People in the United States know the many benefits of a credit card. On the other hand, people in Europe are not used to credit cards. Ultimately, we all know that the interest rate is very high if you don’t pay off the debt within the set timeframe.
The banks in Paraguay are trying to capitalize on the lower financial literacy of the population and setting up many discounts to get people into debt and a vicious cycle of paying high interest rates.
However, if you always pay off the card on time, you will get another big discount on your already much cheaper lifestyle here in Paraguay.
Different Banks offer different discounts, and they change. We summarized them by categories so you can see some examples of discounts you can expect.
Groceries
Credit cards from Banco Itaú give you a 30% discount on your bill in the Biggie chain up to 260 Dollars, a 25% discount on your bill in Super Real, and a 20% discount in Arete up to 380 Dollars.
With Sudameris Bank, you get 30% off your bill in the Biggie for up to 130 Dollars, a 20% discount in Real for up to 250 Dollars, and a 20% discount in Superseis for up to 250 Dollars.
With Ueno Bank, the discount varies from 10% to 40%, depending on the level of your account. You can expect to have some discounts in Biggie, Luisito, Real, Arete, and many other smaller chains.
Banco Continental will give you a generous 20% off up to 130 Dollars in Superseis, Biggie, Real, and many other smaller chains.
Banco Familiar offers a 25% discount on groceries in Superseis, Stock, Arete, DeliMarket, and Fortis, up to 190 Dollars.
Pharmacies
All of the banks mentioned above offer some discounts in pharmacies. However, the offer does not always apply to all medicines; it changes often. You can expect to save up to 35% on selected items.
Gas Stations
All banks offer discounts on gasoline. For example, on Monday and Wednesday, we can buy gasoline up to 90 Dollars with a 20% discount from Banco Itaú at Shell gas stations. Keep in mind that gasoline is extremely cheap even at the original price, starting at 0.9 Dollars per liter.
Gastronomy
Many cards offer 20% discounts at fast-food chains such as Burger King or local burger chains such as BACON (which is delicious). Banco Itaú gives you 25% off in all restaurants in the biggest and most luxurious shopping mall in Paseo La Galeria.
We could go on and on with Cinema Tickets, Spa salons, Electronics stores, Fashion stores and much more.
With all the credit cards, you also have the option to buy more expensive things like computers and fridges with up to 12 monthly installments without interest rates. Once the bank checks your creditworthiness, you are automatically preapproved for these smaller loans.
In addition, major banks offer their own rewards program, where you collect points for every dollar spent. You can use these points to buy items directly from the bank store (vacations, flight tickets, electronics) or use the points as part of the payment in many stores nationwide.
For everyone who wants to live in Paraguay or spend at least 3-4 months a year there, having a credit card is a great option to save another 20% on the lifestyle.