Karstadt MasterCards

Switch on rant mode...

Ok - Just wanted to know if anyone has attempted to apply (and succeeded) in getting a Karstadt MasterCard. The reason for this is that I applied recently and have been rejected with no explanation. My German fiancée called them (as although my German is improving I am not articulate enough for this) and they refused to give any reasoning. Even when my fiance stated that 1) I have a job working at the Technical University of Munich at the Klinikum Rechts der Isar as a post-doc (3 year contract) 2) I have a PhD in Biology 3) I have an EU residency permit d) I am engaged to a German girl and 4) have been living here for nearly 8 months now, they still refused to comment. We believe the only reason is that I am from Australia (on a British passport) and they think I am going to run off with debt on my card. We are now putting all this in German and writing to KarstadtQuelle Bank. Anyone believe I may be right or do you think I am barking up the wrong tree here?

To top it off they wish me to join there happy digits program anyway. I can tell you the only digit they are getting from me is my middle one...and it is far from happy.

Only wish I told my fiancée to end the discussion with "and you sir are a wanker".
(Just got told she spoke to a girl so that wouldn’t have worked anyway ...maybe I will put that on the letter)

rant over...thank you and goodnight

Why not just get a CC from your bank, and tell KS to F-Off...

Oh trust me, we don't want one from Karstadt anymore - its the principle of the rejection as that can not be financial

Have you checked your own SCHUFA (credit) ratings? If it's bad or you don't have one then you won't get a card from anyone else except your own bank (if they they can trust you as a result of your trading record with them)... Most likely you are not even on their radar, which is almost as bad from a credit point of view as being bankrupt...

YL6

Thanks for that info... so basically they probably do not want to give me one as I have no rating - I will have a look into this. Basically I need to somehow get a good rating... somehow

I can't imagine any circumstances under which you would be accepted. This is how the bank saw your application:

1. You have a poorly-paid university job, you may actually just be a student
2. You like libraries
3. You're not living here illegally (this does not automatically entitle you to credit)
4. Barely lived here for six months
5. You happen to have a girlfriend who happens to be German (grasping at straws here...)

I don't mean to be rude to you or anything. I worked in banks for three years before escaping to Germany, and this is just how I think the banks would have seen your application. You will need to develop much more of a credit history before you will be accepted for a credit card. Having a stable address (don't keep moving) and utility bills (phone, electricity etc.) under your own name and linked to that address will help. Other than that, time. In the UK at least, the credit companies want at least 2 years' credit history, and few will take the trouble to look for it if it's in a different country.

As someone else suggested, you'll probably have more luck with your bank from home, especially if you still have the same address back there (e.g. parents).

I am British born and bred, until 18 months ago lived and worked in the UK. My wife is German and we had been married 6 years and she had lived and worked in England for 8 years. We applied for a phone connection from BT in her name but they said we couldnt have one unless she paid a £250 returnable deposit as she was German. Bank refused to give a loan in her name for the same reason so I cried "racism" and the bank then gave the loan and later, a mortgage??!!

Its not just the Germans that are odd!!

Hi Lawsey, the person in question probably didn't give out information about why your application was refused because they didn't have access to it. It is often a matter of entering your details into a program, and the program coming to a decision based on a number of factors (there is a scoring and weighting process behind it). Or in borderline cases or based on certain criteria the application may land on a human operators terminal. It was very probably a combination of factors that led to the refusal: I wouldn't take it personally. Lack of Schufa rating is usually a small negative point but not usually a deciding point as much as a negative Schufa rating. Based on the company policy, your limited contract, expat status etc. etc. could have been important. Interestingly enough, how long you have been working in your current position and how long you have lived at your current address are often heavily weighted factors.

PS I write the software. sorry

Any particular reason you wanted a Karstadt MasterCard? Last year I got a Kaufhof Visa card. Not a "real" credit card because they have access to my account and help themselves to the money owed them at the end of each month rather than me sending it to them. I have I'm sure lousy credit with SHUFA (one too many fights with Deutsche Telekom) and am also dangerously self-employed, but they still sent me one for a year that has automatically renewed itself to a 3 year card.

Try a few others and see if they will give you a card.

The kaufhof credit card, is a Kaufhof branded payback credit card with the lbw bank.

Spending makes points, and points makes prizes.

I got my card originally and settled it every month, after 2 years they offered me a bigger credit limit, and the option not to clear it every month, but to pay intrest.

I still clear it everymonth as I normally only use it for overseas purchases.

nurse

Hi Showem, the reason for the Karstadt card was it had no annual fee and came straight out with the option of not paying everything off at the end of the month. The reason this appeals is that I usually don't use a credit card and if I can afford something at the end of a month I usually will pay it in cash at the end of the month. I just wanted a security blanket whereby if I really needed something that I knew I couldn't really afford I could pay it off over 2 months or something. i.e. emergency things - for instance my IBM laptop's motherboard died and it will cost 700euro to fix (according to IBM) but I can't afford that this month but I need it for work desperately...the card in this instance would be perfect.

On a side note anyone work for IBM and could fix it on the cheap???

Which is probably why they are particularly careful who they give it to...

Ya I get their/your point - just thought I may just qualify, I mean I know a student who has one!

Anyway, after having a night to sleep on it I think possibly, maybe, perhaps I over reacted but hey it just sounded like that. I will just have to work on getting a better credit rating but one thing is for sure it will be a while before I get more than a 3 year contract as that is the typical research grant length...oh well. Life goes on.

We got one from our bank (Hypovereins) after being here 6 mos. They required that we have an account with them and that our paycheck is deposited in it automatically every month. They also allow you to pay off all of it or not at the end of the month and then you are charged interest on the remaining.

@stb
I don't think that it has anything to do with his salary. Post-docs are well regarded here and make a very nice salary by German standards. I believe it has more to do with his being here only for eight months. Go with your banks' credit card.

Few "Credit Cards" here are what would be considered a Credit Card in the UK. Most are debit cards and the money you spend is taken from your bank account at the end of the month. Charge card is the right description for most of these cards. They also generally incur an annual fee something long since scrapped on UK cards. Ok, we have a tendency to spend an awful lot of money we don't have in the UK so in some ways I think the German way is actually a good thing, however, we are not all liable to spend 5 grand just because it's on offer. One card I found which seems to offer a reasonable deal including no interest for the first 6 months and no annual fee is x-cite offered by RBS (Royal Bank Of Scotland). Check it out.

This is strange indeed. I have one of these cards and didn't have to do anything special for it. I am not German, nor am I married to a German or anything of the kind. I got one in Berlin, maybe they are more lenient there in giving away these cards? I remember being angry about it, they basically convinced me to get a MasterCard and not just the normal Kundenkarte, because they very often accidently booked the money off from the MasterCard instead of just using the card for getting the bonuspoints. I always pay with the EC-card and never use the thing, because I don't want to owe them anything. I don't have lots of money either so it can't be that either. . Really don't know what could be the problem.

Yup, thats what I am beginning to think is the real point. I guess I just have to convince them I am in for the long haul... or maybe it is a sign my fiancee is right (she is scared of credit cards and didn't want me to apply in the first place...)

When you applied did you get the "Charge Card" version or the "Vario" version (i.e. interest on what you don't pay off. I think because I asked for the Vario it counted against me - maybe stricter criteria.

Yes I have accepted the fact now...

I had no problem getting the Karstadt MC - however, I was here for 3 years alread, had the same job and same apartment for those three years. I am American, so I think it has more to do (as it always does) with stability - how long you've lived here, how long you've had your job, and your established credit rating.

Sorry you didn't get it, better luck next time.

Now that's a thing to ask me! I have no idea! It was so long ago and I never get a bill from them because I don't use the card for paying anything. I know that I could use it for buying stuff and only pay off the bill in rates if I didn't have the money all at once. That's as far as my knowledge goes. Just went to fetch the thing, but it doesn't say anything on the card either (probably wouldn't anyway).

But how long had you been resident in Germany before you applied for the card?