Yesterday, I introduced you to the Coinbase Visa debit card. That card was easy to use and offered a variety of crypto-back rewards options.  Today, I want to examine the Crypto.com debit Visa card. While the Crypto.com (CDC) rewards can be greater than those offered by Coinbase, you'll have to put some work in to unlock that high-level payoff.  I am a US-based customer, so I'll only be talking about conditions here in the States.  

I use Crypto.com as a secondary broker for it's many staking options. In the United States, CDC exists only as an iOS/Android app and does not contain an exchange. You can buy/sell in real time, but no placing orders in advance!  I use Coinbase Pro for advanced trading options.   

Application

Applying for the CDC card is simple. Once you open your CDC account and complete customer verification, you just select your staking level (discussed below) and request your card.  Some users report very long wait times for delivery. I got mine in a little over a month. 

Rewards

Crypto.com offers 5 tiers of rewards for it's debit cards.

1) For the free base level (Midnight Blue) you receive a flat 1% back on purchases in the form of Crypto.com's native CRO tokens.  Other levels of rewards require you to stake a certain value of CRO tokens to unlock.

2) Stake $400 worth of CRO and unlock Ruby Steel, which ups the CRO rewards to 2% of purchases and a special 100% rebate on your Spotify subscription when paid with the card (up to $12.99/month).

3) Staking $4,000 unlocks the Jade Green/Royal Indigo tier. In addition to a choice of card color, you now earn 3% rewards, the Spotify rebate and the same 100% rebate offer on your Netflix subscription (up to $13.99/month). For travelers, you also can access exclusive airport lounges. You also unlock higher staking rates when staking coins in the CDC app!

4) With a $40,000 CRO stake, things really start to open up. For starters, you now earn 5% back on purchases, rebates on Spotify, Netflix, AND Amazon Prime (up to $12.99/month). You also get a 10% discount on travel booked through Expedia. You may now bring a guest into airport lounges and you gain access to "Crypto.com Private," which offers financial services including:

OTC block trades of CRO

Research reports

Inheritance service

Industry events access

Priority customer service

5) For a mere $400,000 CRO stake, you unlock 8% rewards on your purchases as well as everything in tier 4. You also get a 10% discount on airbnb bookings. There is also a "private jet partnership." I have no idea how that works and probably never will!

You must maintain your stake to continue receiving rewards. Crypto prices are volatile, and CRO is no exception. The good news is that if you stake, say, $4,000 worth of CRO tokens and the value drops, you maintain your card tier as long as you don't unstake your tokens or change your card tier.

Using the Card

The CDC Visa card is a prepaid debit card, not a credit card, so you need to load it with cash before using it. Unlike the Coinbase card, which allows you to spend any crypto in your wallet, the CDC card only takes fiat currency. You load your local currency into your CDC fiat wallet through a bank transfer, then allocate funds to your card.  Once loaded, funds on the debit card cannot be pulled out and put back in your fiat wallet. It has to be spent through the card or withdrawn through an ATM (daily limits apply). The bank transfer is what prevents me from making the CDC card my primary debit card.  It typically takes 3 days for my bank transfer to complete. My Coinbase account transfers funds immediately from the same bank account.

Is it Worth it?

At the lowest tier, free money is free money. Once you hit Tier 3 ($4,000 stake), this becomes one of the best crypto rewards cards available and only gets better from there.  If you have the scratch to pump up your card, the CDC Visa has a lot to offer.

I currently have the CDC card at Tier 2. I plan on eventually unlocking Tier 3. Not financial advice, you do you! Want to join Crypto.com and try out their Visa card?  Use my referral link https://crypto.com/app/2pudx72f42 to sign up for Crypto.com and we both get $25 USD in CRO tokens :)

Interested in Coinbase and their rewards card? My link gets us both $10 in BTC: Click Here!