Like a lot of you I'm a big fan of amassing crypto in ways other than exchanging my fiat for it. I've lost count of the play2earn games, tokenized blogging platforms and faucets I use.
So when my colleague started flashing his fancy metal Visa card at work and explained he was getting 2% cashback in crypto and free Spotify I signed up for one the same day.
But before you think I'm trying to shill, and going to end the article with a referral link, think again. It hasn't been a seamless experience.
Why a Visa card?
I can already see people wincing at me not primarily using a credit card, but bear with me. For several years now I've built up my credit score with my mastercard and I've reached the point where the tiny improvements I can make on it now is totally outweighed by the rewards of the crypto.com Visa card.
I've not abandoned it completely. The crypto card isn't accepted everywhere yet, and I'll continue to use credit on purchases where I'd like a little more buyers protection.
What's the catch?
There's no catch for the entry level (blue) card, but it only gives 1% CRO cashback and there's no Spotify rebate.
If you go for the red card like me you have to first stake £300 (or $400) in CRO which is locked for 6 months.
The perks!
2% cashback paid in their utility token "CRO" and up to £12 Spotify rebate each month, again paid back to you in CRO.
Two months of use and its already paid me back more than my banks shitty "reward" account
I spend a shit load on fuel each month so knowing I'm getting 2% back every time I fill my tank is actually a huge help.
You also get a very flashy metal Visa card which actually ended up being a major downside for me.
The downsides
Crypto.com is slow.
Like, really fucking slow.
It took 20 days for my physical card to turn up which meant I was limited to online purchases only. It also means that once the physical card arrives, the digital card number changes so if you have it saved to any devices/accounts you need to amend it.
Sounds simple but I spent a good 30 minutes trying to work out why an online transaction wouldn't go through.
Not everyone accepts it
I've only encountered one vendor so far that wouldn't accept it but it's quite inconvenient when it happens.
It's not accepted by Google pay yet, so you have to use the physical card.
The gorgeous, heavy, Ruby metal card-Oh fuck I've lost it.
Replacement fee
I got drunk at new years eve and lost the card.
The club I went to has a policy of destroying any found cards and not making any effort to get them back to their owners/banks. Assholes.
It costs £50 (or $50) to replace it. Which was more than the cashback I had amassed so far. There is a workaround for this however. You can apply for a Curve card and link your crypto.com card to that. The Curve card replacement fee is only £10 compared to £50 and get this, you can link it to Google pay so you're unlikely to lose it anyway.
That's what I'll do once I've received my replacement.
That I ordered in January...
So yeah, I do recommend the card for the perks, but for the love of god don't lose it.