Credit Cards

Mike_SIU · Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2012 7:31 pm Post subject: Credit Cards

From everything I've experience they work different here in Austria. Back in the USA I'd always be sent a bill with a minimum amount I'd have to pay, which was a small percentage of the balance.

Here in Austria the banks just take the whole thing at the end of the month and charge you yearly for this privilege

I have an American Express card that I got through their global transfer program, and a mastercard from Sparkasse where I bank, and they both are pay in full.

Now, this is probably a good thing, but in my mind this defeats the whole point of having a credit card.

Are there any cards offered with terms similar to what I was accustomed to back in the States?

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lacrima31 · VVN Residency Permit Joined: Sep 04, 2008 Posts: 29

hi mike,
you would have to call you credit card company and set up the minimum payment withdrawal... i know it works with visa and master card. not sure about amex...

Mike_SIU · Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2012 8:13 pm Post subject:

Which Visa/Mastercards have you found this to work with?

I seem to recall asking my representative at Sparkasse about this and she told me it wasn't possible.

Edit -- I remember where I saw it. When I'm logged onto netbanking and apply for a card it says

"WICHTIG:
Derzeit kann die unten wählbare Zahlungsvariante "Teilzahlung" nicht angeboten werden! Wir bitten um Ihr Verständnis.
Bei Fragen wenden Sie sich bitte an Ihren Kundenbetreuer."

I will email my adviser and see what she says

Mike_SIU · Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2012 8:27 pm Post subject:

Hmm. Even further review makes me think this option was eliminated due to some new laws passed.

Read here

https://www.kreditkarte.at/web/content/de/Online_Service/Downloads/Teilzahlung/index.html

quadsniper · VVN Tourist Visa Joined: Mar 03, 2009 Posts: 7

My card works the same way it does in the States as the OP described. I talked to Visa, not the monkeys at the Bank... they have nothing to do with your credit card in reality and will find refuge in saying no lest they upset their overlords.

Mike_SIU · Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 11:55 am Post subject:

I called Card Complete -- they said all their cards offer this function.

Sending in an app for their classic Visa now.

tiger · VVN Tourist Visa Joined: Feb 17, 2012 Posts: 4

With respect I would have thought Americans should be the last people right now to be preaching the virtue of accumulating private debt. I've always felt we foreigners could learn a lot from the reluctance of the Germans and Austrians to use credit cards at all.

Mike_SIU · Posted: Tue Mar 27, 2012 1:22 pm Post subject:

I must have missed the preaching part.

I see little downside to having a credit line with flexible repayment terms available for emergencies, ect.

jno · Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2012 12:07 pm Post subject:

blueorange · VVN Citizen Joined: Feb 20, 2007 Posts: 726

Banks should only give credit to those who don't need to borrow... Razz

brookie · Posted: Sun Apr 01, 2012 8:43 am Post subject:

Dear tiger, welcome to Vitriolic Vienna, it's your first post but don't let that put you off. Unfortunately this site is largely populated by people who want everything to be exactly like their homeland in the United States of Bliss and just will not accept that different countries have sovereignty to do how they think. Instead of just enjoying, learning from, and accepting the difference, these missionaries try to force their ideals on other sovereign nations. Oh dear.
This post equally applies to all the other four I read this morning

Mike_SIU · Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 8:03 pm Post subject:

Just a followup for future readers. I contacted Card Complete via email, and completed the whole application process via email

They gave me a classic visa with the Teilzahlung function I was looking for.

Eva · VVN Tourist Visa Joined: Apr 04, 2012 Posts: 15

Brooke....

Tsk! Tsk! Shame on you. Exclamation

jno · Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2012 8:21 am Post subject:

If you just want the facility to pay with a MasterCard for free, you could always go the "Prepay" route - http://www.neteller.com/

The whole thing is in English if you want it - nothing to do with Austrian banks at all, is free if you use it sensibly (i.e. not from a cashpoint/ATM), with the only condition being you have to use it once every year(I think - but I have never been charged) - I have their Net+ card solely for the purpose of not paying fees with a certain Irish airline that flies out of Bratislava and Graz. The bank is actually a British bank but the account is in Euro, so no currency conversion charges and it is fine to have it in Austria.

Advantage :
- there is NO ANNUAL FEE for it at all (unlike any Austrian bank I could find)

The only disadvantages:
- helpline is premium rate and based in the US (if you lose card)
- loading your card up with cash can take about 4 days to process
- working with a prepaid card obviously requires brainpower

commodious