Ranking of the best Mastercard cards in Belgium
The best Mastercard in Belgium is, as of 12 October 2026, the Beobank Extra Mastercard for anyone spending at least EUR 2,000 a year: a EUR 20 fee, 1% cashback capped at EUR 100, three quantified insurance policies. The KBC card, free with its travel caps in writing, follows close behind. Seven cards read off the issuers' official pages.
Fees checked on 12 October 2026
In brief
- The Beobank Extra pays back its fee from EUR 2,000 spent, but its credit shows a 14.49% APR; the KBC card costs nothing and its Travel package publishes EUR 10,000 of cancellation cover.
- Belfius, Argenta and BNP Paribas Fortis cite insurance without publishing a single cap: EUR 131.76 for the Belfius Star, EUR 153 for the BNP Paribas Fortis Gold over three years.
- Over three years the bill runs from EUR 0 (KBC) to EUR 153 (BNP Paribas Fortis Gold); N26, bunq and ING are missing for lack of a readable page.
- 01
Beobank Extra Mastercard
6.1/10Annual feeEUR 20/yearNon-euroNot stated on the card pageNetworkMastercard - BeobankPros : 1% cashback on in-store and online purchases, in Belgium and abroad, capped at EUR 100 per calendar year. Purchase insurance over 200 days up to EUR 3,000 a year, one-year extended warranty up to EUR 2,000 per claim, Safe Online up to EUR 1,250 per claim and per year. No Beobank account to open. A EUR 20 welcome bonus for applications filed up to 30 November 2026.
Cons : An open-ended credit facility: APR 14.49% on the representative example of EUR 2,600, rates dated 9 May 2025. Minimum repayment of one eighteenth of the amount used (one twentieth above EUR 5,000), with a EUR 25 floor. The cashback excludes withdrawals, the fee, interest and e-wallet payments treated as cash transactions. No withdrawal limit or foreign exchange fee on the page.
The only card in the panel that pays back part of its own fee: EUR 2,000 spent in the year returns EUR 20. Below that it is a EUR 20 purchase-insurance card with expensive credit.
- 02
KBC Mastercard credit card
5.9/10Annual feeFree with a Base or Plus account; Travel package EUR 7/month, Shopping package EUR 1.50/monthNon-euroNot stated on the card pagesNetworkMastercard - KBCPros : A free card with a Base or Plus account, a monthly limit chosen by the customer, spending debited at the start of the following month. The Travel package, at EUR 7 a month, publishes its caps: trip cancellation or interruption up to EUR 10,000 per insurance year for all insured people together, rental car excess up to EUR 2,500 per claim, delayed baggage up to EUR 250 per trip after four hours and a further EUR 500 after forty-eight hours.
Cons : The card alone publishes no insurance cap, and the Travel package carries a twelve-month minimum term, or EUR 84 committed. The EUR 10,000 of cancellation cover is shared among all the people insured in one insurance year. Free status assumes a KBC account. Exchange fees are not stated.
The best read in the panel: the card costs nothing and the package caps are in writing. With the Travel package, EUR 84 a year buys more quantified travel protection than any other Mastercard in this check.
- 03
Beobank Young Mastercard
5.8/10Annual feeEUR 5/yearNon-euroNot stated on the card pageNetworkMastercard - BeobankPros : EUR 5 a year for a EUR 750 credit facility, the smallest in the panel, useful for anyone who wants a card without being able to borrow much. Purchase insurance over 200 days up to EUR 3,000 a year, Safe Online up to EUR 1,250 per claim and per year, accepted at about 22 million merchants. A EUR 5 bonus up to 30 November 2026.
Cons : Reserved for adult students at a Belgian higher education institution, with this year's student card and a current account at a bank in Belgium. APR 16.49% on the example, or nearly EUR 165 of interest on EUR 1,000 left for twelve months. No extended warranty, unlike the Extra. The FAQ mentions the absence of parents without explaining it.
The cheapest entry card in the panel, provided you are a student and clear every statement. Its credit is the most expensive in this check.
- 04
Belfius Mastercard Credit New
5.3/10Annual feeEUR 1.93/month outside a package (EUR 23.16/year); EUR 5.50/month in the Beats packageNon-euroForeign-currency withdrawals: 1.5% exchange marginNetworkMastercard - BelfiusPros : A standard monthly limit of EUR 1,900, subject to acceptance, debited at the monthly close. The page cites purchase protection, online included, and a one-year extension of the legal warranty on private purchases. Free for under-25s in the Beats package.
Cons : No insurance amount on the page, and no date. There is no yearly price: the page gives monthly prices only, and EUR 1.93 a month outside a package assumes you decline a package. No travel insurance on this version. Not every tick in the comparison table could be read from the page.
A reasonable price for an ordinary purchase card, but cover that cannot be quantified. At EUR 69.48 over three years it costs more than the Extra without returning a euro.
- 05
Argenta Mastercard
5.2/10Annual feeEUR 2/month for the first card (EUR 24/year), free for under-25sNon-euroCannot be tied to the card with certainty in the fee listNetworkMastercard - ArgentaPros : A deferred-debit card whose monthly limit reaches EUR 1,250. According to Test-Achats, on 8 April 2025, the Green plan card has no longer been free since 1 July 2025 and under-25s keep it free. The Silver (EUR 3.50 a month for two cards, EUR 2,500 limit) and Gold (EUR 5.95 a month, EUR 5,000) plans raise the ceiling.
Cons : No Apple Pay or Google Pay on the Green plan card, according to the same article. Argenta's fee list, valid on 12 October 2026, cannot be tied line by line to the card: the 1.60% exchange commission and the EUR 6 plus 1.60% withdrawal in foreign currency appear there without my being able to say which card they apply to. No insurance cap found.
A card that became chargeable at two euros a month, worth it only for someone who does not need mobile payment. The EUR 24 a year buys no written cap.
- 06
Belfius Mastercard Credit Star
4.8/10Annual feeEUR 3.66/month outside a package (EUR 43.92/year); EUR 5.90/month in the Beats packageNon-euroForeign-currency withdrawals: 1.5% exchange marginNetworkMastercard - BelfiusPros : A standard monthly limit of EUR 2,500. The legal section of the page says the Star includes trip cancellation, refunds of concert and exhibition tickets, purchase protection, Safe Online and a two-year warranty extension, through a Zurich Insurance Europe AG group policy administered by Cover-More.
Cons : No cap is published for these insurances, on a page with no date. EUR 43.92 a year, or EUR 131.76 over three years, for guarantees that cannot be quantified. The insurance stops if the card is not renewed or if the contract between Belfius and the insurer ends.
The list of guarantees is complete, the amounts are missing. At EUR 43.92, ask for the insurance notice before choosing the Star over the New.
- 07
BNP Paribas Fortis Mastercard Gold
3.3/10Annual feeEUR 4.25/month outside a package (EUR 51/year), included in the Easy Guide PackNon-euroFX margin not quantifiedNetworkMastercard - BNP Paribas FortisPros : A EUR 5,000 monthly limit, spending debited at the start of the following month. Four built-in insurance policies: trip cancellation (provided at least 70% of the trip was paid with the card), purchase cover for 120 days, online purchases for 90 days, fraudulent use. Online application from Easy Banking.
Cons : No insurance cap is published on the product page. At EUR 51 a year, or EUR 153 over three years, it is the most expensive in the panel. The 70% condition rules out trips paid by several methods. The FX margin is not quantified, and the price of the card alone comes from an FAQ with no readable date.
The highest limit in the panel for the highest price, with cover the bank does not quantify. Only the EUR 5,000 limit sets it apart from the others.
KBC made its Mastercard free, and the price moved into packages
The KBC credit card costs nothing with a Base or Plus account. The page, read on 12 October 2026, says so without hedging, and adds that holders of a Silver, Gold or Platinum can keep using it: KBC will contact them between April 2025 and April 2027 to replace it.
The price moved into three packages: EUR 1.50 a month for purchases, EUR 7 for travel, EUR 25 for the Luxury package. The Travel package publishes its caps. Trip cancellation or interruption is covered up to EUR 10,000 per insurance year for all insured people together, rental car excess up to EUR 2,500 per claim, delayed baggage up to EUR 250 per trip beyond four hours then a further EUR 500 after forty-eight hours.
This corrects a line in our premium card ranking of 4 October 2026, which found no insurance cap on the pages of the current card: the card alone publishes none, but the Travel package page, which I had not read at the time, does.
A cardholder who takes the Travel package commits for twelve months at least, or EUR 84. The cancellation cap is shared among all the people insured in the insurance year, which the page states and which many families will read too quickly.
Sources: Premium credit cards in Belgium - Insurance included in a Belgian credit card - Wikifin (FSMA), financial education
How much do these seven Mastercard cards cost over three years?
From EUR 0 to EUR 153. Over thirty-six months, the KBC card alone costs nothing, the Beobank Young EUR 15, the Beobank Extra EUR 60, the Belfius New EUR 69.48, the Argenta EUR 72, the Belfius Star EUR 131.76 and the BNP Paribas Fortis Gold EUR 153 outside a package.
The gap is modest in absolute terms, and misleading. At EUR 153, the BNP Paribas Fortis Gold publishes no insurance cap. At EUR 15, the Beobank Young publishes two. At EUR 60, the Beobank Extra publishes three and returns up to EUR 100 a year in cashback.
Price carries 35% of the score, but I read it alongside what it buys: a fee compares in one line, a missing cap does not compare at all.
The Belfius amounts come from monthly prices outside a package, multiplied by twelve then by three: the page gives no annual price and carries no date.
Sources: What a Belgian credit card really costs - The hidden fees of a Belgian credit card
Does Beobank's 1% cashback pay for the fee?
In part, and on a volume condition. The Beobank Extra returns 1% of in-store and online purchases, in Belgium and abroad, within a limit of EUR 100 per calendar year. To cover its EUR 20 fee you need to spend EUR 2,000 on the card in the year.
The EUR 100 cap is reached at EUR 10,000 of spending. Beyond that the cashback no longer moves. It excludes withdrawals, the fee, interest, transfers from the card account, crypto purchases and payments through e-wallets treated as cash.
These exclusions weigh more than they seem to. A cardholder who pays mostly through an e-wallet may see part of their spending drop out of the calculation unplanned, and the page does not quantify that share.
The EUR 20 bonus, valid for an application filed up to 30 November 2026 and credited after the first purchase within three months, covers the first year of the fee on its own. It depends on a date, not on usage.
Sources: Beobank, Extra Mastercard - Credit card or debit card: the differences
A 14.49% or 16.49% APR credit for a EUR 5 or EUR 20 card?
Both Beobank cards sit on an open-ended credit facility. The Extra shows an APR of 14.49% on the EUR 2,600 example, the Young 16.49% on EUR 750, with rates dated 9 May 2025. The minimum repayment is one eighteenth of the amount used, with a EUR 25 floor.
On EUR 1,000 left for twelve months, that is about EUR 145 of interest on the Extra and nearly EUR 165 on the Young. Against a EUR 20 or EUR 5 fee, the credit costs seven to thirty-three times more than the card.
The objection stands up: many cardholders clear every statement in full and will never see this interest. I accept that. But a card whose fee is the most visible figure, and whose interest rate is the smallest, deserves a read of the representative example before signing.
At KBC, Belfius, Argenta and BNP Paribas Fortis, the cards described are deferred-debit at month end: no credit rate appears on their pages, and that is not a gap in the check.
Sources: Wikifin, consumer credit - Beobank, Young Mastercard
Belfius and Argenta charge by the month, and the reading suffers
Neither page gives an annual price. Belfius shows EUR 1.93 a month for the Mastercard New and EUR 3.66 for the Star outside a package, EUR 5.50 and EUR 5.90 in the Beats package. Argenta shows EUR 2 a month for the Green plan card according to Test-Achats, with a date: 1 July 2025.
The trap lies in the conditions. At Belfius, the lowest price assumes no package, and under-25s get it free or at EUR 2 depending on the card. At Argenta the card costs EUR 2 for the first card, a second one too, and mobile payment is missing.
Argenta's fee list valid on 12 October 2026 did not let me tie its lines to the card. It mentions 1.60% exchange commission on a payment in foreign currency, without my being able to state it for the Mastercard.
Between the New at EUR 23.16 a year and the Argenta at EUR 24, the difference is EUR 0.84. Neither page justifies a choice on that amount.
Sources: Test-Achats, Argenta: the credit card becomes chargeable - Belfius, credit and prepaid cards - Ombudsfin, financial disputes ombudsman
Is the BNP Paribas Fortis Gold worth EUR 51 with no published cap?
I do not recommend it on this basis. The Mastercard Gold page describes four insurance policies, trip cancellation, purchase guarantee, online purchases and fraudulent use, and publishes no amount for any of them. The condition that 70% of the trip be paid by card restricts cancellation before you even know what it repays.
Its only clean figure is its EUR 5,000 monthly limit, the highest in the panel. It will interest a cardholder who settles large expenses and wants them debited at the start of the following month.
The bank has an answer: the FAQ compares the Visa Classic and the Mastercard Gold and gives the price of the card alone, EUR 4.25 a month according to our check, with no readable date.
For EUR 153 over three years, a card whose cancellation cap has to be requested in writing is a bet on the claim you will not have.
Sources: BNP Paribas Fortis, Mastercard Gold - BNP Paribas Fortis, Visa Classic or Mastercard Gold (FAQ)
Why are N26, bunq and ING missing from this ranking?
N26 and bunq are debit cards, and their official pages could not be read on 12 October 2026. A credit card ranking has nothing to gain from including them without a verified price or cap. Mastercard announced in 2021 that more than 10 million Mastercard debit cards would replace Maestro in Belgium, which explains why the brand now covers very different products.
ING is missing for the fifth consecutive time: the credit card page returned only its metadata. It confirms only the existence of a Visa Classic and a Mastercard Gold, with no readable fee or cap.
The BNP Paribas Fortis Mastercard Classic and the Belfius Classic are absent too: I found no recent official page selling them. Cofidis has no readable product page.
As of 12 October 2026, the best Mastercard in the panel is the Beobank Extra for anyone spending at least EUR 2,000 a year, and KBC for anyone who wants written caps at EUR 7 a month.
Sources: Mastercard, press release on the replacement of Maestro in Belgium - ING, credit cards - Visa or Mastercard in Belgium
How we score.
Fees summed over thirty-six months, compulsory packages included, cashback and bonus deducted only where the page puts a figure on them.
Insurance with caps published on an official page; a guarantee cited without an amount counts as protection that cannot be checked.
APR, representative example, minimum repayment and card limit readable on the issuer's page.
Required account, required status, imposed package, mobile payment and length of commitment.
Sources
Fees read off the issuers' official pricing pages on 12 October 2026. They can change without notice: always check the issuer's page before subscribing.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Mastercard in Belgium?
As checked on 12 October 2026, the Beobank Extra Mastercard for anyone spending at least EUR 2,000 a year: a EUR 20 fee, 1% cashback capped at EUR 100 per calendar year, quantified purchase insurance, extended warranty and Safe Online. For a free card, the KBC credit card, with the Travel package at EUR 7 a month for travel caps.
Which Mastercard is free in Belgium?
Among the seven cards checked, the KBC credit card, free with a Base or Plus account. Argenta has charged EUR 2 a month since 1 July 2025 for the first Green plan card, and under-25s keep it free.
Does a Belgian Mastercard insure my trip?
It depends on the card. KBC's Travel package publishes its caps: cancellation up to EUR 10,000 per insurance year for all insured people together. The Belfius Star and the BNP Paribas Fortis Gold cite cancellation insurance without publishing an amount on their pages.
What is the difference between the Beobank Extra and the Young Mastercard?
The Young costs EUR 5 a year for a EUR 750 credit facility and is aimed at adult students at a Belgian higher education institution. The Extra costs EUR 20, offers 1% cashback capped at EUR 100 a year and a one-year extended warranty the Young does not have.