As most of you know, the credit card market in France is still in its infancy, lagging far behind the American market, where credit is part of the culture, and far behind the British, who are still trying to copy their neighbors across the Atlantic.

So one of our loyal readers took a look at these cards to see which might be of interest if you’re based in France.

American Express Card – Air France

Of course, it’s the best-known co-branded card in France, so much so that this range of cards featuring the airline’s logo is widely advertised. Advantages: you earn Air France miles directly, you can pay for your Air France and KLM tickets in 3 instalments free of charge, and finally, depending on the range of the card, an XP bonus is awarded to facilitate your annual qualification.

Downside: the benefits are limited, and the cards are quite expensive for the benefits rendered.

At TravelGuys, we’ve abandoned these co-branded cards in favor of genuine American Express cards, which offer many more advantages, such as automatic status in certain loyalty programs, the Priority Pass program for access to most of the world’s airport lounges, and much more!

Accor Live Limiteless Visa card

Accor recently brought out its co-branded cards with BNP, after several announcements that were not followed up.

Our loyal reader has just subscribed to the most premium card, the Accor ALL Ultimate Visa, and here is his feedback:

Positive points

• The card gives 1 Reward Point for every €1 spent (2000 Accor Reward points = €40 discount). It’s the equivalent of 2% cashback in rewards points;
• The card limit depends on your declared income: for example, if you declare a monthly income of €5,000, the limit will be €5,000. Someone who spends €5,000 a month (for business use, for example), will receive €5,000 Rewards points each month, which means a €100 discount per month at Accor hotels. Quite interesting;
• There’s a one-off welcome bonus of 5,000 Rewards points / €100 when you order your card (nice);
• There is a one-time welcome bonus of +30 nights (rather nice to go from Gold to Platinum quickly, but not taken into account to go Diamond);
• This is a deferred debit card: expenses are stored until the 25th of the month, without interest, and then the full amount is debited on the 1st of the following month;
• No need to change bank or be a BNP Paribas customer: on the 1st of the month, the amount is debited by SEPA direct debit from the RIB provided, which can be from a bank other than BNP (editor’s note: like all credit cards).
• No bank commission on foreign payments.
• Some Accor special offers (e.g. “Earn Rewards points x3”) are reserved exclusively for Accor Visa cardholders, such as this summer;
• Insurance and concierge services are included (but must be redundant for many users):

Downsides

• The fees are high: €34 per month (i.e. €408 per year). In other words, the card only becomes profitable above €1,700 spent per month (1,700 reward points = €34). Below, you lose money with this card;
• The 5000 rewards points / 100€ bonus is only given on subscription, not on renewal;
• No bonus when you spend in Accor hotels / restaurants / bars: the amount of Cashback in Reward points is always 2%, whether you pay in the Accor or Marriott ecosystem. This should change in 2022, according to this interview with Accor customer service, according to our LoyaltyLobby colleagues;
• The “AccorPay” application is still very new and has a number of bugs, both during installation and operation. Some have already given up!
• No immediate debit option, for those who don’t like having to manage a deferred debit card (editor’s note: like all credit cards).

Lufthansa’s Miles & More + Advanzia Bank

After a disastrous trial a few years ago, Lufthansa has launched a co-branded card with Advanzia Bank for the Luxembourg market.

They say you can buy it if you’re a French resident, but we’d love to hear from any of you who have taken it out.

Turkish Airlines’ Miles & Smiles + Pasha Bank:

Far more exotic is the Turkish Airlines card in partnership with Pasha Bank in Azerbaijan.

In principle, it is possible to be a foreign resident, as the card is actually a debit card with an account that must be pre-funded.

There’s little information on the costs involved in making payments abroad, and as you don’t have an address in Azerbaijan, you’ll have to collect your card from a branch in Baku. Not very convenient.

Bottom line

As you can see, the market is not yet mature. But soon the Visa ALL range versus the Air France AmEx range!

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