BlockFi Rewards Credit Card Review

BlockFi is one of the most popular crypto interest accounts on the market. And with its new Visa Signature card, you can earn an unlimited 1.5% back in crypto for daily spending.

Plus, with no annual fees and a lucrative welcome offer, this crypto rewards card has numerous perks. But it's important to understand the fees and reward terms so you can make the right choice. That's why our BlockFi credit card review is covering all the features, pros and cons, and rewards you should know.

Pros & Cons

What Is the BlockFi Rewards Visa® Signature Card?

BlockFi is a popular cryptocurrency exchange that's most known for its BlockFi Interest Account, or BIA. With BlockFi, investors can deposit popular cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum to earn monthly interest. The company also lets customers take out crypto-backed loans and buy, sell, and swap crypto.

However, BlockFi has been in some regulatory hot water as of early 2022. In fact, the company paid the SEC $100 million in fines and has agreed to cease offering its interest account.

Currently, this means opening a new BIA is off the table. However, BlockFi is cooperating with regulators and plans on bringing back its interest account with BlockFi Yield, a compliant version of the original BIA.

And new and existing customers can still trade on its exchange and earn rewards with the BlockFi Rewards Visa Signature card.

BlockFi Rewards Visa® Signature Card Features

Crypto rewards cards have been growing in popularity over the last few years. These cards are similar to cash-back credit cards, except you get paid back in crypto rather than fiat.

BlockFi's credit card is also one of the first and most popular cards on the market. And with unlimited crypto earning potential and a great welcome bonus, it's easy to see why.

Welcome Bonus

New BlockFi Rewards cardholders get 3.5% back in crypto for their first three months. This welcome bonus lasts 90 days and has a maximum reward amount of $100 in Bitcoin.

The BlockFi Rewards Visa Signature card normally pays 1.5% back in crypto. This extra 2% is a generous welcome bonus and makes this card competitive with many regular cash-back credit cards. However, the $100 cap is a small downside.

Earning Crypto Rewards

After your welcome bonus period, you earn 1.5% back in a crypto everytime you shop with your BlockFi credit card. You can use your card anywhere that accepts Visa, and you don't pay any foreign transaction fees.

BlockFi pays your rewards on the second Friday of every month. The default payout is Bitcoin. However, you can change the cryptocurrency you earn to any asset BlockFi supports. This includes a variety of cryptocurrencies and stablecoins like:

• Chainlink
• DAI
• Dogecoin
• Ethereum
• Litecoin
• Uniswap
• USDC

You can change your crypto rewards as many times as you like. However, you can't get paid with multiple cryptos in a single payment period.

Another perk of this card is that your crypto-back rate increases to 2% once you spend $50,000 annually. Plus, you get a crypto trading bonus of 0.25% back in Bitcoin on BlockFi trades. Trading bonuses cap at $500 per month, but it's another way to earn free BTC if you're investing in crypto.

No Annual Fee

The BlockFi Rewards Signature Visa card doesn't charge annual fees. You don't pay foreign transaction fees either, and there isn't a premium version of this credit card that charges annual fees.

Approval Process

You must create a BlockFi account to apply for its credit card. This card is available for U.S. residents in every state except for New York.

You need good to excellent credit to apply. But you can see if you're pre-approved without impacting your credit score. This is because BlockFi runs a soft credit pull on pre-approvals. If you accept the credit card offer, Deserve, BlockFi's credit card partner, runs a hard-pull of your credit history which can impact your credit score.

Other Perks

Earning crypto rewards is the main reason to use the BlockFi Rewards Signature Visa card. But since this is a Visa card, you also get several perks directly from Visa, including:

• 24/7 access to Visa Signature Concierge for assistance with booking travel plans, event tickets, and accommodations
• Potential discounts and benefits for expenses like hotels, dining, and car rentals
• Special guest status at Visa's luxury hotel collection
• Travel and emergency assistance services

Referral Bonuses

BlockFi pays you $10 in free Bitcoin if you invite someone to join and they fund a new account with at least $100. Your referral also earns $10 worth of free BTC.

But if you have the BlockFi Rewards credit card, you and your referral each earn $40 in free BTC instead of $10. And after five referrals, you start earning $50 in BTC per referral.

Granted, this referral program isn't viable right now since BlockFi has suspended new BIAs. But when new customers can sign up again, it's worth taking advantage of referral bonuses.

Rates & Fees

As mentioned, the BlockFi Rewards credit card doesn't charge annual fees or foreign transaction fees. However, there are other potential fees and rates cardholders pay:

• Annual Percentage Rate (APR): 15.24% to 25.24% depending on your creditworthiness.
• Late Payment Fees: Up to $25.
• Returned Payment Fees: Up to $37.

It's worth noting that balance transfers and cash advances aren't available with this card.

Who Is Eligible?

U.S. residents in every state except New York can apply for the BlockFi Rewards credit card. You must have good to excellent credit to get approved. Currently, this card doesn't offer business accounts. You also need a BlockFi account to apply.

BlockFi Rewards Visa Signature Benefits

The BlockFi Rewards credit card is one of the leading crypto rewards cards. This is for good reason, and the main benefits cardholders enjoy include:

• Unlimited crypto earning potential
• A generous welcome bonus and annual spend bonus
• Crypto reward variety
• No foreign transaction fees
• Potential for crypto rewards to appreciate

The appreciation potential is the main attraction for crypto cards in general. If you use a regular cash-back credit card, the cash you earn is fixed in value (or even less valuable over time due to inflation).

In contrast, crypto enthusiasts can enjoy earning assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum for daily spending since these assets have more appreciation potential.

Of course, crypto markets can go the other way and take a nosedive. Volatility is one of the main risks of investing in crypto, so it's a double-edged sword you should consider when applying for this credit card.

What Are The Drawbacks?

Despite unlimited crypto rewards and a variety of potential bonuses, the BlockFi Rewards credit card has several drawbacks you should consider:

• No introductory 0% APR rate unlike some cash-back credit cards
• Earning 2% back in crypto requires spending over $50,000 annually
• You need a BlockFi account to apply for this card, and the company is currently battling regulators

The main downside of this rewards card is its average 1.5% rewards rate. In contrast, many regular cash-back credit cards can pay up to 5% on certain categories, like groceries or gas. And even other crypto rewards cards can have higher rates.

Best Alternatives

BlockFi was one of the first companies to market with a crypto rewards card. However, plenty of other crypto exchanges have followed suit. And some of these cards offer more competitive rates and flexible rewards.

Coinbase Card

Coinbase is a leading cryptocurrency exchange that lets you buy and sell over 100 coins. And its Visa debit card lets you earn up to 4% back in crypto.

Like BlockFi's credit card, you can spend regular fiat to earn crypto rewards. But this card also lets you spend crypto in your Coinbase account, so it's slightly more flexible. This card doesn't charge annual fees either.

The main downside is that crypto rewards rotate, and not every reward option pays 4% back. This means you might only earn 1% back in Bitcoin, and it's usually less-popular cryptos like The Graph and Stellar Lumens that pay the maximum rate.

Earn Free Crypto After Making Your First Trade >> Try Out Coinbase!

Crypto.com Card

Crypto.com is another popular exchange that also has its own rewards card. Like Coinbase, it's a Visa-powered debit card with no annual fees.

The main difference between the Crypto.com card and BlockFi Rewards credit card is that Crypto.com's card has different tiers. You can earn up to 8% back in CRO, the exchange's native token, for daily spending.

However, earning the maximum rate requires staking your CRO tokens. You also need $400,000 USD worth of CRO, which isn't very realistic for many investors.

But even the first few tiers of Crypto.com's card are reachable, so you can likely earn up to 3% back on spending. You also earn crypto back for spending at companies like Amazon Prime, Expedia, Netflix, and Spotify.

Best For: Serious crypto enthusiasts who also want passive rewards from CRO token staking.

Uphold Debit Card

If you want a more flexible rewards debit card, Uphold is an excellent alternative to BlockFi.

This Mastercard debit card lets you spend fiat, crypto, and precious metals from your Uphold account to earn rewards. The main advantage over BlockFi is that you earn a flat 2% back in crypto when you spend crypto. You also earn 1% back in USD for every USD transaction.

Crypto rewards also pay out in-kind, and Uphold supports over 110 coins. This makes it more flexible than the BlockFi Rewards credit card. However, you have to spend crypto to earn crypto, which isn't ideal if you're holding for the long-term.

Also note that the Uphold card currently has a waitlist.

Is The BlockFi Rewards Visa Signature Card Worth It?

If you want a no-fee credit card that pays unlimited crypto back, the BlockFi Rewards card is one of your best options. This is especially true if you can take advantage of the welcome bonus or spend more than $50,000 per year with the card.

That said, crypto rewards cards from Coinbase and Crypto.com can pay higher rates. And until BlockFi can bring back its interest account to U.S. customers, its reward card is far less attractive.

For now, it's still one of the better crypto credit cards on the market. And when BlockFi works out an agreement with regulators and lets you earn interest on your digital assets, it's an obvious choice for your next crypto rewards card.'