Sovcombank 180-day 0% PLUS credit card

You can get and use a credit card for free — the bank charges no fees for card issuance or maintenance. As an additional service, you can opt in for transaction alerts on deposits and withdrawals. This service is completely free.

The "180 Days Without Interest PLUS" card features a moderate limit ranging from RUB 45,000 to RUB 300,000. The available amount is determined by the bank for each borrower individually. Sovcombank takes into account factors such as the client's credit history, debt load, age, employment, salary size, minor children, dependents, and so on.

Although the card carries a small credit limit, getting it right away is nearly impossible, especially if you are not a Sovcombank payroll client and do not hold a large deposit with the bank. If you are applying for the first time, you will likely be offered no more than RUB 100,000. In the future, you can increase your available amount by regularly using the card and making mandatory minimum payments on time.

The maximum possible interest-free period on the credit card is 180 days. However, its duration depends on the exact day of the billing period when you make your purchase.

Please note that the interest-free period applies only to cashless payments for goods and services. This means you will be charged interest for cash withdrawals and borrowed funds transfers.

If you do not have enough funds on hand to fully pay off your credit card debt, you can make just the minimum required payment. Its amount is 8% of the debt balance.

Making the minimum required payment helps avoid overdue debt and late fees for violating contract terms. In addition, making minimum required payments is necessary to maintain the interest-free period.

As specified above, the grace period applies only to cashless payments for goods and services provided the debt is repaid before the grace period ends. In all other cases, you will need to pay interest. The interest rate on the "180 Days Without Interest PLUS" credit card is currently 39.9% per annum.

If you fail to fully repay the card debt on time and do not make the mandatory minimum payment, Sovcombank charges a penalty of 20% per annum on the overdue credit card balance.

Furthermore, even in the event of a minor delay, the financial institution transmits information about the incident to Credit History Bureaus, which negatively impacts your credit history and may cause loan and credit card denials in the future.

This credit card does not include free cash withdrawals. Cash advances incur a fee of 5.9% plus RUB 590. However, you can get all accrued interest refunded if you meet the requirement of making at least 5 purchases per month totaling at least RUB 10,000. Transfers of borrowed funds also carry a fee, amounting to 5.9% plus RUB 590.

Like the "180 Days Without Interest" card, this card does not offer cashback on purchases.

Getting a credit card is quite simple as Sovcombank has rather loyal requirements for its clients. Today they are as follows:

• Russian citizenship;
• permanent registration for at least 4 months within the territory of the Russian Federation;
• place of residence in regions where there is a bank branch;
• age from 20 to 75 years;
• employment record at the last job of at least 4 months.

To apply for a credit card, only a Russian internal passport is required. However, if necessary, Sovcombank may also request a second identity document (such as SNILS, INN, international passport, driver's license, military ID, etc.).

In addition, you may need documents confirming your income and employment.

Pros:

• no issuance and maintenance fees;
• credit limit up to 300,000 RUB;
• grace period up to 180 days;
• option to get accrued interest refunded;
• card issuance with a single document.

Cons:

• high interest rate outside the interest-free period: 39.9% per annum;
• high fee for cash withdrawals and borrowed funds transfers;
• no cashback on purchases;
• the bank may request documents verifying your income and employment.