Credit Card Rewards: This Is How Much Money or Miles You Could Earn

Some credit cards rewards you with points, cash back, or miles for your spending. But there are huge differences between different credit cards.

The range runs from credit cards that do not reward you at all, to credit cards that reward you with up to 10 francs of cash back per 1000 francs of spending.

Reward credit cards with no annual fee

Most Swiss credit cards without an annual fee have some kind of rewards. These “free” credit cards do not have any basic, annual card fee. You only pay fees for certain services, like cash withdrawals and purchases from foreign merchants, and penalties for paying your credit card bills late.

The free credit cards with the highest rewards give you 10 francs of cash back per 1000 francs spent. The popular free credit cards from Migros and Coop reward you with 3.30 francs per 1000 francs spent.

Reward credit cards with annual fees

Many Swiss credit cards with annual fees also have reward programs. These credit cards are primarily issued by banks like UBS, cantonal banks, Raiffeisen banks, Postfinance, Bank Cler, and Valiant. Card issuers like Bonuscard and Cornèrcard also have cards like this in their lineups.

The rewards per 1000 francs vary depending on the category of credit card:

• Standard rewards credit cards award you between 2 and 3 francs. Standard credit cards are sometimes called classic or silver credit cards.
• Gold rewards credit cards typically award you 6 francs or less. Only one gold card stands above, with rewards worth 10 francs for every 1000 francs of purchases.
• Platinum rewards credit cards award you between 4 and 9 francs.

Collect airline miles for shopping

Only a few Swiss credit cards reward you with frequent flyer miles for spending. In addition to the Miles & More credit cards from Swiss and Lufhansa, a single credit card from Flying Blue (Air France, KLM) is also available.

The number of miles you earn per 1000 francs of purchases varies between card categories:

• Standard miles credit cards reward you with between 300 and 1000 miles.
• Gold miles credit cards reward you with between 400 and 1000 miles.
• Platinum miles credit cards reward you with between 600 and 1200 miles.

There are also credit cards with points-based reward programs that give you the option of converting points into airline miles. For example, for every 1000 francs of eligible spending, the Coop Supercard credit card rewards you with points that can be converted into 165 miles.

Read the fine print carefully

As a general rule, you only get rewards for actual purchases of goods from shops and online stores, and of services like tickets, dining at restaurants, and hotel stays. You do not get rewarded for cash withdrawals, money transfers, or topping up money accounts.

The way in which rewards are redeemed varies between credit cards. The simplest reward programs have cash back which is automatically credited to your credit card balance or transferred to your bank account. Other programs let you redeem points for gift cards, or convert points. Some reward programs have points that expire after a certain amount of time.

Note: All of the information in this article only applies to using your credit card in Switzerland.

Do not just look at the reward program

Reward programs with points, cash back, or miles are a nice plus. But it is important to look at all of the costs and benefits as a whole. Carefully reviewing the fees is especially important if you use your credit card for purchases from foreign merchants, or to make cash withdrawals.

The interactive credit card comparison on moneyland.ch accounts for rewards in the cost calculations.