Coinbase Card Review: Is It Worth It?

Introduction

Are you looking for a comprehensive Coinbase card review? Read this post to get an unbiased review on this Card. Continue reading to learn more.

Coinbase is one of the cryptocurrency industry’s most well-known and trustworthy names. It makes sense that their Coinbase Visa card is one of the most practical cryptocurrency debit cards available.

The main goal of the Coinbase Visa is to make it easy for customers to spend their crypto holdings at any retailer worldwide or convert their Bitcoin and other digital assets into real money at any ATM. Additionally, it provides some multiple crypto back advantages.

Even while Coinbase Visa doesn’t offer as many extra benefits as some of the rival cryptocurrency credit cards, it is still a good choice for someone who only needs a debit card to access the cryptos in their Coinbase account.

Coinbase Card Review – Features

Coinbase is among the most popular and user-friendly cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. Additionally, with the help of its cryptocurrency debit card, its users may diversify their portfolios and earn a range of benefits for their regular purchases.

Flexible Crypto Rewards

The Coinbase credit card offers up to 4% cryptocurrency rewards for each purchase. One benefit of this Card is that you may choose the cryptocurrency you want to be paid with.

Though earnings vary by cryptocurrency, Bitcoin and Ethereum only return 1% at the moment, whereas altcoins like The Graph and XLM yield 4%. As of this writing, meme coins like Dogecoin also offer 1%.

The Coinbase card now offers rotating cryptocurrency incentives, which is a novelty. You must decide whatever reward you want and maximise your crypto-back rewards before the period expires because prizes have expiration dates.

To view the most recent reward rates per cryptocurrency, visit your Coinbase account for the time being. But be aware that prominent cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum typically pay less than 4%, with altcoins naturally producing the highest percentage.

No Annual Fee

The Coinbase card does not have an annual charge. The BlockFi Rewards credit card and the Crypto.com card have no annual fees, which is typical for crypto rewards cards. However, it’s beautiful that Coinbase isn’t charging you any yearly fees.

Spend Crypto or Fiat

The Coinbase card lets you use cryptocurrency, USDC, or USD as payment. Spending with this Card is free of transaction fees. However, Coinbase assesses a conversion fee of 2.49% whenever you spend cryptocurrency. This is because Coinbase must convert your cryptocurrency into cash to pay recurring expenses.

The Coinbase MetaBank Cardholder Agreement conceals this cost, preventing clients from being constantly aware of it. Avoid using USD or USD Coin because they don’t have conversion fees due to the hefty liquidation fee.

No Credit Check Requirement

No minimum credit score is required to apply for the Coinbase card because it is a debit card. Coinbase also does not perform a credit check. You don’t use a line of credit because you pay for purchases directly out of your Coinbase balance.

Global Acceptance

Since Visa powers the Coinbase card, you can use it to make purchases at countless establishments worldwide using both crypto and traditional currency. Additionally, there are no foreign transaction fees and a daily ATM withdrawal limit of $1,000.

Coinbase Card Review – Rates & Fees

The Coinbase card has no yearly cost, as previously announced. However, utilising an ATM to spend or exchange cryptocurrency into cash results in a 2.49% conversion fee.

It’s crucial to keep this cost in mind while making purchases. After all, if you’re spending cryptocurrency and paying 2.49% in conversion fees, gaining 1% back in BTC or ETH isn’t worth it.

Coinbase Card Review – Pros and Cons

With the most straightforward payment method, the tightest security, a decent selection of accepted cryptocurrencies, and reasonable fees, Coinbase has a clear advantage over its rivals.

Some of its main benefits are:

Since USDC has no transaction costs, there is a way to avoid the cryptocurrency liquidation fee.

It offers big rewards without a minimum account balance requirement. (Many rivals restrict the availability of cashback incentives to accounts with a specific minimum amount.)

Zero ATM fees. This is a unique benefit because many rivals tack on an ATM fee instead of any fees the ATM could impose.

Choose your crypto wallet, modify your rewards, examine transaction history, and control your security settings all from your phone with this fully-functional mobile app.

The number of cryptocurrencies supported and the fees levied are the two key areas where Coinbase’s Card falls short of the competition.

While Coinbase’s approved cryptocurrency provides makes it more adaptable than many of its rivals, it is by no means the most comprehensive selection. Some of Coinbase’s rivals offer more than this.

Customers who wish to keep their portfolios diversified with dozens of different coins may find Coinbase inadequate. However, for clients who only trade in the big coins like Bitcoin and Ethereum, other cryptocurrencies that are accessible will probably be more than sufficient for your needs.

It’s also important to note that Coinbase’s fees are not the cheapest on the market, despite being far from prohibitive. That cryptocurrency liquidation fee could seem excessive to customers who are fee-averse, but you should be aware that rivals who charge less often have more stringent conditions and limits placed on their cards.

Some low-fee choices, for instance, are just low charges initially; nevertheless, after you go over a set monthly withdrawal or expenditure cap, transaction fees will apply. Others have stricter requirements for fiat money balances and account minimums. So, before making a decision, consider the additional costs compared to the further limitations and loopholes.

Coinbase Card Review – Benefits

The most significant advantage of using the Coinbase card is getting cryptocurrency rewards for regular purchases. Additionally, you can more easily mix your portfolio of digital products now that the Card offers rotating tips. Additionally, many basic cashback credit cards provide lower rates than the maximum 4% crypto-back rate for specific currencies.

The Coinbase card is a great rewards card for serious cryptocurrency fans and has no fees.

Coinbase Card Review – Customer Service

Customer support for Coinbase is accessible by phone, email, and mobile app. Email or the in-app message system should be used for the fastest help.

Live customer support agents are not currently operating the company’s phone line. The automated phone assistance does provide some essential services, such as the ability to disable or enable your membership, but anything more involved would require an email.

While some people might find that inconvenient, the business does an excellent job responding quickly to email support queries.

Coinbase Card Review – Best Alternatives

This Card is a no-brainer if you already use Coinbase. Additionally, you may avoid the Card’s most significant drawback—high conversion fees—if you don’t spend cryptocurrency.

Nevertheless, a few alternative reward cards might be more appropriate for some cryptocurrency investors than the Coinbase card.

BlockFi Rewards Credit Card

BlockFi is a prominent cryptocurrency trading and lending company that allows consumers to generate passive income from their cryptocurrency holdings. The company’s BlockFi Rewards Visa Signature Card is among the top cryptocurrency rewards cards.

This credit card offers a flat 1.5% cash back rate on any cryptocurrency you choose. A 3.5% crypto-back rate welcome incentive is also available, and it lasts for three months or until you have $100 worth of BTC. Additionally, unlike with Coinbase, you don’t incur yearly or foreign transaction fees.

The fact that BlockFi provides a credit card is the primary distinction between their Card and Coinbase’s. This indicates that a soft pull occurs when you apply, and a complex interest occurs when you activate the Card, which may lower your credit score.

Uphold Debit Card

Uphold is a well-known investing platform that allows you to trade cryptocurrency, commodities, US equities, and currencies. If you prefer variety, this Card is an excellent Coinbase option and has a backlog for its upcoming debit card.

You can use this Card to spend cryptocurrency, fiat currency, and even precious metals to earn. Spending cryptocurrency makes you a flat 2% return while spending dollars earns you 1% back. With Over 100 supported cryptocurrencies and in-kind rewards, Uphold allows you to reach a wide range of digital commodities as you spend.

Uphold is a flexible investing platform for many asset classes and also features a lucrative staking program that pays over 15% APY on some coins. For further information, check our Uphold review.

Crypto.com Card

Crypto.com is among the world’s most prominent cryptocurrency exchanges. Additionally, it provides some of the most excellent crypto-back rates of any card for professional traders.

This is because of the tiered rewards system used by Crypto.com Card, which rewards you with reasonable prices the more CRO you possess and stake. Since CRO tokens are the platform’s native cryptocurrency, Crypto.com encourages users to own them.

The highest tier of this Card offers up to 8% CRO back on regular purchases. However, to do so, you must have CRO worth USD 400,000. Earning 2-3% is more feasible for many consumers since the Card’s base rate is 1% back.

There are no annual fees associated with this Card, and some tiers even receive benefits like a 1005 rebate on monthly subscriptions to services like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Spotify.

Conclusion

The Coinbase card is valuable if you’re a frequent Coinbase customer with cash or USDC in your account. You can diversify your portfolio with rotating incentives. And one of the best rates available is a 4% return on some cryptos.

But at all costs, avoid using cryptocurrency to fund your cryptocurrency. The biggest drawback of this otherwise fee-free Card is the 2.49% conversion fee. However, if you exclusively use USDC or cash, you’re safe.