The Essential Guide to the Visa Debit Card from Crypto.com
Get up to 5% cashback on most spend, free airport lounge access, Amazon Prime, Netflix, Spotify — and quite a lot more…
[Article updated on 31st July 2022]
In this article, I will tell you:
- What the Crypto.com Visa debit card is
- How to find the right card, based on your monthly spend and requirements
- How to make additional money from the card
- How to add additional features that aren’t natively supported
- How to get the card
For more information about the card, please refer to the official guide by Crypto.com.
What is the Crypto.com Visa Debit Card?
- A prepaid Visa Debit card, provided by Crypto.com (they are a leading Cryptocurrency company)
- You can load and spend fiat (e.g. AUS, CAD, EUR, GBP, SGD, USD), no need to buy and hold any cryptocurrencies
- No annual fees
- Cashback from 0.5% — 5% depending on which card you choose
- Incentives including free airport lounge access, Amazon Prime, Netflix and Spotify
- ‘Prepaid’ means you must load money onto it, as it isn’t linked to a bank account. It also means that it doesn’t appear on a credit score report
What are the Incentives?
The list of cards and their incentives are listed here, screenshot below:
The card (and rewards) you get depends on how much CRO you stake. CRO is a Cryptocurrency created by Crypto.com.
Staking means you give money to Crypto.com and forget about it, you can’t get it back before the staking period has expired. The value of the stake can go up or down.
They offer an entry tier for free.
For the other tiers, you must stake an amount of CRO for a minimum of 6 months. After the 6 month period, you can keep your money staked and keep all the benefits, or withdraw your stake and the benefits you receive will be reduced.
Cashback
Cashback is based on all purchases and is given as CRO.
You can:
- Keep it as CRO
- Convert it to a fiat currency (e.g. CAD, EUR, GBP, SGD, USD)
- Convert it to another cryptocurrency
- Stake it with the Crypto.com Earn, Crypto.com Exchange or Crypto.org DeFi for a good level of interest
Managing the Card
All card based activities are managed from the Crypto.com app on Android / iOS. These include:
- Registering for a card
- Staking
- Upgrading and downgrading between card tiers
- Messaging customer support
- Adding money to the card
- Checking the card balance
- Viewing the card's PIN
- Managing CRO (viewing cashback earned, converting to another currency, moving it to the Earn feature)
Which Card Should I get?
The card you should get depends on 3 factors:
- Your expected yearly spend (on debit/credit cards)
- The rewards you will receive (how will they offset your current expenditure?)
- The amount of time you would be happy to wait to ‘break even’ on your stake (because it’s locked away for the duration that you keep the card and all benefits, which could be forever). Once you get past this breakeven point, you’re into pure profit
Use this spreadsheet I’ve created to help decide which card is best for you:
My thoughts on each card tier:
Free Tier (Midnight Blue)
Main Features:
- None. It simply allows you to access funds in your Crypto.com ‘fiat’ account via a Visa card
I do not recommend this card because:
- It offers no rewards
This card is made of plastic, all the higher tiers are metal.
$400 Stake (Ruby Steel)
Main Features:
- 1% cashback (as CRO)
- $25 monthly reward cap
- Spotify (for first 6 months)
I do not recommend this card because:
- The $25 monthly reward cap is too low (i.e. no cashback above $2,500 spend)
- Spotify is only offered for 6 months
This card (and all cards at higher tiers) is made of metal, which is nice. Note — the back of the card has a thin layer of plastic, to allow NFC (contactless) payments.
Remember to use my spreadsheet to help decide which card is best for you.
$4,000 Stake (Jade Green / Royal Indigo)
Main Features:
- 2% cashback (as CRO)
- $50 monthly reward cap
- 4% interest on stake (as CRO)
- Spotify (for first 6 months)
- Netflix (for first 6 months)
- Airport lounge access (4 visits per year)
I do not recommend this card because:
- The time to break even on the $4,000 stake is far too long
- The $50 monthly reward cap is too low (i.e. no cashback above $2,500 spend)
- Spotify and Netflix are only offered for 6 months
Remember to use my spreadsheet to help decide which card is best for you.
$40,000 Stake (Icy White / Frosted Rose Gold)
Main Features:
- 3% cashback (as CRO)
- No monthly cap on cashback
- Spotify
- Netflix
- Amazon Prime
- Airport lounge access +1 guest
- Exclusive Merchandise Welcome Pack
- A bonus interest of +2% on non-CRO deposits in the Earn feature
- Discounted rates when trading on the Exchange
You can save up to $50 per month with Expedia (not a significant amount, but it’s worth noting).
Remember to use my spreadsheet to help decide which card is best for you.
I do not recommend this card because:
- The time to break even on the $40,000 stake is far too long
$400,000 Stake (Obsidian)
Main Features:
- 5% cashback (as CRO)
- No monthly cap on cashback
- Spotify
- Netflix
- Amazon Prime
- Airport lounge access +1 guest
- Exclusive Merchandise Welcome Pack
- A bonus interest of +2% on non-CRO deposits in the Earn feature
- Discounted rates when trading on the Exchange
I do not recommend this card because:
- The time to break even on the $400,000 stake is far too long
Remember to use my spreadsheet to help decide which card is best for you.
USA Cardholders get an Additional 10% Back with over 10,000 Merchants via Dosh
A significant benefit for cardholders in the USA is 10% cashback (as CRO) at over 10,000 merchants. This 10% cashback is in addition to the cashback provided by the cards. The monthly cashback limits for each card are applicable.
How to Claim your Free Amazon Prime, Netflix and Spotify Rewards
It couldn’t be easier, just pay for these services on your CRO card and you’ll automatically get reimbursed up to this amount for each:
- Amazon Prime = $12.99 USD equivalent
- Netflix = $13.99 USD equivalent (standard monthly subscription — HD, 2 screens)
- Spotify = $13.99 USD equivalent (monthly subscription fees)
What if I want to Upgrade or Downgrade the Card?
Upgrading Your Card
You can upgrade your card at any time. When doing so, you have the following options.
Option 1: Upgrade and get a new card
As soon as you upgrade, your current Crypto.com card gets disabled so you can’t use it. The workaround for this is to use a Curve card and spend on another debit/credit card. When you get the new Crypto.com card, you can then use the Curve ‘Go Back in Time’ feature to move purchases from the card you used onto the new Crypto.com card.
Upgrade fees (including a new card) are:
- APAC = $50 SGD
- Australia = $70 AUD
- Brazil = R$250 BRL
- Canada = Free!
- Europe = €50 EUR
- UK = £50 GBP
- USA = $50 USD
I personally have no objection to paying this as the cost is made back quickly in cashback and rewards.
Option 2: Upgrade without getting a new card
You can continue to use your current card. You will get all the benefits of higher tier, apart benefits that are tied to the card i.e.:
- Airport lounge access
- ATM withdrawal limits before a fee applies
- Interbank limits before a fee applies
You can request the higher tier card at any time (you will have to pay the 50 GBP/EUR/other fee if you live in an applicable country)
Downgrading Your Card
Downgrading can mean 2 things:
- Withdrawing your stake (after the initial 6 month lock-in). In doing so, your rewards will be reduced (see the table below). You can get your rewards back by staking again
- Downgrading to a lower tier is pretty cool, because you get to keep the physical card (until it expires) and some of the rewards you have from your current tier! Contact Crypto.com support for details
Once your card expires, you will lose the benefits that were linked to it i.e.:
- Airport lounge access
- ATM withdrawal limits before a fee applies
- Interbank limits before a fee applies
Benefits Tied to the Cards
As mentioned earlier, you can:
- Upgrade to a higher tier, keeping a lower tier card (to pay no upgrade fee)
- Downgrade to a lower tier, keeping a higher tier card (until the cards 4 year term expires)
There benefits are tied to the physical card
- Airport lounge access
- ATM withdrawal limits before a fee applies
- Interbank limits before a fee applies
Additional Cardholders
Currently you can only have one card per person. You can’t request additional cards for partners, etc.
How to Make Additional Money from the Crypto.com Card
- If you haven’t already got one, order a Curve card now and get £5 GBP. Use a Curve card in conjunction with the Crypto.com card to get extra benefits
- Pair the Crypto.com card with a Curve card to get rewards from both Crypto.com and Curve, when you spend! Curve allows you to get cashback from select retailers, this is in addition to the cashback that Crypto.com gives you!
- If you already have a Curve card, you can ‘go back in time’ i.e. change the card you paid with for up to 30 days You can use this function to get cashback via your Crypto.com card on purchases you have made even before you got the Crypto.com card!
- As stated earlier, you will get monthly reimbursement for Spotify at $12.99 USD equivalent. If you like, you can use this towards the Spotify family package which is for up to 6 people — enjoy up to 6 Premium accounts at £14.99/month
- Put your cashback to work — up to 10% APR if you invest it in CRO in the Crypto.com Exchange or more than this if you invest it in Crypto.org DeFi (see the current APR)
- UK only: For passive income when you spend at some retailers, register your card with AirtimeRewards, Kidstart, Quidco and TopCashback. Read my article ‘4 UK Debit/Credit Card Purchase Passive Reward Schemes — No Investment Needed’.
Get Additional Security, Features and Rewards when Combining with a Curve Card
As well as getting additional cashback, you will also get these additional features when you pair your Crypto.com card with a Curve card:
- Curve Customer Protection, up to £100,000 (the Crypto.com card currently doesn’t offer any protection other than standard VISA customer protection)
- Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay support, so you can use your Crypto.com from your phones and watches
- No need to carry your Crypto.com card, just carry your Curve card (which can also be used as a virtual card for any other of your debit or credit cards). This results in a thinner wallet and less hassle if your wallet gets lost or stolen
- The ability to activate/disable your card from the app (in the event that you lose your Curve card)
- Anti-embarrassment mode — if paying with your CRO card fails for any reason (e.g. lack of funds), the Curve Card will automatically try a defined backup card (I have set mine up to be a Barclaycard Credit card)
- The ability to ‘go back in time’ 30 days and switch payments from one card to another, up to £5,000
- Advanced spend tracking
- Only 1 PIN to remember
Watch my review of Curve:
How to Apply (and get $25 + £5)
Order a Crypto.com Card
- Sign up to Crypto.com with referral code qu80wtyk0i This can be used within 5 days from having your account KYC approved. You’ll get $25 when you stake for a card
- Download the app
- Select the card you want
- Add some money onto the Crypto.com card (required for it to be verified by Curve)
Order a Curve Card
- Sign up to Curve and get £5 credit
How to Load Money onto the Crypto.com Card
Option 1) Bank Transfer
You can transfer money from your bank into a fiat wallet in your Crypto.com account (shown within the Crypto.com app).
Crypto.com don’t charge for this, but some banks do charge for transferring money, if so; Revolut is a good option for transferring money with zero/minimal fees. Note, deposits in the UK from Revolut are not allowed.
Note: Fees of 1–3% are applicable depending on location, see the official guide for information.
Option 2) Debit Card
This is the easiest method to action within the app and it’s instant to process, but costs 1%.
Here’s my review of Revolut:
Get a Revolut card for free.
Option 3) Buy a Cryptocurrency
Buy a supported cryptocurrency (such as Bitcoin) from within the Crypto.com app, then convert it to the currency associated with your card.
Note: You might need to declare all cryptocurrencies buy/sells to your government and they might be taxable. Here are the government instructions for UK residents.
Note: To buy cryptocurrency with no fees, you need to deposit fiat from your bank account, see https://help.crypto.com/en/collections/260596-crypto-com-app#gbp-fiat-wallet-deposits-withdrawals section ‘<country_code> Fiat Wallet — Deposits & Withdrawals’.
Option 4) Transfer Cryptocurrency
Transfer BTC from another exchange (such as Coinbase) to Crypto.com, then convert and transfer it to the currency associated with your card.
How to View and Manage Cashback
Cashback is given as CRO. To view it in the Crypto.com app, navigate to:
- Accounts
- Wallet
- CRO
From here, you can:
- View your cashback history
- View the historic value of CRO
- Buy, sell and transfer CRO (withdraw to a fiat currency or cryptocurrency)
To convert CRO to fiat:
In the app, navigate to:
- Accounts
- Fiat wallet
- Sell Crypto
- Select the fiat wallet (e.g. AUD, CAD, Euro, GBP, USD)
Cashback Restrictions
There are some purchase types that are not applicable for cashback (see the full list with MCC merchant codes). These include items including payments for currencies, insurance, utilities and self-service fuel dispensers.
You can use the VISA supplier locator to see which MCC code retailers use.
Note, when paying for petrol (aka ‘gas’ in USA), you need to use the pay counter option (not pay at pump) to get cashback.
If you use Curve and pay for something that doesn’t give you cashback, you can use the Curve ‘Go Back in Time’ feature to move the payment to a credit card that does give you cashback/rewards.
How I Spend Money with the CRO Debit Card
My process is:
- Spend with my Curve card (via website, contactless, phone, etc.)
- Payment gets taken from my CRO card
- I receive cashback as CRO
- For maximum reward, I invest the cashback into the Crypto.com DeFi. The current APR for DeFi is shown here. I use DeFi with my Ledger Nano X, making it very secure.
If the purchase doesn’t result in cashback (step 3), I use the Curve ‘Go Back in Time’ feature to move the purchase from my CRO card, onto my credit card to get reward points on there (currently a Hilton Barclaycard).
Final Thoughts
Up until 1st June 2022, the rewards offered were very good (particularly to people in the UK and Europe where nothing else came close). Since this date, I cannot recommend them.
The cards look nice. They are metal, heavy, nice texture and the logo (which represents the Ethereum Lion) looks cool. Their front doesn’t have a card number, so you can share pictures of them on social media. Having said that, my cards have always stayed at home as I use my Curve card for additional security, features, discounts and benefits.
For many people, the cards are an entry point into a really nice, easy to use; ecosystem of financial services (see my other articles for details).
In terms of regulation, Crypto.com are doing everything right, ensuring that they have all the required regulation in place before they offer financial services to customers in each country. Where there have been issues (e.g. with card issuing providers), they have quickly and professionally resolved the issue and have come out stronger. They are taking ownership of services instead of relying on 3rd parties and have gained strong partnerships with Visa and other companies.
At the time of writing (25th May), unless Crypto.com make a significant reversal on their position with the reduction of benefits and/or card prices, I think when it comes to the 1st June, I’ll be saying “So long and thanks for all the fish”. I’ll write articles on which card I switch to — remember to subscribe!
Kudos for making it to the end of this article! Here’s an ‘easter egg’ for you. From the home screen, press the Lion logo, then hold the X button to get confetti:
Want More?
Recommended Services
- Sign up to Curve and get £5
- Sign up to Crypto.com with referral code qu80wtyk0i This can be used within 5 days from having your account KYC approved. Get $25 when you stake for a card
- Sign up to the Crypto.com Exchange with referral code qu80wtyk0i, you will get $10 if you stake at least 1,000 CRO and $50 if you stake at least 5,000 CRO
My Articles
- Curve adds Security, Functionality and Rewards to your Existing Debit and Credit Cards
- The Essential Guide to the Crypto.com Exchange
- The Essential Guide to Maximising CRO Investment with Crypto.org DeFi
- The Essential Guide to Farming, Harvesting and Mining Cryptocurrencies
- This is why I’m Massively Excited for the Growth of Crypto.com
- The Essential Guide to Discounted Gift Cards with Crypto.com Pay
- The Essential Guide to Generating Some Money the Easy Way, Guaranteed
- The Essential Guide to Saving Money and Building Wealth in the UK
- 5 UK Debit/Credit Card Purchase Passive Reward Schemes — No Investment Needed
My Other Things
- Check out my website SelfCrypto.com which has offers and lots of information 🕸️
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