The Crypto.com Card is a unique option for cryptocurrency enthusiasts. It's a prepaid debit card that lets you spend your crypto and earn up to 5% back in crypto rewards. Although this card has quite the list of features, most of those features also require a financial commitment. Discover exactly how it works and find out if you should apply in this Crypto.com Card review.
Ratings Methodology
Crypto.com Card
Rating image, 3.00 out of 5 stars.
3.00/5Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.5 stars equals Best.4 stars equals Excellent.3 stars equals Good.2 stars equals Fair.1 star equals Poor.We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs. = Best = Excellent = Good = Fair = Poor
Rating image, 3.00 out of 5 stars.
3.00/5Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.5 stars equals Best.4 stars equals Excellent.3 stars equals Good.2 stars equals Fair.1 star equals Poor.We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs. = Best = Excellent = Good = Fair = Poor
Credit Score:Falling within this credit range does not guarantee approval by the issuer. An application must be submitted to the issuer for a potential approval decision. There are different types of credit scores and creditors use a variety of credit scores to make lending decisions.
Recommended Credit Score required for this offer is: Good/Excellent (670-850)
Poor
Fair
Good
Excellent
300-579
580-669
670-739
740-850
Credit ScoreFalling within this credit range does not guarantee approval by the issuer. An application must be submitted to the issuer for a potential approval decision. There are different types of credit scores and creditors use a variety of credit scores to make lending decisions.
Good/Excellent (670-850)
Intro APR
Purchases: N/A
Balance Transfers: N/A
Regular APR
N/A since it's a prepaid card
RewardsDepends on card tiers:Midnight Blue, 0% backRuby Steel, 1% backRoyal Indigo and Jade Green, 2% backFrosted Rose Gold and Icy White, 3% backObsidian, 5% back
1% - 5% back
Annual Fee
$0
Welcome Offer
N/A
This prepaid debit card has some lucrative perks that are useful for crypto enthusiasts and even those who aren't. But consider that significant funds need to be staked to qualify for the best benefits.
- Crypto rewards
- Allows you to spend your crypto
- No monthly or annual fee
- Reimbursem*nt with select merchants
- Airport lounge access
- Most benefits require staking
- No sign-up bonus
- Restrictions on rewards
- Volatility of crypto
Alternatives to consider
- If you want to earn cash back: The Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card offers unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases and doesn't charge an annual fee (see rates and fees). It works well for consumers who don't want to buy and stake any crypto to earn rewards.
- If you want a big sign-up bonus: The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (see rates and fees) offers new cardholders a big sign-up bonus. Although this popular travel card has an annual fee, its benefits can more than make up for that.
As of Nov. 27, 2023
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| Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card | Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card |
Rating image, 5.00 out of 5 stars. 5.00/5Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.5 stars equals Best.4 stars equals Excellent.3 stars equals Good.2 stars equals Fair.1 star equals Poor.We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs. | Rating image, 4.50 out of 5 stars. 4.50/5Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.5 stars equals Best.4 stars equals Excellent.3 stars equals Good.2 stars equals Fair.1 star equals Poor.We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs. |
Read Full Review | Read Full Review |
Credit Rating Requirement:Falling within this credit range does not guarantee approval by the issuer. An application must be submitted to the issuer for a potential approval decision. There are different types of credit scores and creditors use a variety of credit scores to make lending decisions. Recommended Credit Score required for this offer is: Good/Excellent (670-850) Poor Fair Good Excellent 300-579 580-669 670-739 740-850 Good/Excellent (670-850) | Credit Rating Requirement:Falling within this credit range does not guarantee approval by the issuer. An application must be submitted to the issuer for a potential approval decision. There are different types of credit scores and creditors use a variety of credit scores to make lending decisions. Recommended Credit Score required for this offer is: Excellent (740-850) Poor Fair Good Excellent 300-579 580-669 670-739 740-850 Excellent (740-850) |
Welcome Offer:Earn a $200 cash rewards bonus after spending $500 in purchases in the first 3 months. $200 cash rewards | Welcome Offer:75,000 Miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening 75,000 Miles |
Rewards Program:Earn unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases. 2% cash rewards | Rewards Program:Earn unlimited 10X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel and 5X miles on flights booked through Capital One Travel. Earn unlimited 2X miles on all other purchases. 2X-10X miles |
Intro APR:0% intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases and qualifying balance transfers Purchases: 0% intro APR, 15 months from account opening Balance Transfers: 0% intro APR, 15 months from account opening on qualifying balance transfers | Intro APR: Purchases: N/A Balance Transfers: N/A |
Regular APR: 20.24%, 25.24%, or 29.99% Variable APR | Regular APR: 19.99% - 29.99% (Variable) |
Annual Fee: $0 | Annual Fee: $395 |
Highlights:
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This card is a good fit for: Crypto investors who want a variety of useful perks and a high rewards rate. Benefits and rewards depend on how much crypto you stake, so the more you invest, the more you get back.
How the Crypto.com Card works
The Crypto.com Card is a prepaid debit card. To use it, you need to top up the card (load funds onto it) in the Crypto.com app. You can top it up with cryptocurrency or fiat money. If you decide to load fiat money, you can do so with funds you've already deposited to your Crypto.com account or by paying with a debit or credit card. If you use cryptocurrency, it will be converted to fiat money.
Find out more about the exchange behind this card: Crypto.com App Review
There are five different card tiers available. Each tier requires you to stake (lock up) a certain amount of Cronos (CRO), which is the platform's cryptocurrency, for 180 days. Staking means committing your CRO to the Crypto.com platform for that time period. In return, you receive CRO rewards.
LEARN MORE: What Is Staking in Crypto?
Crypto.com Card tiers and features
Here are the Crypto.com Card tiers, their staking requirements, and the amount of crypto rewards they earn per eligible purchase while you're staking crypto:
| TIER | CRO STAKE | CRO REWARDS |
|---|---|---|
| Midnight Blue | $0 | 0% |
| Ruby Steel | $400 | 1% ($25 monthly rewards cap) |
| Royal Indigo and Jade Green | $4,000 | 2% ($50 monthly rewards cap) |
| Frosted Rose Gold and Icy White | $40,000 | 3% |
| Obsidian | $400,000 | 5% |
Data source: Crypto.com.
You need to choose a type of card and stake that amount when you apply for a Crypto.com Card. Let's say you want to apply for the Ruby Steel Crypto.com Card. Crypto.com will check that you have at least $400 worth of CRO in your account. Once your card is ready to ship, you'll need to stake the required CRO.
Additional benefits vary by card tier. Here are all the potential benefits and the card tier required for each one:
| BENEFIT | CARD TIER(S) | RESTRICTIONS |
|---|---|---|
| Spotify fee reimbursem*nt | Ruby Steel (first six months), Royal Indigo/Jade Green (first six months), Frosted Rose Gold/Icy White, Obsidian | Up to $13.99 per month |
| Netflix fee reimbursem*nt | Royal Indigo/Jade Green (first six months), Frosted Rose Gold/Icy White, Obsidian | Up to $13.99 per month |
| Amazon Prime fee reimbursem*nt | Frosted Rose Gold/Icy White Obsidian | Up to $14.99 per month |
| Expedia reimbursem*nts | Frosted Rose Gold/Icy White, Obsidian | Up to 10% of each purchase with a $50 limit per month |
| Airbnb reimbursem*nts | Obsidian | Up to 10% of each purchase with a $100 limit per month |
| Priority Pass airport lounge access | Royal Indigo/Jade Green, Frosted Rose Gold/Icy White, Obsidian | Up to four complimentary visits per calendar year with a Royal Indigo or Jade Green card. Unlimited access for cardholder and up to one accompanying guest with a Frosted Rose Gold, Icy White, or Obsidian card |
| Crypto.com Private services | Frosted Rose Gold/Icy White, Obsidian | N/A |
| Exclusive merchandise welcome pack | Frosted Rose Gold/Icy White, Obsidian | N/A |
| Private jet benefits | Obsidian | N/A |
| Free ATM withdrawals | All card tiers | Between $200 and $1,000 per month based on card tier |
Data source: Crypto.com.
After you've staked crypto for 180 days, you can unstake it and keep your card. However, you'll earn a much lower rewards rate and lose most of your card's benefits.
Top perks
You'll find all the notable Crypto.com Card perks below, as well as the card tier you need for each benefit.
Up to 5% back
The Crypto.com Card offers crypto rewards on eligible purchases starting with its Ruby Steel tier. The Midnight Blue tier is the only one that doesn't earn rewards. For a quick recap, here's the amount you earn by card tier while staking crypto:
- Ruby Steel: 1% ($25 monthly rewards cap)
- Royal Indigo and Jade Green: 2% ($50 monthly rewards cap)
- Frosted Rose Gold and Icy White: 3%
- Obsidian: 5%
A rate of 2% back is competitive with the best rewards cards, so if you stake enough, you can access very high rewards rates with this card. But the lower tiers aren't the best for earning rewards, especially with the monthly rewards caps, which we'll touch on later.
COMPARE MORE OPTIONS: Best Rewards Credit Cards
Allows you to spend your crypto
It's very easy to spend your crypto using a Crypto.com Card. All you need to do is top up your card from the crypto wallet in your account. Keep in mind that cryptocurrency is converted to fiat currency to be loaded onto the card. If you're in the United States, that means when you add crypto funds to your card, they're first converted to U.S. dollars.
As a general rule, it's better to hold cryptocurrency investments for the long haul. We don't recommend making a habit of spending your crypto, because you miss out on potential gains. However, if you occasionally want to use crypto, this prepaid card makes it simple to do so.
Flexible crypto rewards
By default, the Crypto.com Card earns CRO tokens for its purchase rewards. If your card earns 3% back and you make a $100 purchase, you'd get $3 worth of CRO. From there, you have the option of keeping the CRO tokens or converting them to either other types of cryptocurrency or fiat money.
It's nice to have this flexibility with your card's rewards. You can stick to CRO, switch to another cryptocurrency that you like more, or turn your rewards into cash.
RELATED: Best Crypto Credit Cards
No monthly or annual fee
Some prepaid debit cards charge a monthly or annual maintenance fee. The Crypto.com Card has no annual fee, so you can get it without adding to your bills. Note that if you don't use your card for 12 months, there's an inactivity fee of $4.95 per month.
Reimbursem*nt on subscription services
The Crypto.com Card can cover the monthly membership fee for Spotify, Netflix, and Amazon Prime. Monthly fee credits are up to $13.99 for Spotify and Netflix and up to $14.99 for Amazon Prime.
SEE MORE: Best Credit Cards for Streaming Services
Here are the card tiers that offer each benefit while you're staking crypto:
| BENEFIT | CARD TIER(S) |
|---|---|
| Spotify fee reimbursem*nt | Ruby Steel (first six months), Royal Indigo/Jade Green (first six months), Frosted Rose Gold/Icy White, Obsidian |
| Netflix fee reimbursem*nt | Royal Indigo/Jade Green (first six months), Frosted Rose Gold/Icy White, Obsidian |
| Amazon Prime fee reimbursem*nt | Frosted Rose Gold/Icy White, Obsidian |
Data source: Crypto.com.
Expedia and Airbnb credits
Higher card tiers offer monthly spending credits toward Expedia and Airbnb purchases. Credit amounts are 10% of each purchase up to a monthly maximum of $50 for Expedia and $100 for Airbnb.
RELATED: Best Hotel Credit Cards
Here are the card tiers that offer this benefit while you're staking crypto:
| Benefit | Card tier(s) |
|---|---|
| Expedia reimbursem*nts | Frosted Rose Gold/Icy White, Obsidian |
| Airbnb reimbursem*nts | Obsidian |
Data source: Crypto.com.
Airport lounge access
The Crypto.com Card offers airport lounge access through Priority Pass. Here are the tiers that have this benefit:
- Royal Indigo/Jade Green offer four complimentary lounge visits per calendar year.
- Frosted Rose Gold/Icy White and Obsidian offer unlimited complimentary visits for the cardholder and one accompanying guest.
Priority Pass offers admission to over 1,300 airport lounges across more than 140 countries, so it has a large network.
RELATED: Best Credit Cards With Airport Lounge Access
Free ATM withdrawals
Every version of the Crypto.com Card includes free ATM withdrawals up to a monthly limit, which depends on the card tier:
- Midnight Blue: $200
- Ruby Steel: $400
- Royal Indigo and Jade Green: $800
- Frosted Rose Gold and Icy White: $1,000
- Obsidian: $1,000
Additional withdrawals have a 2% fee.
If you travel often, take a look at our picks for the best travel rewards credit cards.
What could be improved
While there's a lot to like about the Crypto.com Card, it also has some issues.
Most benefits require staking
To unlock the most value from a Crypto.com Card, you need to stake CRO. The basic Midnight Blue card doesn't have much in the way of benefits. It's best to at least get the Ruby Steel card, which requires a $400 commitment.
Not only do you need to stake crypto for 180 days, you need to keep it staked to keep most card benefits. This isn't a big deal if you're comfortable staking CRO and understand the price will fluctuate. If you don't want to invest in CRO, then this isn't the card for you. In that case, look at our credit card reviews to find a card that's a better fit.
No sign-up bonus
Many popular credit cards include sign-up bonuses. These offer bonus rewards, either in cash back or points, that new cardholders can earn. There are quite a few bonuses worth $200 or more, and some even top $500 in value.
The Crypto.com Card doesn't have this type of offer. It's worth comparing what kind of bonus you could get from a credit card before going with a Crypto.com Card.
SEE TOP PICKS: Best Sign-Up Bonus Credit Cards
Restrictions on rewards
It's easy to miss, but the terms of this card's rewards program exclude many types of merchants. To give a few examples, you won't earn rewards on any of the following purchases:
- Utilities services
- Computer software programs
- Souvenir and novelty shops
- Personal or business insurance policies
SEE THE FULL LIST: Restrictions of CRO Rewards Program
It's normal for rewards cards to exclude certain types of transactions, such as money wires. But Crypto.com excludes much more than the norm. That can be frustrating if several of your purchases don't make the cut.
Monthly rewards caps
Another frustrating restriction is the monthly rewards limit with some card tiers. The Ruby Steel card can earn up to $25 in rewards per month, and the Royal Indigo and Jade Green can earn up to $50.
That means you only earn rewards on your first $2,500 per month in eligible purchases with one of these cards. Rewards cards that offer flat rates, like 1% or 2% on purchases, normally offer unlimited rewards. The fact that these versions of the Crypto.com Card don't is disappointing.
Transaction limits
There are limits to how much you can load onto a Crypto.com Card, withdraw, and spend. Limits depend on the card tier and can be found in the "Fees & Limits" section on the Crypto.com app.
For example, the Midnight Blue card has purchase limits of $10,000 per day and $15,000 per month. All Crypto.com Card options have a maximum balance of $25,000.
Volatility of crypto
Cryptocurrencies are notoriously volatile. That includes CRO, the cryptocurrency you'd need to stake for a Crypto.com Card. CRO is also the type of crypto rewards the card earns, although those rewards can easily be converted to other cryptos or cash.
Let's say you buy $4,000 of CRO to get a Crypto.com Card in the Royal Indigo or Jade Green tier. You'd be committing to staking CRO for at least 180 days. After that time is up, it's entirely possible that your $4,000 investment is now worth $8,000 or more. On the other hand, it could also have plummeted to under $1,000 in value.
LEARN MORE: What Is Cryptocurrency?
Prepaid card
Prepaid debit cards like the Crypto.com Card have a couple disadvantages compared to credit cards:
- You can't build your credit with a prepaid card. If you follow good payment habits with a credit card, it can raise your credit score.
- You need to load funds onto your prepaid card whenever you want to use it. With a credit card, you can make purchases on credit (up to the card's credit limit) and pay them back later.
LEARN MORE: How Credit Cards Work
To be fair, prepaid cards also have their advantages. You can't get into any debt or hurt your credit score with a prepaid card. But a credit card is much more convenient, since you can use it without needing to load money first.
Replacement and inactivity fees
Crypto.com charges the following fees:
- $7 to reissue a Midnight Blue card
- $50 to reissue any other card
- $4.95 per month after 12 months of inactivity
It also used to charge $50 to get a new card after upgrading, but it has currently waived that fee.
Prepaid cards often charge these kinds of fees, so this is another area where credit cards have an edge. Most credit card issuers will ship you a new card free of charge when yours is lost, stolen, or you upgrade it. They also typically don't charge inactivity fees.
Suggested credit score
There's no minimum credit score to open the Crypto.com Card. Since this is a prepaid card, Crypto.com doesn't check your credit during the application process.
To apply for the Crypto.com Card, you must download the exchange's app and complete its Know Your Customer (KYC) process. Crypto.com's KYC process requires that you submit your full legal name, a picture of your government-issued ID, and a selfie. This is a standard requirement of top cryptocurrency exchanges.
After you've done that, you can get the card in the app. You'll need to choose your preferred card tier, stake the required crypto, and provide your delivery address.
COMPARE OPTIONS: Best Credit Cards
You're a crypto enthusiast and you're open to staking at least $4,000 of Cronos (CRO) for as long as you have the card.
The Crypto.com Card has many interesting and valuable perks, as well as some notable drawbacks. Overall, it's a good crypto card for those willing to invest in the CRO token, but you need to stake a sizable amount to unlock the best features.
Since this card is so different from most other options, make sure to compare it to the best credit cards before you make your pick. That way, you know what all your options are and can choose the one that fits you most.
RELATED: Best Crypto Staking Platforms
FAQs
A Crypto.com Card can be worthwhile for crypto enthusiasts willing to stake at least $4,000 in CRO tokens. But there are plenty of credit cards with comparable or better benefits that don't require that kind of financial commitment.
The Obsidian Card is the best Crypto.com Card in terms of benefits. It offers the highest rewards rate at 5% and the longest list of features, including spending credits for Spotify, Netflix, and Airbnb. However, it also requires you to lock up $400,000 in CRO tokens.
The main draw of a crypto credit card is being able to earn crypto rewards on your purchases. By getting a crypto card, you can increase your cryptocurrency holdings and support the market.
Our Credit Cards Experts
By:Lyle Daly
Writer
Lyle Daly is a personal finance writer who specializes in credit cards, travel rewards programs, and banking. He writes for The Ascent and The Motley Fool, and his work has appeared in USA Today and Yahoo! Finance. He was born in California but currently lives as a digital nomad with a home base in Colombia.
Fact CheckedNathan Alderman
Fact checker
Nathan Alderman has worked with The Motley Fool since 2005, making errors his arch-enemies in a variety of roles including a six-year stint as the dedicated fact-checker for The Motley Fool's premium newsletter services. As The Ascent's Compliance Lead, he makes sure that all the site's information is accurate and up to date, which ensures we always steer readers right and keeps various financial partners happy. A graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, Nathan spends his spare time volunteering for civic causes, writing and podcasting for fun, adoring his wife, and wrangling his two very large young children.
