I recently discovered Bitrefill, and it’s broadened my horizons on crypto. I have travelled to Australia, and I can now use my coins to buy digital gift cards from Amazon and Airbnb to local favorites like the Apple App Store or Google Play here in Australia. The process is simple: after selecting the gift card I want and choosing the amount, I just pay using my preferred cryptocurrency, and the digital code is sent to my inbox instantly.

Personally, I love the flexibility in payment options. Bitrefill lets me use Bitcoin, both on-chain and via the Lightning Network, as well as Ethereum, Tether (USDT), USD Coin (USDC), Litecoin, Dogecoin, Solana, Dash, and even Binance Pay. The platform often updates this list, so I keep discovering new ways to spend my crypto. However I did notice that although it has heaps of network options for USDC, Optimism wasn't one of them :(

Bitrefill doesn’t seem to charge a service fee. Instead, a small spread - 0.5% to 1%? - is built into their exchange rate, so the final price of the gift card is just a bit higher than the live market rate, which is ok. Obviously there will be a network or blockchain fee, but that’s not something Bitrefill controls. Some transactions are seem commission-free (Binance). For prepaid "credit" cards, there’s a deposit fee, and I’ve seen some other charges which you will need to be familiar with, but ordinary gift cards don't seem to entail these pitfalls so far.

Privacy is a huge priority for me, and I appreciate that I can buy most gift cards on Bitrefill without needing to provide any personal information or go through a KYC process. Unless I’m making a really big purchase, want higher spending limits, or am after regulated products like the Bitrefill card, I never have to upload my ID. I’m cautious online, so this level of anonymity is a major advantage and I believe one of the main benefits of crypto. I always want my (legal) transactions to not be tied to snoopy eyes.

I do not work for, promote or endorse Bitrefill, this is just an account of my positive experience and, I feel, a great service for you to check out. As always, the Crypto domain is fraught with many dangers and please DYOR before you spend or send assets.

Summing up, Bitrefill makes it surprisingly easy for me to use my crypto in day-to-day life. No hoops to jump through, plenty of coin choices, reasonable fees, and strong privacy. It’s fast becoming my go-to for digital gift cards whenever I want to live on crypto specially when I am in Australia which is an extremely snoopy country :)

Link to Bitrefill here (note this is an affiliate link)