Every credit card open to new applicants in Ireland in 2026, with real APRs, the €30 stamp duty explained, and honest picks by what you need the card for.
Updated
No longer open to new applicants: AIB Ascent Visa Card, AIB Gold Visa Card, AIB Classic Visa Card, AIB Personal Premier Visa Card, American Express consumer cards (Ireland). Details on the issuer pages.
Six providers sell credit cards to consumers in the Republic of Ireland in 2026: AIB, Bank of Ireland, PTSB, An Post Money, Avant Money and Revolut. That is the whole market.
It is a small market by design. Ulster Bank and KBC left Irish retail banking, American Express does not issue consumer cards here, and no new challenger has arrived to undercut on rate. What has changed is that Revolut now sells a credit card in Ireland, which is the first genuinely new entrant in years.
Everything below was checked against the providers’ own published rates on 1 August 2026. Rates are variable and change without much warning.
| Provider | Card | Purchase rate | Representative APR | Annual fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AIB | CLICK Visa | 9.11% | 13.8% | None |
| AIB | Platinum Visa | 11.84% | 17.0% | None |
| AIB | Brown Thomas Visa | Not published | 20.5% | None |
| AIB | Student Visa | 14.85% | 20.5% | None |
| AIB | ‘be’ Visa | 16.79%, or 14.16% above €5,000 spend | 22.9% | None |
| AIB | Ascent Visa | 9.48% | 34.7% | €120 |
| Bank of Ireland | Platinum | 13.79% | 19.6% | €76.18 |
| Bank of Ireland | Affinity | 14.57% | 20.2% | None |
| Bank of Ireland | Student | 14.54% | 20.2% | None |
| Bank of Ireland | Classic | 16.12% | 22.1% | None |
| Bank of Ireland | Aer Credit Card | 14% | 22.7% | €78 |
| PTSB | ICE Visa | 16.50% | 22.53% | None |
| An Post Money | Classic | 16.8% | 22.9% | None |
| An Post Money | Flex | 16.8% | 22.9% | None |
| Avant Money | Reward+ | 16.8% | 22.9% | None |
| Avant Money | Everyday+ | 20.8% | 22.9% | None |
| Avant Money | One Card | Not published | 22.9% | None |
| Revolut | Revolut Credit Card | 13.34% | 17.99% | None |
Every one of these also carries €30 a year in government stamp duty, except the Avant Money cards, where Avant charges the €30 and refunds it the same day.
9.11% on purchases, 13.8% representative APR, no annual fee, €16,000 minimum salary. Nothing else in the Irish market is close if you sometimes carry a balance. There is no rewards programme and no 0% intro period — it is a plain cheap card.
Revolut’s card is the runner-up at 13.34% and 17.99% APR.
12 months at 0%. For comparison, Avant Money One Card runs 9 months, Bank of Ireland 7 months, PTSB and Revolut 6 months.
Two things to watch. PTSB charges 2.5% or €5, whichever is greater, to move the balance across — €75 on a €3,000 transfer. And no provider lets you transfer a balance from a card they already issue, so an AIB-to-AIB move is not possible.
9 months at 0% on new purchases. The Irish banks all run 3 to 6 months. Flex also lets you move credit into your own current account at 5.9% fixed for 24 months, which is priced like a small personal loan rather than a cash advance.
The only Irish credit card that earns Avios. You get 25 Avios per €100 of general spend, 100 Avios per €100 on Aer Lingus base fares, plus two return European flights a year if you spend €5,000 or more, two lounge passes, two Fast Track passes and worldwide travel insurance. The fee is €78 a year, billed at €6.50 a month.
Below €5,000 of annual spend it stops making sense. And do not use it abroad — Bank of Ireland charges 2.25% on non-euro transactions, the highest of the Irish banks.
Avant Money Everyday+ pays 5% at selected grocery retailers for the first 12 months, capped at €25 cashback a month, dropping to 1% after year one. Treat it as a one-year deal.
AIB Platinum pays 0.5% once you spend over €5,000 in a year, capped at €225 per 12-month period, and needs a €40,000 salary.
Avant Money Reward+ takes a different approach: it refunds 25% of the purchase interest you are charged, up to €24 a statement. That only pays if you carry a balance. Clear your statement in full and it is worth nothing.
AIB’s requires an AIB Student Plus account and three months of banking history, and runs at 14.85%. Bank of Ireland’s caps the credit limit at €600 minimum with free travel insurance and no account fee, at 14.54%.
Both are for full-time third-level students. Neither has a salary requirement.
There is no credit-builder credit card in Ireland. No Irish issuer sells a secured card, a subprime card or a “guaranteed approval” card, and any site telling you otherwise is describing a product from another market.
If you have been refused, the realistic options are a prepaid card for spending, a credit union loan to build a repayment record, or fixing whatever is on your Central Credit Register file and reapplying later. Every Irish issuer checks the Central Credit Register on applications of €500 and above.
AIB and Bank of Ireland both sell business credit cards. AIB’s range covers a Classic Visa Business Card, an Executive Visa Corporate Card, a Premier Visa Corporate Card and a Visa Purchasing Card; Bank of Ireland offers a business credit card aimed at SMEs. The €30 stamp duty applies per card. Business card rates are quoted case by case, so you have to ask.
The Irish government charges stamp duty of €30 per year on every credit card or charge card account. It is a tax, not a bank fee, so no provider can waive it — though Avant Money charges it and then refunds it, which comes to the same thing for you.
How it works
Switching without paying twice
This is the bit that catches people. If you close a card and open one with a different provider in the same year, you should only pay €30 in total.
If you change cards several times in the same period, you are only charged on the original account — but you need a Letter of Closure each time you close one. Without it, the new provider has no evidence and will charge you again.
Age and residency. You must be 18 or over and resident in the Republic of Ireland. Every issuer requires this.
Minimum income. €16,000 at AIB (CLICK, ‘be’, Brown Thomas) and Bank of Ireland (Aer, Classic, Affinity). €20,000 at PTSB. €40,000 for AIB Platinum and Bank of Ireland Platinum. An Post and Avant Money do not publish a minimum. Revolut requires you to be employed in Ireland with income paid into a Revolut, AIB, Bank of Ireland or PTSB account.
Credit check. Applications of €500 and above are reported to and checked against the Central Credit Register, so existing loans, missed payments and other cards are visible to the lender.
Proof of income. PTSB asks for three months of statements from your main current account. Others ask for payslips or statements depending on whether you already bank with them.
Timing. Bank of Ireland says most decisions come within 24 hours and publishes an application tracker. Revolut requires 30 days as an active customer before you can apply.
Do not apply to several providers at once. Each application leaves a record, and a cluster reads badly.
It depends entirely on how you use it. If you ever carry a balance, AIB CLICK at 9.11% costs you least. If you are moving existing debt, An Post Money Classic gives 12 months at 0%. If you fly Aer Lingus regularly and clear your balance monthly, the Aer Credit Card is the only card here that earns flights.
Not easily, and not from a specialist product — none exists here. Every Irish issuer runs a Central Credit Register check on applications of €500 or more. If you have arrears or defaults showing, expect a refusal. A prepaid card covers day-to-day spending in the meantime, and a credit union loan repaid on schedule builds a record.
No. Credit checking is standard practice and the Central Credit Register check is part of how Irish lenders assess applications. Anything advertised as “no credit check” in Ireland is a prepaid card, not credit.
The standard Revolut card is a debit card — it spends money you already hold. Separately, Revolut now does offer an actual credit card in Ireland, at 13.34% variable and 17.99% APR, with a maximum limit of €10,000 and up to 6 months at 0% on purchases and balance transfers. You have to apply for it, and you must have been an active Revolut customer for at least 30 days.
The lowest published thresholds are €16,000 at AIB and Bank of Ireland. PTSB asks for €20,000. Premium cards ask for €40,000. Meeting the minimum does not guarantee approval — affordability and your credit record matter more.
There is no legal limit. In practice each account costs you €30 a year in stamp duty, each one shows on your Central Credit Register file, and every open credit line reduces what a lender will offer you for a mortgage. Most people have no reason to hold more than one.
Not if you do it properly. Pay the duty to your old provider when you close the account, get a Letter of Closure, and give it to your new provider. Skip that step and you will be charged again.
No. American Express does not issue consumer cards to residents of the Republic of Ireland, and its International Currency Card excludes EU residents. Amex cards issued in other countries work here at merchants that accept them.