Skip to main content

Banking and Credit Card Fees




Seeing how much I was paying in banking fees on three different Swiss bank accounts and two credit cards, I finally got around to looking into these this month. This is something I do yearly, making sure I get the best deal on interest rates and credit cards.

I kept three accounts due to the Bank Guarantees of only 100k per account, back when our Swiss Franc cash savings were higher.

Postfinance started to charge account keeping fees of 5 CHF a month from January 2019. I opened an account with them back when they offered free banking for account balances over 25k and their eSaver account was paying 1% interest (more than my mortgage interest rate of 0.7%). They also used to have free cash withdrawals within Switzerland at all banks. This seems to have changed, and now free withdrawals are only at Post Offices, Migros, SBB desk, Coop, Denner, and Spar. A 2 CHF charge now applies per withdrawal at other places. Interest rates are also now 0.00%, so no point in keeping this account. I just moved my savings and closed my account, saving 60 CHF a year.  plus all those ATM fees that I didn’t realise were now charged.

UBS was the bank we had when we first arrived. Existing accounts are free if you have over 10k but you are billed if you slip under 10k at any time in the month. We have direct debits set up on that account and that meant it was a pain to switch accounts, so we never switched. The UBS Gold credit card was costing 200 CHF a year but was paying me more in key club points. I would pay the card fee every year with key club points but they stopped allowing that last year. I switched to a banking packet in December that I could pay with points, prepaid for a year (first 6 months free) for 15 CHF a month that works out 20 CHF cheaper than the credit card alone, and free if you use their key club points.

Bonus Card credit cards also used to be free when I signed up, then free if you spend over a certain amount. They have increased the cost to 150 CHF a year, regardless of spending, so I looked around for an alternative. This card was mostly used for online purchases where the account number is stored, like Amazon, since it has a lower credit limit. I found that Migros is offering a free Cumulus Mastercard: https://www.migros.ch/de/cumulus/mastercard.html. You can complete the application online then they mail you the completed form to sign. I applied today, then I plan to cull my Bonus Card when it arrives.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

5 Biggest Wastes of Money

Saving money is easy when you don't spend it on unnecessary things.  My  5 Biggest wastes of money are: 1. Eating out We used to eat out 2-3 times a week, simply because we were too tired and thought that we’d deserved it because we were both working full-time. Cutting back on that meant we could throw more money at our mortgage – we paid the bank back on our first mortgage in full in only 2 ½ years. 2. Phone upgrades I bought my last phone in 2016 and guess what? It can do all the things that newer version phones can do. There hasn’t really been any significant advancements since then and my battery still keeps charged all day and my screen is still in top condition. I’ve saved at least 3’500 CHF by not changing my phone every year since then. 3. Designer Clothes Buying clothes with brands is such a huge waste of money, especially when you buy them with Swiss prices. If you really want brands, head to the outlets in Foxtown or head to ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Money Saving Tips in Switzerland

I have lived in Switzerland for the past 16 years, possibly the most expensive country to Earth.  According to the Big Mac Index in January 2019, a comparison of the price of a Big Mac in USD, Switzerland was the most expensive:   https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/199335/umfrage/big-mac-index--weltweiter-preis-fuer-einen-big-mac/ Still, I have managed to save more living here than other places I have lived in. Moving there soon or already living there, you might find my top tips for saving in Switzerland useful: 1.       Don’t spend more than 30% of your gross income on Housing. Earning 120k that is 3k a month. Rents are currently are at their lowest levels in 20 years due to negative interest rates. Most leases factor in interest rate rises, so you’ll be paying more should interest rates increase too. 2.       Food – our biggest expense. I have stopped eating out just because it is more co...
Post a Comment
Read more

Easy budget friendly recipes

Dry p otato  and pea curry  2 sliced onions 1/4 tsp mustard seeds (optional) 1 tsp of oil 2 cloves of garlic, crushed 2 tsp of grated fresh ginger (optional) 1 tsp turmeric 1 tsp ground cumin 1/2 tsp chilli powder 1 tsp garam masala 1 cup of frozen peas 2 cups of water 400-700 grams of diced potatoes Method: Cook mustard seeds in oil until they start to pop. Add spices except for  garam masala and cook stirring for 1 minute. Add potatoes and water and bring to the boil. Simmer covered on low heat for 15 minutes. Add peas and  garam masala and cook for a further 5 minutes. Serve with steamed rice. Source:   https://www.goodfood.com.au/recipes/dry-potato-and-pea-curry-20130808-2riet Lentil and chickpea curry 1 thinly sliced onion 2 cloves of garlic, minced 400 g can of lentils 400 g can of chick peas 400 g can of tomatoes 1/4 tsp of chilli powder 1/2 tsp cumin 1/2 tsp coriander 1/ 2 tsp turmeric 1 tsp garam ...
Post a Comment
Read more