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Our Take on Poinz Card Visa
A free Visa wired into Switzerland's biggest cashback marketplace. The base rate is the small print.
The Poinz Card Visa ranks #23 among Switzerland's 31 shopping credit cards. Same wallet of Poinz partner offers and digital vouchers as the Amex sibling, but on Visa rails, so acceptance never gets in the way. The catch is the 0.25% base cashback, which keeps it firmly in mid-pack on raw rate.
What's the Real Cost?
There isn't one. No annual fee, no income requirement, no monthly minimum. The Poinz Visa is a free card whose real job is to get you using the Poinz app, where the actual returns live: targeted offers, partner discounts, and digital vouchers worth up to 10% cashback that you trigger before paying.
The 0.25% blanket cashback is genuinely low. It exists more as a floor than a feature. If you only ever use the card as a dumb payment instrument, you'll earn less than on most free Swiss cards. The card is built for people who'll open the Poinz app first.
What Actually Stands Out
Poinz is a pure shopping brand, not a bank with a shopping side hustle. The app aggregates 1,500+ brands and 400+ partners and the card is the payment extension of that ecosystem. Stack a partner voucher with a partner deal at the right merchant and the effective return jumps far above the headline 0.25%.
The Visa rail matters here. Where the Poinz Amex stumbles, at smaller restaurants, independent shops and a fair chunk of Swiss SMEs, the Visa just works. You can also stack the card across the household at no cost, treating it as a shared shopping wallet instead of a personal one.
What Most Reviews Miss
There is no purchase protection on this card. About half of Swiss shopping cards we track ship some level of coverage on goods you buy with the card; this one doesn't. If a CHF 600 air fryer dies five weeks in, that's between you and the merchant.
The 2.5% FX fee quietly erodes the cashback advantage on anything billed in EUR or USD. And the CHF 30 late payment fee sits above the shopping-segment average of about CHF 23, so missed direct debits cost more here than on most peers. Set up the standing payment and forget about it.
The Bottom Line
Get this Visa instead of, or alongside, the Poinz Amex if you want to use Poinz at the merchants the Amex variant can't reach. The card lives or dies on whether you actually open the app and stack offers. If you do, our ranking of the best shopping credit cards in Switzerland shows where it lands against the rest of the shopping field.
Verdict: Worth it as the acceptance-safe Poinz card, not as a standalone cashback play.
PROS
- No annual fee
- 0.25 welcome bonus points
- Apple Pay compatible
- Contactless payments for convenient transactions
- 0.25% cashback
- Cashback can be paid out from CHF 100 or exchanged for vouchers with additional cashback
- Access to various additional insurances for a fee, enhancing travel and personal protection
CONS
- High foreign exchange fee (2.5%)
- No travel insurance
- No medical coverage
- No airport lounge access
- No concierge service
Card Details
At a Glance
Annual fee
Free
Rewards rate
0.25% cashback
FX Fee
2.5%
Welcome bonus
0.25 % cash
Fees & Costs
Fees & Costs
First year annual fee
No annual fee
Annual fee (after first year)
No annual fee
Foreign exchange fee
2.5%
Cash Withdrawal (Domestic)
4% (min CHF 10)
Cash Withdrawal (International)
6.5% (min CHF 10)
Late Payment Fee
CHF 30
Additional Cards
-
Rewards Program
Rewards Program
Rewards type
cashback
Base rewards rate
0.25 %
Welcome bonus
0.25 % cash
Earn 0.25% cashback on all purchases
Insurance & Protection
Insurance & Protection
Travel insurance coverage
No travel insurance
Medical insurance coverage
No medical coverage
Purchase protection
No purchase protection
Card Features
Card Features
Card Network
Visa
Card Type
Standard
Currency
CHF
Minimum income requirement
No income requirement
Monthly spending limit
CHF 10'000
Airport lounge access
Concierge service
Key Features
- 0.25% cashback
- Cashback can be paid out from CHF 100 or exchanged for vouchers with additional cashback
- Access to various additional insurances for a fee, enhancing travel and personal protection
- Multiple mobile payment options (Samsung Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Garmin Pay)
- No annual fee
Calculate If This Card Is Worth It for You
= CHF 30'000/year
You Pay
CHF 0
per year
You Get Back
CHF 75
estimated value
Bottom Line
+CHF 75
in your pocket
Annual calculation:
CHF 30'000/yr × 0.25%
Move the slider to see how your spending affects the card's value. Miles: 1.5 ct, points: 1 ct.
Rating by Category
Compare to Other Cards
Frequently Asked Questions
- Does the Poinz Visa cost anything if I miss a payment?
- CHF 30 per missed invoice, above the shopping-segment average of about CHF 23. Interest on the outstanding balance accrues on top until you settle. Set up the SEPA direct debit from your Swiss account during onboarding and you'll never pay it.
- What does a foreign cash withdrawal really cost on the Poinz Visa?
- 6.50% with a CHF 10 minimum, a full point above the shopping-segment average around 5.55%. A CHF 100 withdrawal in Lisbon costs CHF 10, a CHF 500 one costs CHF 32.50. Interest also starts the same day, with no grace period. Use a debit card for cash.
- Is there a monthly spending ceiling on the Poinz Visa?
- CHF 10,000 per month as the standard limit, which is unusually disclosed up front for a Swiss credit card. That's fine for a daily-spend wallet, but if you're routing a furniture buy or a holiday booking through Poinz you may need to call and request a temporary lift.
- Do I need a minimum income to get approved?
- No income requirement, which is rare in the shopping segment (the average there sits at roughly CHF 800 per month in declared income). Approval still runs a ZEK check and you need to be Swiss-resident with a CHF bank account for the direct debit. Useful for students and people on irregular freelance income.
How We Rated This Card
Wondering why Poinz Card Visa got its score? We rate Shopping cards using a weighted formula. Here's what counts:
Same formula for every card in this category. No exceptions.
See our full rating methodologyReady to Apply?
Apply for the Poinz Card Visa today and start enjoying its benefits.