This announcement comes as a surprise to many rail customers. Deutsche Bahn will no longer offer a popular ticket in the future.
Train drivers now have to change. Because there are changes to the tickets. This affects certain versions of the BahnCard. These will no longer be offered in the future. Specifically: There is no longer a BahnCard with a credit card function.
Because the cooperation with Commerzbank was terminated. And by mutual consent. That’s what it says on the train’s website.
Resolution already in September
Everything goes quickly. All BahnCard credit cards and BahnBonus credit cards will be canceled by Commerzbank this month. This is the Deutsche Bahn.
Users of these credit cards will be informed personally regarding the further procedure. This offer is no longer available for new customers. Only a placeholder can be seen on the homepage. The application form was there before.
But there is also positive news. At least temporarily. The credit cards can still be used. They do not lose their validity immediately. This can be read in the updated T&Cs. The credit cards remain valid until the end of their term. However, no longer than December 31 of the coming year. That’s what the terms and conditions say.
In plain language, this means that the rail credit cards will lose their authorization to be used for payments by the end of 2023.
Collected bonus points do not expire
Points collected with the means of payment for the BahnBonus customer program remain valid for the time being. They will not expire until the end of 2024. Deutsche Bahn customers can still exchange them for prizes for a period of two years.
The points can be redeemed for non-cash or train awards such as free travel, 1st class upgrades or meal vouchers.
This sounds positive at first, but it also has its negative aspects.
Up to now, the points were valid indefinitely. So you might collect them over a longer period of time and then later exchange them for higher quality rewards. If you owned the platinum version of the credit card, there were additional benefits. For example, insurance services such as travel accident insurance, luggage insurance or travel health insurance.
These services will also cease to apply when the termination takes effect.
No further cooperation with a bank is currently planned
At least not in the short term. Deutsche Bahn announces this on Twitter. However, it is still unclear whether a new bank will step in as a partner for credit cards in the long term.
The cooperation between Deutsche Bahn and Commerzbank has existed since 2009. It is not clear how many customers are now affected by the exit. Neither Deutsche Bahn nor Commerzbank wanted to provide any information on this.
