Your Guide to Smart Spending in June

🔍 Featured Tip: Check Your SCHUFA for Free

I don’t know about you, but I’m always a bit curious about what the German financial system thinks of my credit trustworthiness. That’s why I do a free SCHUFA check once in a while — not the full paid version for €29.95, but the free one via Bonify. You don’t get the detailed official document, but it’s more than enough to find out where you stand in regards to your credit score. This might help you down the road if you ever (God forbid) want to rent another apartment in Germany and need a SCHUFA for your new landlord.

I find the free SCHUFA check really useful: I have multiple bank accounts and credit cards (the sign-up bonuses I write about are just too good to pass up!), and this is a great way to make sure nothing odd is showing up on my credit report and Germany still considers me a model non-citizen. Get your free SCHUFA here.

🔥 June’s Best Deals

🚖 €15 Off Your Next FreeNow Ride

If you pay with a Mastercard in the FreeNow ride-sharing app, you’ll automatically get €15 off your next ride, no code required. The discount shows up in your wallet and applies to your next trip. This is a very generous deal as far as ride-sharing promos go – it's rare to see anything beyond a 20-30% discount, so I definitely recommend taking advantage of this one! The offer runs until June 30 or until 10,000 redemptions. If you have never used FreeNow, you can get 50% off your first ride (up to €10) with this link.

If you don’t have a Mastercard, I recommend to open an N26 free bank account. For me, this is still one of the best banks in Germany – the app is great, and I really like the MoneyBeam feature for instant transfers to friends without needing to type in their IBAN. When it comes to bank cards, both Mastercard and Visa often run partner deals like this one, or their own promos, so it’s worth having at least one of each in your wallet — whether debit or credit doesn’t really matter.

💶 €200 Bonus from Berliner Volksbank

Berliner Volksbank (serves Berlin and Brandenburg) is giving out €200 if you open a new account by June 30 and receive at least one incoming payment of €500 or more within the first three months. No spending requirements, no direct debit switching, no need to use the card daily. Just one proper incoming payment and you’re done. Salary, pension, or student aid all count — but transfers from your own accounts don’t.

The standard account costs €3.95 per month and includes both a Girocard and a credit card. If you’re under 30, get the Blue Orange account to have the same benefits with no monthly fee. The €200 bonus is paid out by the fourth month after opening, and it goes directly into your new account. You can close it afterwards if you like – no one’s feelings will be hurt. €200 is the highest welcome bonus I’ve ever seen for opening a checking account, so this deal is really worth considering even if you don’t need a new account. Open your account here.

If you’re not in Berlin and are under 30, I’d take a look at the current Comdirect offer — the bonus is slightly lower at €150, but the account is free and the requirements are just as relaxed.

🌍 Airalo eSIM for your summer trips

The travel season is starting! If you’re going outside the EU, buying a local SIM card in your destination country sounds simple in theory, but in practice it often isn’t — in some places, it’s taken me half a day to find a store that sells one to tourists, get it registered, and figure out the setup. These days, I just use Airalo eSIM instead. It’s a virtual SIM card that you can install before your trip, and you’re online as soon as you land. I used it a few times, and loved how easy it was — setup took a few minutes, the prices were very reasonable, and their support actually helped when I needed it. New users can get 15% off their first eSIM here, and returning users can save 10% with this link.

🛒 AliExpress Summer Sale

AliExpress is doing a summer sale until June 5. There are multiple discount tiers depending on how much you spend — for example, €2 off €19 (code: DECD02), €5 off €39 (code: DECD05), €7 off €59 (code: DECD07), and so on.

If these don’t sound like huge discounts, keep in mind that AliExpress prices are already very low, especially compared to Amazon that sells the exact same things for 2-3 times the price. I don’t shop on AliExpress often, but I’ve picked up a few surprisingly solid things over the years — some kitchen gadgets, home decor, party accessories and even clothes that turned out to be much better value than expected. Always read the reviews and keep in mind that ratings tend to be overinflated – I usually only buy things rated 4.7 stars or higher. Shop AliExpress sale here.

🛍 More Deals

• The Nespresso promo from the May issue is still running, and it’s genuinely a good one. When you order 35 Nespresso coffee capsules sleeves as a new customer, they’ll send you a free Pixie coffee machine. The capsules are around €5 per 10-capsule pack, so you’ll pay about €175 in total, and the machine itself is worth €159. I did this myself a few weeks ago and it felt like a great deal — and if you already have a machine, you can always resell the extra one on Kleinanzeigen. The offer runs until June 30.

• Everyone’s favorite drugstore chain, dm-drogerie markt, is doing a product giveaway: 10,000 people will get a free test box with things like toilet paper, solid shower gel, dish soap, and oat milk. No purchase required – just sign up on the campaign page and hope for the best.

• Marley Spoon is offering 35% off your first box and 32% off the second, with free delivery if you’re a new customer. I tried this recently — six meals came to €28.74, which worked out to about €4.79 per portion. It’s very good value for the quality of ingredients, and I quite like their recipes. You can cancel any time after your first box. Get your discount here.

• If you sign up for the free AmEx Payback credit card by June 15, you’ll get 4,000 Payback points (worth €40), no minimum spend required. Besides the welcome bonus, you get 1 Payback point per €3 spent, plus there are various promotions that let you earn more points. If you’re looking for a completely free credit card with a welcome bonus and some rewards for spending, you can’t do better than this. Sign up here or read my full review of AmEx Payback.

🎁 Freebies

• Barilla Protein+ Pasta: Buy Barilla Protein+ spaghetti, penne rigate or fusilli, upload your receipt, and receive a full refund. Promo runs until September 28. By the way, Barilla’s promo for their Al Bronzo line is still active as well, so go stock up on some pasta.

• Rotkäppchen Secconade: A mixed drink from the makers of Germany’s most aggressively budget-friendly Sekt that is responsible for countless hangovers after Späti hangouts and student WG birthdays. Secconade comes in 0.33L bottles in Lemon, Pink Grapefruit, Blood Orange, and the caffeinated “Seccomate.” Buy one, upload your receipt, and get your money back. Valid until June 30.

• Reese's Dipped PeaNuts: This one sounds yum. Buy the product, upload your receipt until June 17, and get your money back. Limited to 500 redemptions per day, so best to submit early in the morning.

• Bonduelle packaged lettuce mix: On a slightly healthier note, find a Bonduelle lettuce mix pack of your choice in the refrigerated section, buy it and upload your receipt until June 22 for a full refund.

• Toppits Paper Freezer Bags: I’ve never used paper freezer bags before, so I’m genuinely curious to try these. Buy the 1L, 3L, or 6L size, upload your receipt, and get a full refund. Claim here until July 31.

Love money-back deals? Check out the previous issues (like May and February ones) — some deals featured there like Ariel detergent, Somat dishwasher tabs and Nutella cookies are still running!