Credit card included in a Belgian bank package: the real cost

Your Belgian bank sold you a package: current account, debit cards, insurance and a credit card described as included. That word is misleading. The card is paid for, just not where you look for it. Its fee is folded into the monthly account subscription, somewhere between 2 and 5.90 EUR depending on the plan, and prices are going up in 2026. Here is the real arithmetic at KBC, Belfius, ING and Argenta, and the point at which a package stops paying off.

What does an included credit card actually mean in Belgium?

An included credit card is a card whose annual fee has been absorbed into the flat monthly price of the current account. You no longer see a card fee line on your statement, but you pay a subscription that finances it.

Every large Belgian bank has moved to this model. The KBC Plus Account, the Belfius Beats Star package, the ING More plan and the Argenta plans all bundle account, debit cards, insurance and credit card into one price. The reasoning is commercial: a few euros a month goes down better than a 40 EUR fee debited in one go in January.

What this means for you: the question is not whether your card is free, but how much the whole bundle costs and how much of it you actually use. A no-fee card inside a 5.90 EUR a month package is more expensive than a 24 EUR a year card on a free account.

How much does the included credit card really cost?

Between 24 and 70.80 EUR a year, depending on the plan. The Belfius Beats Star package, at 5.90 EUR a month, comes to 70.80 EUR a year and bundles two Mastercard Star cards. The KBC Plus Account, up to 4.25 EUR a month in 2026, costs 51 EUR a year. ING More comes to 46.80 EUR a year with the Visa Classic included.

Argenta plays it differently: the Green account stays free if you manage it entirely online, but the Mastercard has been billed at 2 EUR a month since 1 July 2025, or 24 EUR a year, for a 1,250 EUR limit and no insurance whatsoever. CBC, part of the KBC group, is the exception with a free online current account and a credit card at no charge.

The verdict fits in one line: for identical use, the most expensive package costs 70 EUR more a year than the cheapest option, for a credit card that does exactly the same job at the counter.

Does cancelling the included card lower the package price?

No, and this is where it stings. Package pricing is a flat fee. Handing back the credit card on a KBC Plus Account or a Beats Star triggers no reduction: you lose the service and pay the same amount. I have seen customers return a card thinking they would save 20 EUR a year, then watch the same direct debit go out the following month. To cut the bill you change plan, not bricks.

Does the package pay off if I use the insurance?

Sometimes. ING More includes four insurance policies, covering cancellation and purchases among others, plus an Amazon Prime subscription. If you already pay for Prime and travel three times a year, the 46.80 EUR package holds up. If you never claim, you are funding an insurer for nothing. The honest calculation is to subtract the value of the services you actually use from the package price, then compare what is left.

Why are free credit cards disappearing in Belgium?

Because Belgian banks are rebuilding their margins on payment services, and the credit card is the easiest line to slide into a bundle. The trend has accelerated since 2025.

Argenta ended its free Mastercard on 1 July 2025 for the Green plan: 2 EUR a month for the first card, with free use kept only for customers under 25. Test-Achats ran a consumer alert on the change. In 2026, KBC lifts its Base Account from 2 to 2.50 EUR a month and its Plus Account from 3.75 to 4.25 EUR. Beobank raises its package from 1.35 to 1.65 EUR a month on 1 February 2026. ING has stopped charging its credit card fee once a year and now debits it monthly.

One detail worth noting: monthly billing does not necessarily raise the amount, it makes it invisible. Twelve lines of 3.90 EUR draw less attention than one line of 46.80 EUR in January. That is a presentation decision, not a pricing one, and it works.

Should you stay in a package or move to a free account?

It comes down to one number: how many of the package services you use in a year. Below two, get out. Above three, stay and stop worrying about it.

A household paying 70.80 EUR a year at Belfius for two Star cards, never claiming on travel or purchase cover, is paying 46 EUR too much compared with an Argenta Green account plus a 24 EUR a year Mastercard. A couple who travel, rent cars, occasionally cancel a trip and already pay for Amazon Prime will comfortably recover the 46.80 EUR of ING More.

In practice, a free account with a separately billed card suits the settled profile: three or four online payments a month and one hotel deposit a year. The package suits people who travel and have children, so the insurance actually gets used. Anywhere in between, the package is a convenience subscription, and it should be treated as one.

How do you check what your package costs in ten minutes?

Open your bank's official tariff list, the one carrying a validity date, and run three steps. That document is the only one that counts, not the marketing page.

1. Take the monthly price of your plan and multiply by twelve.
2. Add the out-of-package fees from the past year: out-of-network withdrawals, paper statements, currency conversion charges outside the euro area.
3. Subtract the value of the services you genuinely used, an activated insurance policy or an included subscription.

What is left is the net price of your credit card. Compare it with the 24 EUR a year of an Argenta Green card, or the 0 EUR of a CBC online account. If the gap is above 40 EUR a year, Belgian bank mobility lets you transfer direct debits and standing orders to another bank within days, free of charge.

FAQ

The questions above cover the most common cases. To go further, our Belgian card comparison and the guide to the free credit card in Belgium take the analysis further. Sophie Laurent explains her method on her author page.