I moved to the Netherlands during the summer of 2020 — about five years ago. Over time, I’ve learned about a bunch of useful cards and apps that make everyday life easier. Here’s a brief collection of them.

Cards

  • Albert Heijn Bonuskaart: When shopping at the Albert Heijn supermarket, you need to scan the bonus card; otherwise, the discounts are not applied. A few years ago, it was quite easy to get an anonymous card (just ask for one and don’t register it — the card still works as intended). There’s also a mobile version.
  • European Health Insurance Card: My insurance provider did not automatically issue the blue EU-wide insurance card. I had to request it on their website, and they shipped it via post within a few days.
  • Museumkaart: The Museum Card (a.k.a. museum pass) allows entry to 350+ museums across the country for a fixed yearly fee. It’s worth getting if you visit at least 4–5 museums a year. Since 2025, it also has a mobile version.
    Fun fact: because Amsterdam has poor public toilet coverage, people sometimes use their Museum Card to briefly enter a museum just to use the toilet. This earned the Museum Card the nickname “WC jaarkaart.”

Apps

  • You’ll very likely need the DigiD app for dealing with taxes, accessing municipal messages, vaccination records, etc.
  • The built-in iOS weather app and widget are quite unreliable. Most people use the Buienradar app, which also has its own widget.
  • You can use Tikkie to split bills. Last time I checked, it was only available in the Dutch App Store — so you may have to change your region.
  • Use the PostNL app to track or reschedule deliveries.

Travelling

If you get around a lot, get a personal (yellow) OV-chipkaart. This card can be linked to a bank account and receive automatic top-ups.

  • The personal OV-chipkaart supports NS “season tickets,” which let you travel at a discount during off-peak hours and weekends — or just weekends. If you occasionally take trains on weekends, the Weekend Voordeel is worth it at €2.30/month. Even if you only take a round trip between Amsterdam Centraal and Schiphol Airport — a 15-minute ride — you save 2×€2.08, putting you ahead.
  • The personal chipkaart can also be linked to the bike parking system at many train stations (e.g., Centraal, Amstel). If you frequently park at these locations, go to ns.nl and add the “Stallen op Rekening” option to your card. It costs €0.01. You can then get a fietstag (bike tag) for quicker access — you won’t need to take out your chipkaart to check in or out of the garage.

If you missed checking out at a station, you can do it retroactively at uitcheckgemist.nl.

For route planning, Google Maps and Apple Maps work okay, but it’s often worth cross-checking with ns.nl and 9292.nl, which usually have better data on delays and cancellations.

Here are some useful travel apps:

A final note on rail travel: while you usually scan your chipkaart for domestic travel, for international travel, you must scan an Aztec code at the station gates. This can be a problem if your app doesn’t support it or if you only have the ticket as a PDF. See “Using the Aztec Code on an iPhone to enter the gates at Dutch train stations”.

Sending letters with a postzegelcode

To send letters, you can use a postzegelcode, an ingenious system where you buy a 3×3 alphanumeric code online at PostNL and write it where the stamp would go.

Construction

Amsterdam is constantly evolving, meaning construction sites will pop up near your home every now and then. You can receive notifications about construction permits near your address at overheid.nl.