Cembra Mastercard Gold

CHF 135 for a gold card with no rewards and no insurance. Why does this exist?

The Cembra Mastercard Gold is unusual: it's a gold-tier card stripped of the benefits that typically justify gold pricing. No rewards program. No travel insurance. No lounge access. At CHF 135 annually, it serves a narrow audience who specifically wants credit functionality without complexity.

Why Would Anyone Get This?

Let me be direct: most people shouldn't. The CHF 135 buys you a higher spending limit (CHF 5,000-20,000) and the "gold" status, but nothing else. Free cards like Certo One offer cashback. CHF 100 cantonal bank cards include CHF 10,000 trip insurance. What does this card provide? A gold Mastercard that exists.

The intended audience: customers who have rewards fatigue, get travel insurance through work, and want a simple credit card without points, tiers, or redemption catalogs. Some people genuinely prefer this. They're rare.

What Actually Stands Out

The simplicity is the feature. No rewards means no expiring points, no redemption math, no catalog browsing. You use the card, you pay the bill, done. For customers exhausted by optimization culture, this has appeal.

Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, and Garmin Pay all work. The 2% FX fee is average. No income requirement makes it accessible to customers who might not qualify for other gold cards.

What Most Reviews Miss

CHF 135 for essentially no benefits is poor value by any standard metric. You could get free cards with cashback, or pay CHF 100 for cantonal bank cards with insurance. The math doesn't favor this card unless you place negative value on rewards programs (finding them annoying rather than useful).

Cembra Money Bank issues many co-branded cards (IKEA, Certo, TCS, etc.) with better features. This standalone product exists for customers who don't want those partners' branding but want Cembra's credit infrastructure.

The Bottom Line

A stripped-down gold card for a very specific audience who values simplicity over features. Most people should look at free cashback cards or affordable cards with actual benefits instead. Compare alternatives in our best credit cards in Switzerland guide.

Verdict: Only makes sense if you actively dislike rewards programs and have insurance elsewhere. Most people should choose differently.