Are Crypto.com cards worth it? Everything you need to know about the Crypto.com cards

Crypto.com cards remain interesting

Crypto.com’s metal prepaid debit cards used to be the best on the market. When the company reached 50 million users, their cards were “nerfed”: cashback rates were reduced and maximum monthly cashbacks were installed (effective June 1st, 2022). Is the party over?

No, Crypto.com’s new cashback rates are still relatively high (up to 5%) and the the cards still have some interesting use cases. Let’s have a look at the the most important things you should know about these cards.

This blog is not sponsored by Crypto.com.

1. What is a Crypto.com card?

A Crypto.com card is one of the many cashback cards that are currently available on the market. When optimizing your personal finances, it makes sense to start with “quick wins”. One of these is to use a cashback card.

Cashback cards often function like a prepaid card and can be used for everyday purchases, both online and in-store. In contrast to a traditional debit card, cashback cards provide users with a cashback for every transaction.

2. Crypto.com cashback rates

Crypto.com offers 5 cards. The cashback rates of these cards are as follows:

• Midnight Blue: 0%
• Ruby Steel: 1%
• Royal Indigo / Jade Green: 2%
• Icy White / Frosted Rose Gold: 3%
• Obsidian: 5%

A cashback of 5% means that when you spend €100 at your local supermarket, you immediately get €5 back. Crypto.com will pay this €5 in CRO. Users are free to convert this cryptocurrency back into EUR, USD….

Don’t be fooled by Crypto.com’s high cashback rates. How much you can receive in monthly cashbacks is capped for the lower tier cards:

• Ruby Steel: $25 cap
• Royal Indigo / Jade Green: $50 cap
• Icy White / Frosted Rose Gold: no cap
• Obsidian: no cap

For example, if you spend $10,000 with your Ruby card this month, you will not receive $100 (= $10,000 * 1%), but $25. These caps do not include additional cashbacks that users can receive through perks.

3. Crypto.com card perks

Each card comes with its own perks. For example:

• Ruby Steel: free Spotify
• Royal Indigo / Jade Green: free Spotify and Netflix
• Icy White / Frosted Rose Gold: free Spotify, Netflix and Amazon Prime
• Obsidian: free Spotify, Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc.

To benefit from these rebates, simply enter your Crypto.com card number in the payment section of the website of a provider such as Spotify. Your Crypto.com balance will then be used to pay for your subscription, and Crypto.com will deposit the money back to you in CRO.

How do Crypto.com cashbacks work: illustration

4. Crypto.com staking requirements

If the Obsidian card offers the highest cashback rates, wouldn’t everyone just opt for that one?

No, because higher tier cards require a bigger stake. Crypto.com cards are free, but users are required to stake an amount of CRO for 6 months. Staking means you lock-up your CRO for at least 6 months.

In return for having made this investment and locking it up, you enjoy cashbacks and perks. The required stake is different for each card. The current Crypto.com card staking requirements are as follows:

• Midnight Blue: €0
• Ruby Steel: €350 or $400
• Royal Indigo / Jade Green: €3,500 or $4,000
• Icy White / Frosted Rose Gold: €35,000 or $40,000
• Obsidian: €350,000 or $400,000

5. Is staking CRO worth it?

While staking increases your cashbacks and perks, it is important to keep in mind that staking CRO exposes you to price fluctuations in CRO.

If CRO goes up in value, you will benefit 3 times from staking:

• Higher cashback rates and more perks
• Cashbacks (and staking interests) are paid out in a token that is now worth more than before
• Your CRO investment (= stake) increased in value

If CRO decreases in value, your stake will decrease in value. For example, your €3,500 could decrease in value to €0.

6. Do I earn interest on my CRO stake?

When staking for the higher tier cards, you receive an interest on your investment:

• 4% for Jade Green or Royal Indigo cardholders
• 8% for Icy White, Frosted Rose Gold or Obsidian card holders

7. Problems with Crypto.com cards

Crypto.com cards are characterized by 3 problems:

• Card delivery delays
• Only 1 card per person
• No pay with phone functionality

Fortunately, there’s a trick to get around this. Read more about how the use of Crypto.com in combination with Curve fixes these problems here.

Crypto.com cards are still amazing for travelers

Crypto.com cards are not as interesting as they used to be, but they still offer some great travel functionalities such as:

1. Free ATM withdrawals (in domestic or foreign currencies)
2. Transactions in other currencies at interbank rates
3. Free airport lounge access

1. ATM withdrawal limits by card

The amount of free ATM withdrawals you can do per month varies by card:

• Midnight Blue: €200
• Ruby Steel: €400
• Royal Indigo / Jade Green: €800
• Icy White / Frosted Rose Gold: €800
• Obsidian: €1,000

A 2% fee applies when going over those limits. How much you can withdraw per month is the same for every card:

• Daily: €2,000
• Monthly: €10,000
• Yearly: €75,000

2. Foreign exchange rates by card

The amount of feeless payments in foreign currencies you can do per month also varies by card:

• Midnight Blue: €2,000
• Ruby Steel: €4,000
• Royal Indigo / Jade Green: €10,000
• Icy White / Frosted Rose Gold: €15,000
• Obsidian: no limit

A foreign transaction fee of 0.5% applies when surpassing these limits. This fee is still relatively low compared to most traditional debit or credit cards.

3. Free airport lounge access

Free lounge access is a perk that is only granted to holders of the higher tier cards. The number of people you can take into the lounge depends on your card:

• Royal Indigo / Jade Green: 1
• Icy White / Frosted Rose Gold: 2
• Obsidian: 2

How does Crypto.com free airport lounge access work? You pay $3.25 when entering the lounge — this money then gets deposited back to you after about 1 month.

Illustration: LoungeKey and Crypto.com apps

Free lounge access is a perk that you keep even when you stop your active stake. Therefore it can be a good idea to stake €3,500 of CRO for a Royal Indigo or Jade Green card, unstake after 6 months and then re-stake on the account of your partner or a friend.

A list of lounges that you can enter with your Crypto.com card can be found here.

Sign up today

Take a first step in optimizing your personal finances by creating a Crypto.com account through this link. My referral code is kfz85hpkaz.

You will receive a welcome gift of $25 in CRO and support this blog series. Your welcome gift will unlock when you stake for a Ruby or higher tier card.

Combine Crypto.com, Curve and Plutus

While waiting for your physical Crypto.com card to be delivered, it is a good idea to already sign up for Curve (card that you can link to your virtual Crypto.com card).

Finally, the Crypto.com card is ideal for abroad. Have a look at the Plutus card for your domestic spending.