Review of the Fortuneo Fosfo card (+ referral offer)
Looking for a referral code for Fortuneo?
You can use this one: 13021400
It’s valid for the Fosfo card (€50 offered), the Gold CB card (€130 offered), the Bourse (€130 offered), and the Assurance Vie (€130 offered)
When you travel for a long time, the question of which payment methods to bring along comes up.
For me, ideally you should leave with 3 different bank cards:
- A Visa bank card
- A Mastercard bank card
- A ‘real’ credit card (required to rent a car in some countries)
And for each of these cards, if possible choose one that is free and doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees.
Fortuneo is rarely mentioned in traveler circles, yet it is now one of the few 100% free cards with no foreign fees and no income requirements (for its Fosfo offer).
This makes Fortuneo an ideal bank for getting a Mastercard for your trip.
While Fortuneo isn’t the most well-known brand among the general public, you should know it’s a subsidiary of one of France’s largest banks: Crédit Mutuel.
The different cards offered by Fortuneo
Fortuneo offers three different cards:
- The Fosfo Mastercard
- The Gold CB Mastercard
- The World Elite CB Mastercard
These three cards differ in their income requirements
| Card | Income requirement |
|---|---|
| Fosfo Mastercard | None |
| Gold CB Mastercard | €1,800 net monthly income |
| World Elite CB Mastercard | €4,000 net monthly income |
There are also conditions for the card to be free
| Card | Free condition |
|---|---|
| Fosfo Mastercard | Make at least one card payment per month. Otherwise, €3 per month. |
| Gold CB Mastercard | Make at least one card payment per month. Otherwise, €9 per month |
| World Elite CB Mastercard | Monthly deposit of €4,000 into the account |
Honestly, the differences between the cards are negligible.
You eliminate the World Elite CB, €4,000 net income per month, during a long trip, not everyone can afford that.
So it comes down to choosing between the Fosfo and the Gold CB.
If you can prove income of at least €1,800 net per month (only at the time of application), go for the Gold CB. Its insurance coverage is better, and a cashback program can save you a few euros now and then.
Otherwise, the Fosfo card is already very good.
No foreign fees
When you use a bank card abroad, you’ll be charged currency conversion fees every time, whether it’s a card payment or a cash withdrawal at an ATM.
For example, Société Générale charges a 2.7% commission. If you make withdrawals and payments averaging €1,000 per month, after a year you’ll have paid €324 in fees. That’s an amount you’d rather spend on accommodation, restaurants, or activities.
This is where Fortuneo cards are brilliant: you simply won’t have any fees, whether withdrawing from ATMs or making card payments.
Insurance
Bank card insurance is largely irrelevant for long trips (no matter the bank), as you are only covered for the first 90 days you spend outside France.
That’s why it’s essential to use a specialized travel insurance provider (like Chapka for example).
However, Fortuneo card insurance allows you to save on specialized travel insurance for the first 3 months of your trip.
In this regard, the Gold card offers a broader range since it covers plane and train delays (up to €450 maximum), baggage delays (up to €450 maximum), baggage loss (up to €850 maximum), …
The referral offer
Fortuneo offers a fairly generous referral program.
With the referral code 13021400 , you will receive:
- A €50 bonus for the Fosfo card
- A €130 bonus for the Gold CB card
Please note that this code is also valid for:
- Opening a brokerage account (€130 referral bonus)
- Opening a life insurance policy (€130 referral bonus)
Where to enter the referral code?
Banks offer referral programs, but it’s not always easy to find where to enter the code 😀
With Fortuneo, you need to start the registration process and fill in a certain amount of information (your contact details, professional situation, the amount of your assets, …).
It’s after all these steps, at the summary stage, that you can click on “Enter a code” to input the referral code (13021400).
Other Fortuneo products
Fortuneo offers a full range of products for investing in the stock market with reduced brokerage fees:
- Ordinary Securities Account (CTO)
- PEA Account
- PEA-PME Account
As well as a life insurance policy with a choice of free or managed management.
Free management offers a wide range of investment options (ETF, SCPI, euro funds, …). There are no deposit, transfer, or exit fees. Unit-linked accounts have 0.75% annual management fees.