The awa7 VISA credit card: How good is the sustainable credit card?
The awa7 credit card is a free Visa credit card which allows you to do something good for the environment every time you use it. For every € 100,- spent on the card, one tree is planted. But that’s not all. The sustainable credit card comes with a credit line and an instalment facility to pay off purchases in small instalments.
With the awa7 you can withdraw cash free of charge all over the world and benefit from offers such as an exclusive online shopping insurance or green electricity at a special price. While this all sounds quite promising, we’ve taken a closer look at the “green credit card”, which is basically a rebranded version of the Hanseatic Bank GenialCard-Credit Card. Hanseatic is also the banking partner behind awa7 and manages payments, interest rates and all other financial related
Is the awa7 too good to be true? We took a closer look and will tell you what we liked, what we didn’t like and what you should know.
awa7 credit card: Our review at a glance
How did we test awa7?
For our test we applied for an awa7 VISA credit card. We focused on usage for Germans and on features and additional offers available in Germany. We compared different users’ experiences and extrapolated information about awa7 suitability for different purposes from online reviews. Furthermore, we read and examined awa7’s terms and conditions and privacy policy. Since providers may change product’s prices and conditions, you should check the exact terms and features of awa7 credit card, when applying to it.
Pros and cons of awa7 credit card by Hanseatic
Pro
- Convenient fee model: awa7 is a free VISA credit card with no yearly fee which allows you to withdraw cash worldwide free of charge
- No proof of income required: freelancers and self-employed can apply for the awa7 credit card
- Additional features and extra offers: awa7 offers you a travel and online shopping insurance and a discount with the energy provider badenova
- No bank account required: awa7 comes with a own checking account and you don’t need to open a new bank account
- Sustainable banking: every 100,- Euro spent, awa7 plants one three
Cons
- Limited initial credit line: when you first apply for awa7 credit card, you will get a maximum credit limit of 2.500,- Euro
- Credit history check: since awa7 checks your credit history (SCHUFA), you will get the credit card if you have a good creditworthiness
- No second card issued: awa7 doesn’t issue partner cards or second cards, in case you lose your card, you have to pay an issuing fee to get a new one
- Additional features may increase the costs: with awa7 no insurances are included, if you apply for one, you have to keep in mind that you will have to pay additional fees
- Not too cheap: At 21,47 APR (as of July 2023) this card is not on the cheap side if you’re planning on using the credit limit
What you need to apply to the awa7 free credit card
No yearly, free cash withdrawals worldwide and also good for the environment: Those who hear about the advantages of the awa7 credit card for the first time would probably like to have it in their wallet immediately.
Is the application process as quick and easy as you would expect? If you want to apply for the awa7, you have to fulfil certain requirements. Since the credit card comes with a credit limit, you must have a regular income and a clean credit history (SCHUFA). awa7 does not provide any information on the exact amount of income. What makes awa7 particularly interesting is that you can apply for it as a self-employed person or without proof of income, as these do not have to be uploaded or sent in.
These are the exact requirements to obtain an awa7:
- At least 18 years
- Regular income
- Residence in Germany
- Valid mobile phone number
- Sufficient creditworthiness (no negative SCHUFA)
How to apply to the awa7 free credit card
You can apply for the awa7 credit card completely online in a few minutes. No paper documents are required for the application, since all relevant details are entered directly online.
The application itself consists of a few simple steps. Furthermore, by using the online identification, you can apply for the awa7 credit card from home. Only the mailing of the card must still be done by post, as the awa7 Visa card is not a virtual credit card.
Digital, fast and simple: this is how the awa7 application works:
1. Enter your personal data
The first step is to ask for personal data – i.e. name, address, mobile phone number and email address. In addition, there is information on the type and duration of the employment relationship, the amount of the monthly income and the monthly expenses for rent.
2. Check in real time
The data is then checked within a few seconds, including a request to the SCHUFA (Germany’s largest credit bureau) for credit information. If you receive a Go, the next step is legitimation.
3. Identification process
Legitimation is carried out either slowly and laboriously by PostIdent or quickly and easily by online identification. For this purpose awa7 works together with the provider WebID, which makes online verification possible in a few minutes.
As soon as the identification is completed, the awa7 credit card including PIN and access data for online banking will be sent to you by post. Within a few days, you will be able to use the card in everyday life and plant trees.
awa7 review: What we think of the free VISA credit card
As nice as the idea of a sustainable credit card is: In the end, as a consumer, the question is how well the “credit card with the green lungs” can be used in everyday life. That’s exactly what we’ll look in this next section.
How does the payment by instalments work with the awa7 credit card?
The VISA card from awa7 is a so-called revolving credit card, which is particularly widespread in the USA, the “mother country of credit cards”.Basically, it is a credit card with an instalment facility. When the card is issued, a credit line is granted and can be used and repaid flexibly.
With the awa7 credit card, the amount of this credit line depends on the creditworthiness and can initially amount to a maximum of 2.500,- Euro. However, this credit line can be used freely – whether it is the next holiday, new entertainment electronics or a new bicycle: with the payment by instalments of the awa7 credit card, all these wishes can be comfortably fulfilled, as long as the costs remain within the credit line. With proper payment behaviour – i.e. always reliably paid instalments – the credit limit can also be increased later.
Example: using awa7 credit card for hire purchase
Let’s assume you have found an unbeatable offer for exactly the 8k TV you have been dreaming of for a long time. But despite the special offer, its 2.000,- Euro price is still quite high – especially if you don’t have the money for the purchase on hand.
However, you can still make your dream come true with the credit line of your awa7 credit card. To do this, you buy the television and pay monthly by credit card – easier than buying in instalments.
After the purchase, your credit line will be charged with 2,000,- Euro. With a repayment rate of 3%, you will then have to pay at least 60,- Euro a month. Larger instalments or a complete settlement of the credit card account are of course possible at any time.
What alternatives are there to the awa7 credit card?
You find the free Visa card from awa7 interesting in principle, but would you like to have a higher credit limit than the initial 2.500,- Euro?
In this case, we can recommend both the fee-free Mastercard Gold from Advanzia Bank, with which our customers have had good experiences. In contrast to the awa7 Visa Card, it is also available for customers from Austria.
What’s behind awa7 VISA credit card?
The free credit card from awa7 is a joint product of the Hanseatic Bank and the Essen-based advertising agency “DZ-Media”. The innovative ideas of an established creative agency meet the trustworthiness and experience of a bank that has been in existence for more than 50 years.
Their joint vision ist to develop a sustainable credit card that makes a contribution to the environment when used daily at no extra cost to the consumer. This is made possible by the cooperation with the non-profit organisation “Eden Reforestation Projects”. This organisation has already planted almost half a billion trees for various companies and organisations around the world.
The unusual name of the credit card is composed of the Hebrew first name “Awa”, which means “the life-giving one”, and the number 7, which stands for the seven days of a week. Combined, “awa7” means “giving life seven days a week”, which of course alludes to the trees planted by the credit card.
FAQs about the awa7 VISA credit card
The initial limit of awa7 starts at 1,000 Euro. The VISA credit card can reach 2.500,- Euro according to your creditworthiness when issued. This means that you can be granted a lower credit limit.
Based on our experience, the maximum credit limit is 10.000,- Euro. which you will get after a longer time
awa7 VISA credit card is the result of a project carried out by the Hanseatic Bank and the advertising agency DZ-Media. Therefore, the issuer of the credit card is the Hanseatic Bank, a Hamburg-based German bank.
When applying for the credit card, awa7 carries out a check of your creditworthiness. This means that your SCHUFA entry will be examined and has to be positive. In the case of bad credit, you can have a look at other credit cards, here you can find our guide.
To apply for an awa7 VISA credit card you need a bank account in order to pay your credit back. Every month you will receive your credit card’s invoice and the amount of your purchases will be directly debited from your checking account. You do not need to open a checking account at the Hanseatic Bank.
Are you a awa7 user? What are your experiences with the awa7 credit card so far? Or are you planning to apply to the awa7 credit card but still have questions? Let us know!
Update from July 31st, 2023: awa7 has increased their APR to 21,49% per year. We’ve updated our article accordingly to reflect the change.