Fold has been a company/product I have covered many times over the last couple of years. For the most part, these articles have been positive however some of the most recent changes I suck, to put it mildly. Were some of these necessary? Yes, but I do think that Fold could have tweaked things to make the changes and thus adjustments that they are causing more palatable. Yes, Fold also gave us a heads up that they were coming as well but I feel like these changes have affected the number of people that will pay for the premium card (Fold+) and not in a way that will increase the number. 

The two big changes that have really affected me are the instant funding option and the Amazon gift cards.

Until a week ago instant funding was handled in a way that I think really highlighted and benefited Fold+ members. With the free Fold debit card, a user could once a month choose the instant funding options for free and add up to $500 for free. After that, there was a 1.5% charge fee which was really the typical transaction fee that companies would just eat so it made sense that with multiple other free ways that this one could be sacrificed. For the Fold+ members though this number went up to three and that was great as on a weekend I could easily add a couple of hundred dollars to go shopping and not have to go through several different apps to do it. 

Now though it is a 1.5% fee no matter what. Eliminating all of the free instant transactions hurts this perk that was a huge reason why to get Fold+ over just the free Fold card. This change also went into effect right after Valentine's Day so it happened in the middle of a month which is just a really weird timing to do something like this in my opinion. Even if they just limited it to once a month for Fold+ users it would have been a huge win and something that would have still allowed this perk to remain but that was not the route that was taken. The Fold Team has said they are trying to find another processor to bring it back but given the cold shoulder, the crypto space is getting I am not sure that will actually occur. 

Fold+ cards also had a huge perk with the Amazon gift cards where Fold+ users could purchase up to $1000 a month in Amazon gift cards and earn 5% back instead of just 2% that free Fold card users had access to. Since the limit last year was just $500 a month for these 5% back purchases it was huge to see them increase the limit and now that they have gotten rid of the option all together it's extremely disappointing to see. 

This change they have said is due to not getting as good of deals on gift cards from their wholesaler as they used to and I could see that in this economy. Instead of eliminating another huge perk though it seems to me that keeping the 2% where it is decreasing the 5% to something like 3% and setting a lower limit again would be much much better than what they chose. With the elimination of the 5%, they increased the unlimited Amazon gift card option that free Fold cards use to 2.5%.

In essence, Fold has removed the two biggest perks I got their premium card for, and based on what I have heard I am not alone in that thought. It does not make a ton of sense to just throw money away for a premium version if the reasons that you use it are taken away. I have the annual Fold subscription though and just recently renewed so I have already paid for this whole year. At the end of the year though unless Fold+ perks are added that I would use it is hard to justify paying for a card that just does not have the perks that made it worth its weight in gold. Maybe the market will continue to thaw and with that Fold is able to add some of these functions back again even if the company is having to pay more to do so. 

Please know I am not a financial advisor and make sure you do your own research! If you enjoyed this article and would like to support me further below are a few referral links that if you used when signing up I would appreciate it! Also, follow me on Twitter @Cje95_

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