Save 320 € a month for three years — then ride German rail free for life

Since January 2026 Germany's flat-rate transit pass, the Deutschlandticket, costs 63 euros per month — and from 2027 onwards its price will track an index of labour and energy costs, which all but guarantees further hikes. Rather than paying more every year, you can flip the equation: build the capital once, then let the interest pay for the pass forever. We work through four platforms — Bondora, Mintos, Trade Republic, and eToro — and show how much you would have to save each month over 12, 24 or 36 months to hit each target.

What has happened with the Deutschlandticket so far

The Deutschlandticket launched in May 2023 at 49 euros per month as Germany\'s nationwide public-transit flat rate. Doubts were quickly confirmed: federal and state governments could not close the roughly 3 billion euro annual funding gap indefinitely. In January 2025 the price rose to 58 euros, and in January 2026 it climbed again to today\'s 63 euros per month — a 28 percent increase from the launch price within two and a half years.

In November 2025 the Bundestag locked in funding through 2030 with 1.5 billion euros per year from each side. But from 2027 the price will no longer be set politically; instead it will follow a cost index built from wage, energy, and operating costs. In a world where wages and energy costs typically grow two to four percent per year, the direction is set — only the pace is open.

The idea in one sentence

Build enough capital once that the annual interest covers the Deutschlandticket — and you have the pass effectively for life, no matter how often the price rises.

The maths behind it

The Deutschlandticket costs 63 × 12 = 756 € per year in 2026. To make the interest from an investment cover that, you need capital of 756 € / interest rate. In practice:

• At 6 % p.a. (Bondora Go & Grow): 12,600 €
• At 9 % p.a. (Mintos, conservative assumption): 8,400 €
• At 3.55 % p.a. (eToro USD cash): 21,296 €
• At 2.25 % p.a. (Trade Republic EUR cash): 33,600 €

For context: a BahnCard 100 (DB\'s unlimited annual rail card) in 2nd class costs 4,899 € per year in 2026. The Bondora target of 12,600 € therefore equals about 2.6 years of BahnCard 100 payments — the Mintos variant only 1.7 years. In other words: if you can afford a BahnCard 100 today, you could invest that same money for two to three years and afterwards not only get the Deutschlandticket for free, but in most regions get better local transport on top.

Four ways to build the required capital

1. Bondora Go & Grow — the middle path

Bondora Go & Grow is probably the best-known P2P product in Germany and Austria. Since April 2025 the target rate has been 6.0 percent per year (down from 6.75 %). Interest is credited daily and automatically reinvested — compound interest on a daily basis. You can usually withdraw within one day (with a 1 € fee per withdrawal).

Important: behind Go & Grow are actual P2P consumer loans, mostly in Estonia, Finland and the Baltics. There is no deposit insurance — the 6 % is an internal platform target, not a guarantee. In crises (the 2020 COVID wave hit many P2P platforms) withdrawals can be delayed. For the "interest covers my ticket" strategy the platform is well-suited though: target capital 12,600 €, payouts continue as long as the platform exists.

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2. Mintos — higher yield, higher risk

Mintos is the larger European P2P marketplace, regulated by the Estonian financial authority under MiFID II. Advertised average net returns are around 11.5 % p.a.; long-term investors report realistic net results of 8 to 11 percent — we use 9 % conservatively here. The target capital of 8,400 € is the lowest hurdle of all four options.

The catch is obvious: Mintos is far more volatile than Bondora. In 2020 net returns dropped to around 2.4 % after a wave of defaults — investors who tried to withdraw could only do so through the secondary market at a discount. The strategy works best on Mintos if you actively manage diversification (multiple loan originators, shorter terms, buyback guarantee) and plan a buffer.

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3. Trade Republic — savings account with deposit insurance

Trade Republic pays 2.25 % per year on uninvested euro balances since 17 June 2026, after the latest ECB deposit rate hike. Interest is calculated daily, paid monthly, and the balance sits with German partner banks (Deutsche Bank, HSBC, J.P. Morgan) with full EU deposit insurance of 100,000 € per person per bank. About as safe as it gets.

The price of that safety: the target capital balloons to 33,600 €. Realistically saving over 24 months would require nearly 1,400 € per month — unrealistic for most households. Trade Republic therefore fits better as the "safe harbour" for an emergency fund that incidentally covers the Deutschlandticket once it has grown to 30k+. Note also that the rate tracks the ECB deposit rate directly — if the ECB returns to 1 %, Trade Republic\'s yield halves.

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4. eToro — the ETF detour

eToro pays cash interest only on USD balances (currently 3.55 to 4 % p.a.), not on euros — parking money there means accepting EUR/USD exchange rate risk that can eat the yield at any time. More realistic: use eToro as a broker for a broad world ETF with a dividend focus. A Vanguard FTSE All-World High Dividend Yield ETF distributes around 3 % per year; a classic FTSE All-World distributing ETF around 1.8 %. At 3 % distributions the target capital is roughly 25,000 € — and you get the ETF\'s capital appreciation on top, which cushions inflation risk.

But here the strategy becomes equity investing with all its volatility. Anyone choosing this should hold the world ETF for at least 7-10 years so short-term drawdowns can be sat out. For a pure "yield per year" calculation eToro is not the first choice, but for the "dividend ETF covers the ticket" variant it is interesting.

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What you would need to save per month to get there

This is where the strategy gets concrete. The table below shows how much you would need to set aside each month for your savings — earning the platform\'s own rate with monthly compounding — to reach the target capital:

The interesting observation: with Mintos, 321 € per month over 24 months is enough — exactly the cost of a six-month Deutschlandticket today. So if your commute already costs you that much, you could in two years build a lifetime ticket. With Bondora the 24-month rate is 495 €, only slightly above the monthly BahnCard-100-second-class equivalent (~408 €/month) — still in reach for frequent travellers.

A reality check: the "two years of BahnCard 100" variant

The catchy rule of thumb: If you can afford a BahnCard 100 second class for two years (so 9,798 € invested instead of spent on rail tickets), Mintos already overshoots the target — at Bondora you would be only 12 percent short. Concretely after 24 months with a lump-sum investment of 9,798 €:

• Bondora 6 %: ending balance 11,044 €, yielding 663 € of interest per year — covers 87.7 % of the Deutschlandticket, about 10.5 of 12 months
• Mintos 9 %: ending balance 11,722 €, yielding 1,055 € per year — covers 139.6 % of the ticket, ticket plus a 300 € tax buffer
• Trade Republic 2.25 %: ending balance 10,249 €, yielding 231 € — covers only 30 % of the ticket (about 4 months)
• eToro 3.55 %: ending balance 10,518 €, yielding 373 € — covers 49 % (about 6 months)

So if you have been wondering whether the BahnCard 100 is worth it: instead of spending 4,899 € on tickets every year, you could park that money in Bondora or Mintos for two years — and from year three onwards pay your Deutschlandticket out of the interest, with leftover budget for ICE saver-fare weekends.

What you actually need — the honest summary

The strategy works. But it does not run itself — it requires three things:

1. Discipline over at least 24 months. 320 to 495 € per month is doable, but only if the money leaves your checking account automatically and you do not re-optimise every quarter.
2. Risk tolerance. Bondora and Mintos mean accepting P2P risk without deposit insurance. Trade Republic means accepting a target capital four times higher.
3. Tax reality. In Germany, capital income is taxed at 25 % flat plus solidarity surcharge and possibly church tax — effectively 26.4 to 27.9 %. To get 756 € net you would need around 1,030 € gross, pushing the Bondora target to roughly 17,200 €. The personal allowance (Sparerpauschbetrag) of 1,000 € per person in 2026 cushions this — interest under this limit is tax-free. For a single person the Bondora 12,600 € target therefore fits exactly.

Frequently asked questions

Does this work with a standard accumulating ETF instead of Bondora/Mintos?

Yes, but differently. A world ETF in accumulating form (e.g. iShares Core MSCI World) yields about 6-7 % nominal long-term, but only 1.5-2 % of that is distributed. Taking "ticket from interest" literally requires dividend ETFs (FTSE All-World High Dividend Yield, Vanguard Global High Dividend) — these distribute 3-4 %, but with lower capital appreciation. Over 10+ years the total return is usually similar, the risk just distributed differently.

What if Bondora keeps cutting the rate?

Your yield drops accordingly. Bondora already lowered the rate from 6.75 % to 6 % — if it drops to 5 %, you need a 20 % larger target capital to cover the ticket. A realistic buffer rule: budget with the platform rate minus one percentage point so you have room for cuts.

Does the strategy still work if I don\'t use the Deutschlandticket today?

If you don\'t commute on public transit, the lever is smaller. But the strategy works for any subscription of similar size: gym membership (~600 €/year → 10,000 € at 6 %), streaming bundle (~250 €/year → 4,200 €), or replacing an iPhone Pro every two years. The principle is always the same: build the capital once, then cover the annual expense from interest.

What if the Deutschlandticket rises to 80 or 90 € from 2027?

The index from 2027 will track labour and energy costs — based on historical trends, 75 € in January 2027 and 85 € in January 2028 are plausible. At 85 € (= 1,020 €/year) you need 17,000 € of capital at the Bondora rate — about 35 % more than today. Building 17,000-20,000 € from the start protects against two to three years of index hikes.

How safe is 6 % at Bondora long-term?

Bondora has published monthly statistics since 2014. Across ten years of platform history the target rate has been paid out, though with delays during the 2020 COVID wave. For a pure "buy and hold" strategy the platform has been robust — but anyone who might need quick liquidity should keep a portion in Trade Republic instead.