The right credit card for New Zealand

What do I need for a credit card for New Zealand

New Zealand has, unlike Germany, a good acceptance of credit cards. Similarly, in most places in New Zealand, a Master or Visa credit card is accepted without any problem. Only the American Express credit cards are accepted only occasionally.

That's why in this article, we are only dedicated to the credit cards that make sense for New Zealand. Even with a Maestro debit card, you can theoretically withdraw or pay money in New Zealand, but we cannot recommend it, there are significantly cheaper ways to get your own money in New Zealand.

So let's say again, it makes sense in New Zealand to have Master Card or Visa Card with you.

 

 

What advantages does a credit card have

A credit card gives you the advantage of getting or paying your money worldwide. But we only consider credit cards as meaningful, if the fees and costs are consistent. Unlike many others, we do not just recommend any credit card, but we recommend which ones at the lowest possible cost, so normally the annual fee is free and paying and withdrawing money is free as well.

Also, the foreign use fees for withdrawing money or payment are not to be underestimated, some banks like to take a percentage of 1.75% or sometimes even more. Many credit cards disqualify themselves alone on these service charges. But there are also a few free ones that do not charge unnecessary fees, this are the ones we try to concentrate on.

 

Useful tips for choosing the right credit card

Ideally, you have at least one credit card as a Visa and one as a Master Card. No credit card should have a Foreign Service charge, whether it is for withdrawing money or paying at the store. At least one card should be a Revolve or Charge credit card, so you can do a deposit when renting a car or similar.

Store both cards separate, so if one is stolen, you still don’t have a problem.

When withdrawing money you will be shown before completion if there are costs for the withdrawal of the machine operator, if you see such a message, then cancel the transaction and use another ATM. Depending on the bank, different ATMs are free, so we can’t recommend a bank branch that is always free for everybody.

If you are offered to convert the local currency into euros when paying or withdrawing money, you should refuse. Pay all amounts always in the currency of the country you are in. When converted by the shop owner, an unfavourable exchange rate is normally taken.

We have always been able to find an ATM that was free, so no worries about that.

 

What types of credit cards do exist

There are basically four different types of credit cards; these differ mainly in the type of billing and the formalities when applying for the credit card.

 

For New Zealand, there are four types of credit cards that are relevant to us:

• Charge credit card
• Revolving credit card
• Prepaid credit card
• Debit Credit Card

 

Charge credit card

A so-called charge credit card is the most common model in Germany. Prerequisite is a credit check and a positive Schufa check. Depending on the creditworthiness, an individual credit line for the credit card is offered. Within this credit limit, the owner can freely dispose. All sales are billed once a month, with the credit card being cleared via the current account of the credit card holder.

 

Revolving credit card

The so-called revolving credit card is rather rare in Germany. It differs from the above charge credit card in billing. Here with the revolving credit card, only a part of an initial payment is deducted automatically, the remaining amount must be paid by the owner himself by bank transfer. Thus, the loan amount can be repaid according to the wishes of the owner in small payments, but also leads to spend more money than is available. These credit cards also require a positive Schufa check and a credit check. The budget is assigned credit-dependent and an individual request rate can be deposited for debiting. Higher amounts must then be paid each month, if this is not done; the bank calculates interest as a normal loan.

 

Prepaid credit card

The so-called prepaid credit cards offer the third type in our article. These credit cards are credit based, so there is no Schufa check or credit check before. You can use this card to spend a maximum of the amount charged. A small limitation is the prepaid cards but many car rental companies or other companies that require a deposit, do not accept prepaid credit cards.

 

Debit credit card

A debit credit card is, so to speak, the newest type of credit card. It works like a debit card and directly debits the payment to your bank account. But carries a credit card logo and is recognized as such in all credit card devices. Here you also have only the possibility to spend money in the amount of the account balance including the Dispo. Advantage here is also the great acceptance. Prior to the issuance of such a debit credit card is also a credit and Schufa check.

 

Which credit card we use in New Zealand

When we first visited New Zealand, we only had one credit card. It worked, but we would not do it again with our current knowledge. Safety first, that's why we now have several credit cards. Here we recommend the card that we use for several years. Afterwards, we recommend a few other useful credit cards that also meet our conditions.

 

DKB checking account & visa card

The DKB has for some years offered a free checking account including a free Visa credit card. In the meantime, the DKB offers its combination free of charge for the first 12 months worldwide, after which the credit card is only free of charge in Europe. But there is a way to use the credit card permanently and worldwide free of charge. A cash receipt of $ 700 a month on the checking account brings you a free credit card, perfect for New Zealand. The DKB credit card we use since 2015 and have never had problems. It should be noted that only cash withdrawals are possible from 50 €, smaller amounts are cancelled with an error message. For larger sums of money, you can charge more money to the credit card from your checking account. The daily limit is 1000 €, the monthly limit is determined only by your balance and the daily limit.

For all information about the free checking account and credit card, it goes along here, please follow the link*.

 

Revolut Standard

The Revolut credit card we use only recently. Nevertheless, it is an interesting variant. Above all, in addition to a free account, she provides a credit card with very favourable conditions. The credit card itself is free, but you have to pay shipment costs to you.

Payments worldwide are very cheap. In addition to the Euro account, you can also create checking accounts for some other currencies. Also New Zealand dollars are included. The credit card does not charge for payment in 29 different currencies up to 6000 €, also cash withdrawals up to 200 € per month are free of charge. After that, the bank charges a small fee. In addition to the free standard version, there is a premium and metal variant, but we have seen no reason to upgrade to this date. The standard version is currently free of charge monthly. All settings and transactions are made conveniently via smartphone app. Only TAN's are sent via SMS, so if you change your German mobile phone number in New Zealand, do not forget to change your account to the new number. Incidentally, Revolut is an English company, and it is not certain yet whether Brexit will be changed.

To find out about the Revolut credit card, and to submit the application, please follow the link below*.

 

What other credit card recommendations do we have?

In addition to the two cards we use ourselves; there are other useful credit cards to travel with. The offers change every now and then; we exchange the recommendations as soon as we realize that a condition has changed so that it would no longer be useful. Which credit cards are currently available, we show you here.

 

Santander 1Plus

The Santander 1Plus comes as a free credit card in the style of a revolving credit card. Say for the monthly transfer for credit card clearing you are responsible, the bank only books a minimum amount. Otherwise, there are all advantages such as free payment and withdraw money worldwide. Also a free additional card for the family is possible. There is also no annual fee. In addition to the DKB, we have recommended this card most often by other travellers. Go to the details and the free application here, please follow the link*.

 

Barclay Card

The Barclay Card is also available in an interesting version. The card is available without an annual fee and with the possibility to pay worldwide free of charge and to withdraw money free as well. A partner card can also be requested free of charge. The card is, we feel, the newest among its competitors, from the people we met, but we also heard good things here. Important to note here is that also a flexible repayment is standard, the monthly balance of the credit account is thus part of your task to look for.

The Barclay Card you can look under the following link and apply, please follow the link*.

 

Questions, comments or ideas

Questions, comments or ideas for other good credit cards, then we look forward to your comment underneath this article. Let's talk about your comment below this article. Frequent questions will be added later in the article.

Thank you and have a good time in New Zealand!