenhans (shopping trolley)

Many thanks that you are with us!

My team and I would be happy to answer your questions through the comments feature. It is part of my life to help smart bank customers at the opening and clever use of cool bank products ! You can find out more about me here.