Needing help staking for a metal prepaid VISA debit rewards card? Not an issue at all. If you need to see what the rewards, the card tiers, and the staking requirements are, please click HERE. Please note there is a Midnight Blue card that does not require a stake, but the rewards are minimal, and it is not metal.
Let's Answer a Few Common Questions First
Questions of how to stake and what staking is crops up quite often on Crypto.com’s subreddit (HERE). So for clarity sake, let’s first address what staking actually is. In this context it’s first purchasing, then “reserving” a certain quantity of Crypto.com’s coin called CRO for a minimum duration of time. The staked amount will temporarily remove your access to the reserved CRO for 6 months.
As soon as you stake the appropriate quantity for the card you desire, you promptly receive the benefits of the card, even prior to the card physically shipping. Depending on your country of residence, you may be eligible to receive a virtual card while waiting for your physical card to ship. After the 6 months are completed, you are free to un-stake the required CRO, but it will greatly reduce the benefits of the card. If you continue to keep your CRO staked, even beyond the 6 months, you will continue to keep your full benefits (i.e. 0-12% interest on the staked amount, 2-8% CRO back rewards, airport lounge key access, Spotify and Netflix reimbursements, and more)
Any time during your staking period of 6 months you can upgrade to a higher tier card, but it will restart the 6-month staking period. Any time after your 6-month staking period you can also upgrade to a higher tier card or even downgrade to a lower tier card, but it will also restart the 6-month staking period. Please note if you want to physically upgrade the card, there is a fee of $50 because the card is metal. It is possible to upgrade the card benefits but not pay to have the new physical card shipped (this will only affect the airport lounge key feature).
How to Stake the Card
Now that you have the gist of what staking is in the context of the VISA card, lets examine how to do this. There are two ways to process the stake for the card and we’ll look at the process for both methods. I will assume you have installed the official Crypto.com app, set up your account, and already used a referral code to receive $25 worth of CRO upon staking. If you do not have a referral but would like one, you may use mine HERE.
The first and best method for folks new to Crypto.com is to click the “Card” button on the bottom right of the screen. From there you can swipe to which card tier you are looking for. Then you will stake the required amount of CRO needed for the card by purchasing it.
Please note as of this writing that many credit cards disable purchasing crypto, including Mastercard, VISA, and Discover (They'll just time out during purchase OR the the app will say 'issuer declined'). However, AMEX will allow you to purchase crypto, but they consider it a cash advance which is expensive.
Debit cards of all kinds work fine unless your bank specifically prohibits the purchase without speaking to you first over the phone. Depending on the amount of CRO you’re purchasing you may need to preemptively have your bank okay the transaction, which is entirely normal.
Quick note: Sometimes VISA or Mastercard will charge international fees for purchases, so don't be alarmed if they're charging a very small percentage a couple days after purchase. On their end Crypto.com waives fees for credit or debit purchases for the first 30 days for new customers. After then the best method for purchase is via a bank account which incurs no fees.
Once that is done you will go through the normal agreements and address verification steps. This may be instant or take up to a couple of weeks to verify depending on the volume of new customers, so don’t be alarmed.
The second method for folks new to Crypto.com is to preemptively buy the quantity of CRO needed to stake upfront. When the sufficient quantity is purchased click the “Card” button on the bottom right of the screen. Once you click the card and click stake, you’ll need to choose to use your crypto wallet to withdraw the CRO funds rather than purchasing more. This often confuses folks newer to the app, which is why I recommend the first method.
Final Notes
Do NOT accidentally stake the CRO you purchased into the “Earn” account, thinking that it is for the card stake, because they’re different. The Earn feature is a separate product to earn interest and is not affiliated with the card stakes. If you staked it in the Earn account on accident you will need to click HERE to read how to reach out to customer service to fix it for you.
Once again I recommend you connect your bank account to your Crypto.com app so that you can deposit or withdraw money easily. This is also the best method for topping off your prepaid debit VISA because you avoid unnecessary fees. Please note it is possible to fill up the prepaid card by converting crypto to fiat, but it's not especially efficient to do so due to taxes and market spread.
If you’re interested in the card but want to ask other users how they enjoy it, try checking out the Crypto.com subreddit HERE and ask some questions. Otherwise ask in the comments below and I’d be happy to answer them for you.
Off-topic
If you love all things crypto related try reading my sci-fi short story about the r/cryptocurrency subreddit HERE.
If you experience aches or pains (as in your hands, wrist, or back) and would like some suggestions that helped me, read about that HERE.
