Could it be a good news?
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Migros already offers its “Visa Free” alternative with relatively similar conditions (it seems to me that the insurance coverage is just a bit better).
The only condition is that you must be/become a Migros customer.
Do you get more cashback from the Migros/Coop cards in points, compared to the cashback cards?
Nice to know. I wonder how the insurance compares with Cembra’s IKEA CC insurance, which @Daniel said it was the best for free cards.
I don’t understand linking an insurance with a credit card. Which coverage(s) make(s) it worth it in your opinion?
Edit: @ma0 Thanks.
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They cannot be doing worse than the Cembra web application anyway, so it’s going to be good to get some fresh changes.
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Travel insurance mostly, but some have also online shopping insurance.
Funny side-fact: I started to apply for Cumulus Mastercard from Cembra (had to do it twice, because on the first form there was a typo due to wrongly selected field when refreshing) a few weeks ago. Just wanted to have another free CC, after my old bank changed their fees for CCs. So, I finished the form, but never actually send them the printed form via mail (had a bad gut feeling).
Two weeks ago, I received two letters from Cembra welcoming me as a new customer (one with the typo, the 2nd one with the right details). Again, I never send them back anything. Funny that they are so desperate to acquire new customers, and even more ironic that Migros cancelled the contract with Cembra. I wonder how that would have worked out if I had chosen to get a new card from Cembra…
As a holder of the Cumulus Mastercard, I haven’t yet received official communication on the topic so I guess you would have received a Cumulus card from Cembra, and we’ll see how Migros handles the transition from there.
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When Coop changed from Swisscard to Topcard CC issuer, they had a schism. As a former Coop CC owner, I automatically received from Swisscard their then new (now old) Cashback cards and an application form for a new Coop CC from Coop. I guess it will be the same.
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It’s simple: The credit card issuer makes money when you use their card to pay (and if you carry balances). Giving you insurance which you would otherwise have to pay for encourages you to pay by credit card instead of cash/debit card.
Because the card issuer has a lot of card users (which spreads the risk), they can negotiate very low insurance premiums which only cost them a fraction of the profit they make off transactions. The insurance company earns premiums with very little risk.
So it’s a win/win situation for the card issuer and the insurance company. In the grand scheme of things, it’s not a huge win for consumers as a whole, because ultimately they pay for these perks through markups on price tags because of merchant fees. But for you as one of the smart few who take advantage of these perks, it can save a lot of money.
For example, the Ikea credit card gives you 50K of search and rescue, and medical evacuation insurance. That is the same amount you get from many paid travel insurance offers.
Two insurances from credit cards which I personally have saved a lot of money with are:
- Travel insurance (trip cancellation/interruption cover, compensation for unexpected expenses during trip delays/cancellations, etc.) because I would otherwise pay for this
- Collision damage waiver insurance for rental cars, because I would otherwise pay for this.
In years when we travelled a lot, I saved up to 500 francs thanks to these two insurance perks alone.
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Was it with Ikea card or some other one?
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No. I got those from the Libertycard Plus which I used for a time, but cancelled when Covid started as the travel perks no longer helped me much then so it wasn’t worth paying the card fee.
The Ikea credit card only includes search and rescue, ambulance and repatriation, and compensation for extra expenses resulting from common carrier delays and cancellations. But the card has no annual fee, so other than the obligation to pay for travel with the card, you aren’t paying anything for these insurances.
You can find a detailed review of the Ikea credit card here:
Ok, I see. I wanted to check, but my point is that insurance coverage provided by free credit cards is insufficient and should be ignored. Then again there is a question, if you pay for a credit card with an insurance or you pay for an insurance.
I agree that the most important thing to consider is what insurance cover you actually need. How to go about getting it would be the next step. I agree that an annual travel insurance gives you more flexibility (e.g. you can’t book a trip by car with a credit card). It’s largely a matter of whether or not you already use credit cards for purchases, in which case you may as well use one which includes complimentary benefits. Interestingly, the insurances you got with the Libertycard credit cards were not contingent on using the credit card to pay. I’ve never seen that on any other credit cards.
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I would question and double-check if these are really “worth it”, for the international purposes.
The “value” of the insurance premium you get “for free” on said credit card could easily be consumed and exceeded by the prohibivite forex transaction fees the CC company would charge going from CHF->X, when paying for stuff abroad.
I believe it’s over 2% for e.g. a UBS Mastercard - not sure how it is with the ones you are mentioning?
So I think I would rather pay 50 or so chf/year for a travel cancellation (or other forms you are mentioning above) insurance separately.
Depends of course where break even is.
I received a new cumulus mastercard from cembra today, valid until 2025…
Has anyone ever cancelled a credit card, maybe even a Cembra one? What was the procedure like?
Because if Cembra doesn’t offer the cumulus points anymore, I might consider changing. Especially since they don’t even offer eBill…
Or should I just keep it for emergencies somewhere since it’s free?
Can you expand on this? 
shitty page name and hard to find page:
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