A number of Swiss credit cards reward you with some form of bonus points when you make purchases. Credit cards which reward you with cash back – statement credits equal to a percentage of purchases charged to your card – are less common.
Cash back reward programs are more consumer friendly than points-based programs because cash back can be used for anything which can be purchased using the corresponding credit card. Points, on the other hand, can only be redeemed for a limited choice of rewards. That makes Cornèrcard’s new cash back feature a welcome move for credit card users.
Up until now, the PostFinance credit cards and the Cashback credit cards from Swisscard were the only Swiss cash back credit cards on offer.
Which Cornèrcard cards have cash back?
Cornèrcard’s cash back rewards apply to some of its standard, gold and platinum credit cards. Prepaid credit cards do not earn cash back. You can easily find all Cornèrcard cash back credit cards using the filters in the interactive credit card comparison on moneyland.ch. Cash back is also accounted for in cost comparisons.
How much cash back can you earn with Cornèrcard?
The amount of cash back you earn depends on the card you hold.
Standard credit cards: 0.5% of purchases.
Gold credit cards: 1% of purchases.
Platinum credit cards: 1.5% of purchases.
A minimum of 25 Swiss francs of cash back must be accumulated in order to redeem. In order to earn 25 francs of cash back you must make purchases worth 5000 francs (standard credit cards), 2500 francs (gold credit cards) or 1667 francs (platinum credit cards).
Which transactions do you earn cash back for?
You earn cash back for purchases from both local and foreign merchants when you charge these to your eligible Cornèrcard credit card. This applies to purchases made online and at physical stores. You do not earn cash back for money transfers, cash advances or on Cornèrcard fees charged to your credit card.
Is cash back automatically credited to your account?
No. Cash back is not automatically credited to your account – it must be redeemed for a statement credit via the web portal (icorner.ch) or the Conèrcard app. That means you will have to use the web portal or app in order to redeem your cash back. It can take several weeks for redeemed cash back to be credited to your account.
Do cash back rewards expire?
Important: Unredeemed cash back rewards expire one year from the date on which they are earned. To avoid losing your cash back rewards, you must make sure to redeem them via the web portal or app. You will have to reach the minimum of 25 francs cash back required within the expiry term to avoid losing your cash back.
How are Conèrcard credit cards different from other Cashback credit cards?
Cornèrcard credit cards deliver higher cash back than most other Swiss cash back credit cards at 0.5% (standard), 1% (gold) or 1.5% (platinum).
PostFinance credit cards deliver 0.3% (standard) or 0.5% (gold and platinum) cash back after the higher introductory cash back during the first year (0.6% for standard cards and 1% for gold and platinum cards).
Swisscard’s Cashback cards deliver 0.2% (Visa, Mastercard) or 1% (American Express). The Cashback American Express credit card has a 5% cash back introductory offer during the first 3 months.
The TCS Travel Mastercard Gold (issued by Cembra Money Bank) lets you earn 1% cash back.
The disadvantage of Cornèrcard cash back credit cards is that cash back is not automatically credited to your account. You have to redeem cash back yourself via the web portal or app, which requires some time and effort on your part. Unredeemed cash back rewards expire after one year.
Another disadvantage is that you must collect a minimum of 25 francs of cash back before you can redeem your rewards for statement credits. This is primarily a disadvantage if you do not charge a lot of purchases to your credit card. Infrequent users will likely not earn enough cash back rewards to be able redeem before expiry and therefore may earn little or no cash back using Cornèrcard credit cards.
Compare Cornèrcard credit cards now
The interactive credit card comparison on moneyland.ch lets you compare credit cards based on your specific needs and credit card habits. Cash back from Cornèrcard is automatically accounted for in comparisons when your anticipated annual spending would generate at least 25 francs of cash back.
Aside from cash back, credit cards also differ broadly in terms of costs and benefits. The credit card comparison accounts for all card fees in addition to rewards and also lets you filter and sort credit cards based on their complimentary benefits.
More on this topic:
Cornèrcard credit cards
Interactive credit card comparison
