Over the last few years, one of my favorite ways to earn “free” crypto was by using crypto reward credit cards. Up until last year, I had been using the BlockFi Bitcoin rewards credit card. Even before the summer of insolvencies began I started to notice that month after month they continued to make changes that led to the card becoming a lesser product. Until eventually they went bankrupt and no one could use the card any longer. But the truth is that I was searching for alternatives long before that happened. While credit cards do offer some extra buyer protections, the truth is that I simply prefer using debit cards. The reason for that is that I’m much more responsible with sticking to a budget with a debit when compared to using a credit card.
And so I searched the market-wide and thin and eventually found the Coinbase Debit Card. It seemed like a match made in heaven for me. The first key factor was that it didn’t charge international fees, which was essential for me living overseas.
With me always wanting to stick to a strict budget to maximize the amount of disposable income I have to invest there was another feature that appealed to me. In order to use the card you must charge it up with cash or crypto on your Coinbase account. Once you have used all of those funds up, you couldn’t spend any other money. While spending crypto might appeal to some, I always instead decided to make purchases using either cash in my Coinbase account or stablecoins. Simply because I didn’t want to deal with the tax implications of using crypto down the line.
While there are many crypto reward debit cards on the market, such as crypto.com, Fold, and several others. I liked the Coinbase card because it was an exchange that I actually use. But the reason that everyone wants to use these types of cards is for the actual crypto rewards that you can earn. Something that always appealed to me was that there were several reward options that you could choose from.
The rewards were revolving and always changing, but most often would be
- 4% back in XLM
- 1% back in BTC
- 1% back in ETH
- 1% back in MATIC
- 1% back in USDC
I would also choose to receive my rewards in XLM and then convert them into my crypto of choice. By simply using the card for my daily needs, making purchases that I would have been making regardless. I was able to earn roughly $30 in crypto each month. I was a big fan of the card, and it truly felt like a hidden gem in this market.
But that has all recently changed.
Perhaps due to the continued bear market, or maybe even due to the government beginning to go after Coinbase and the crypto industry. In the last two months, the Coinbase debit cards have drastically reduced. The current rewards are:
- 1% back in XLM
- 0.50% back in BTC
- 0.50% back in ETH
- 0.50% in MATIC
- 0.50% back in USDC
While it is nice to receive crypto rewards for my daily purchases, the rewards have dropped so significantly that it is hard to justify continuing to use it. Especially because if I chose to receive the rewards in XLM, I would instantly convert them into a different coin. And so this means I would be better off just using a credit card with basic rewards or some other debit card.
A key note is that in the past Coinbase has lowered rewards offered on the card, and then raised them back up after that. I hope that will be the case this time as well.
While the rewards being cut is the main reason that I am deciding to take the wait-and-see approach with this card. Another deciding factor is that it is a dangerous time in the crypto and banking industry. I don’t think it's a good idea to keep any significant amounts of crypto or cash on exchanges. This is something that is required to use the card. Something that might become even more important as Coinbase begins to fight the SEC.
I was a big fan of the Coinbase debit card and truly hope that it will return to its glory days. However, for now, I have locked the card until they give me a better reason to begin using it again.
How about you? What crypto rewards debit or credit cards do you use?
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