For years I’ve lived here in Czech Republic, I noticed that Czech people are generally against using credit cards. I understand, credit cards aren’t for everyone, especially those who have a hard time controlling their spendings. But if used correctly and wisely, credit cards can actually bring you some extra money.
One thing to keep in mind before using a credit card is to understand that credit cards aren’t an extra income. It is a form of loans, which means if you don’t pay off everything you owe, there will be interests you need to pay. I would only recommend using credit cards if you can pay off everything every month, so you won’t stock up some debts.
For me personally, I started using credit cards because I wanted to manage my cashflow. There are times when I need to make big purchases, be it for work or personal use, and I want to ‘spread’ out my spendings as to not have spikes in my monthly cashflows. However, if you’re an expat here and don’t have permanent residency, finding the right bank that would issue you a credit card is another tricky part. Most banks require you to at least have a PR first. Luckily for me, I’ve been banking with Česká spořitelna and they had no problem issuing one to foreigners.
Using the card is free as long as you spend minimum 3,000Kc monthly, which isn’t all that difficult to do. You get a card for free and could also get an extra one if you want. An extra benefit for me was that Česká spořitelna was charging 100Kc monthly, and this was reduced by 50Kc if you receive 7,000Kc in your account (I got my salary to this account so this wasn’t a problem), and further 50Kc if you use another product from them, so using their credit card brought my banking expenses with them to 0.
A standard credit card from Česká spořitelna is a Mastercard World credit card, which is considered a ‘premium’ credit card. This means, there are some perks you could enjoy just by owning this card, one of which is free entry to airport lounges in Vienna Airport and reduced price to Mastercard airport lounge in Prague airport (350Kc per entry, or 100Kc if you’re registered to the Priceless Specials program).
Another thing I like from using this card is the 1% cashback program if you spend online or abroad (max. 350Kc). Buying airline tickets, booking hotels, or even paying Netflix or Spotify subscriptions then entitle me to get 1% cashback. I have another trick to maximize this 1% cashback program, but I will write it in a separate article.
Again, I pay off all my credit card debts every month, so credit cards for me has only brought benefits so far. It might not seem like much, but using credit cards, especially one from CS, has been bringing me some extra cash at the end of the month, and also I could enjoy some free snacks/drinks whilst waiting at airports.
Disclaimer: Things I write here are coming from personal experiences. I am not a professional financial advisor and I am not paid to promote any products by any banks.
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