Key takeaways
- Crypto rewards cards allow users to earn a percentage of their purchases back in U.S. dollars, which can then be converted to crypto.
- The appeal of these cards lies in the potential for the cryptocurrency to increase in value, but there is also the risk of it decreasing in value.
- While these cards may appeal to a certain audience, they may not be the best option for everyone as the value of crypto can be volatile.
Credit card rewards historically fall under three types of currencies — points, miles or cash back. But cryptocurrency is now a rewards currency, too, thanks to the launch of several rewards credit cards since 2021’s crypto heyday.
The rewards process for these cards is fairly simple and works similarly to a traditional cash back program. You earn a percentage of your purchases back in U.S. dollars, which you can then use to automatically buy crypto.
The initial appeal of crypto credit cards was the “high risk, high rewards” aspect of crypto investing. For example, cardholders in the midst of the crypto frenzy believed they could earn cash back with a crypto credit card, move their rewards into an active digital currency, and then grow their portfolio exponentially as the value of their crypto exploded.
But with all the ups and downs of the cryptocurrency market, is having a credit card that earns crypto rewards really a good idea?
The case for crypto rewards cards
The benefit of crypto credit cards is that, unlike other types of rewards currencies, the value of crypto has the potential to increase. Not only that, but people who are interested in investing in crypto, but don’t have the cash to do so, can begin building their digital assets by using their card for regular spending and bills.
Imagine you used a crypto-earning credit card to spend $2,000 per month at 2 percent back in Bitcoin. You’d earn $40 a month (or $480 a year) in Bitcoin. With a regular rewards card, that cash back wouldn’t have had the potential to grow in value unless you invested it elsewhere. But let’s say the value of Bitcoin increased 20 percent over the year. In that case, your rewards haul could be worth $576. And if the value of Bitcoin increased 50 percent, your rewards value could be $720. That’s the appeal of crypto rewards cards.
The other side of the crypto coin
Of course, with all that’s happened in the crypto world over the last few years, it’s important to remember that a major downside of crypto-earning credit cards is that the value of your cryptocurrency could also decrease dramatically, causing your rewards value to drop right along with it.
When investing in any cryptocurrency, be prepared for quick and massive shifts in value, which can cause you to lose money faster than you might be comfortable with. The price of Bitcoin, for example, surged to $64,400 in November 2021, dropped to less than $40,000 in January 2024, and exploded to over $95,000 in November 2024. Bitcoin competitor Ethereum reached a high of $4,811.70 in November 2021, held less than half that value in November 2023, but has somewhat rebounded to just over $3,400 in November 2024.
Ted Rossman, a credit card industry analyst at Bankrate, points out other, less risky ways to invest with your credit card rewards:
You could get potential upside with less risk by doing something like buying an S&P 500 index fund with your cash back rewards or through cards offered by the likes of Fidelity and SoFi. But I still think crypto rewards cards appeal to a certain audience.
— Ted Rossman, Bankrate Senior Credit Card Industry Analyst
There’s also a reason to be leery of platform-specific cryptocurrency credit cards, since they don’t really do anything that you can’t do yourself.
For example, you could instead opt for a cash back credit card with the highest possible rate, then redeem your rewards for cash back and use the funds to buy cryptocurrency yourself. In that case, you could use any platform you wanted to buy your crypto, or you could even store it using a cold wallet that keeps your information and private crypto keys off the web.
And either way, you just can’t beat the versatility of a traditional cash back card. For some, the ability to spend cash back on anything is better than being locked into crypto, even if that means manually investing your earnings and paying the typical USD-to-cryptocurrency conversion fees.
How much can you earn with a crypto rewards card?
While there aren’t a ton of options for earning crypto rewards, here are a couple of crypto credit cards to consider:
The bottom line
Only you can decide if a crypto credit card is a good idea, but you should compare the top crypto cards to regular cash back credit cards before you make a decision. Instead of getting a crypto-specific card, you could always apply for a cash back card that earns a flat 2 percent back with no annual fee, then invest your rewards into any cryptocurrency you want with a platform of your choosing.
Also, know that the jury is out on the stability of crypto for the long run. Whether you should invest in crypto is a larger conversation, but if you are optimistic about crypto’s future — or even just crypto curious — these rewards cards offer a fairly low-risk way to get some skin in the game.
*Information about the Gemini Credit Card® and Venmo Credit Card has been collected independently by Bankrate. Card details have not been reviewed or approved by the card issuer.
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