Best Crypto Credit Cards in the US (2026): Gemini, Coinbase One, Crypto.com and Fold Compared
By the MyCardCrypto team · Updated 21 October 2026 · Fees checked on 21 October 2026
The best crypto credit cards pay 1–2% on everyday spending, not the 4–6% in the headlines. We compared four: Gemini, Coinbase One, Crypto.com and Fold.
Best for: everyday US spending on Gemini — no annual fee, up to 4% back in 50+ coins.
Not for: carrying a balance (17–35% APR) or living outside the US.
Our pick by scenario: Coinbase One with $10,000+ on Coinbase, Crypto.com for CRO stakers, Fold for flat bitcoin back. This is not financial advice; fees and availability change — check the issuer before applying.
We may earn a commission if you apply through links on this page.
Crypto credit cards compared: rewards, fees and APR
Fees checked on 21 October 2026 against each issuer’s cardholder agreement or rates sheet, rewards terms and help centre. Coinbase’s site refuses scripted requests and its help centre stayed closed to us, so we used its card agreement, hosted by Cardless, and archived copies of its pages. Trustpilot scores cover whole companies.
| Checked 21 Oct 2026 | Gemini | Coinbase One | Crypto.com | Fold |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Network, issuer | Mastercard World Elite, WebBank | Amex, First Electronic Bank | Visa Signature, Comenity Capital Bank | Visa, Celtic Bank |
| Rewards paid in | BTC or 50+ other coins | Bitcoin only | CRO, or BTC since 19 May 2026 | Bitcoin only |
| Everyday rate | 1%; 2% groceries, 3% dining | 2% with under $10,000 on Coinbase | 1.5% in CRO, no cap | 1.5%, no cap |
| Top rate | 4% on gas, EV and transit, first $300 a month | 4% with $200,000+ on Coinbase, first $10,000 a month | 6% with $500,000 of CRO locked up | 5% with $100,000 in Reserve, first $5,000 a month |
| Annual fee | $0 | $0, but membership from $49.99 a year | $0; Plus $49.99 or Pro $299.99 a year | $0 |
| Purchase APR | 16.74–34.74% (rates sheet: from 18.74%) | 19.49–29.49% | 17.49–31.49% (March 2026) | 20.49–29.49% |
| Foreign transaction fee | None | $0 | 3% | None in the agreement; FAQ: $3 a purchase under $5,000 in Reserve |
| Welcome bonus | Paused since 31 Jan 2026 | None found | Up to $300 in CRO, until 31 Dec 2026 | None found |
| Who can apply | 50 states and Puerto Rico | US without territories; members only | 49 states; not New York | US; anyone with a Fold account |
| Trustpilot (company) | 1.3 (about 1,500 reviews) | 4.0 (23,279) | 2.0 (9,475) | 1.8 (30) |
How we picked
Four tests: a credit card issued by a US bank, rewards paid in crypto, open to new applicants in October 2026, and terms we could read. We have not held any of these four cards, so every fee and rate comes from issuer documents, quoted and dated. Debit and prepaid cards are out. Cards that lend only against pledged crypto get their own section. Our editorial policy explains how we check.
Gemini bitcoin credit card: no annual fee, up to 4% back
The Gemini Credit Card is a Mastercard World Elite issued by WebBank, with no annual fee and no foreign transaction fee. Most purchases pay out within minutes, in bitcoin by default or in any of 50+ other coins you choose. Hotels, fuel, car rentals and some online shops pay once the charge posts, usually in 24–72 hours.
The 4% rate covers gas at the pump, EV charging, transit, taxis and rideshare, but only on the first $300 a month; above that, those purchases earn 1%. Dining earns 3%. Groceries earn 2%, except at Costco, Sam’s Club and Walmart. Everything else earns 1%, and seven partner brands listed on 14 October 2026 pay 10% for now.
The catches sit in the paperwork. The rewards terms say no rate, “including any promotional or merchant-specific reward, is guaranteed”. The $200 welcome bonus was paused on 31 January 2026. You can’t pay the bill in crypto, the agreement bans using the card to buy crypto, and closing your Gemini exchange account closes the card too.
Purchase APR is 16.74–34.74% in the cardholder agreement dated 25 September 2026, but the rates sheet of the same date starts at 18.74%, so check the figure in your offer. Up to five authorized users cost nothing, and Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay work.
Pre-qualifying doesn’t touch your credit score; the final decision uses a hard inquiry, there is no appeal, and approved cardholders get a metal card. The bitcoin, XRP, Solana and Zcash editions are the same card in other designs; our XRP credit card guide covers the XRP one.
The weak spot is service. On 21 October Trustpilot gave the company 1.3 out of 5 from about 1,500 reviews, and a review of 3 September 2026 says the card was closed with no explanation at a zero balance.
We still make it our default pick: it costs nothing to hold, and on our example budget its categories earn as much as a flat 2% card that needs a $49.99 membership (worked example below). Our Gemini Credit Card review has the full terms.
Coinbase One Card: the Amex bitcoin credit card
This card runs on American Express and is issued by First Electronic Bank through Cardless. You need a paid Coinbase One membership to open it, keep it and earn on it; at the Basic level that means the annual plan, $49.99 a year. Cancel the membership and the card can be suspended, then closed.
Rewards come only in bitcoin, at 2%, 2.5%, 3% or 4%, depending on how much you hold on Coinbase. The help centre (archived 2 October 2025) sets the steps at under $10,000, $10,000–$50,000, $50,000–$200,000 and over $200,000; the card page archived on 31 July 2026 shows the same rates. The upper three stop after $10,000 of purchases a month, then 2% applies.
Any asset counts toward the tier, USDC and dollars included. For the first 60 days the tier follows your live balance; after that it uses the average end-of-day balance of the past 30 days. Flights, hotels and cars booked through the card’s travel portal earn 5% for everyone.
Purchase APR is 19.49–29.49% under the agreement effective 11 May 2026. A cash advance costs $10 or 5% at 32.24% APR, and the agreement counts buying crypto with the card as a cash advance. There is no foreign transaction fee and no penalty APR. Amex adds Retail Protection, Extended Warranty, Return Protection and Amex Offers.
Seeing whether you’re approved doesn’t affect your score; the hard pull comes only if you accept. If you’re declined, you may be offered a secured version whose limit equals the USDC you lock. The membership page showed “Apply now” on 20 October 2026. Trustpilot rated Coinbase 4.0 from 23,279 reviews, but the card reviews we found there were complaints about support and paying the bill. Tiers and costs in detail: our Coinbase One Card review.
Crypto.com Visa Signature: up to 6% in CRO, but a 3% FX fee
Comenity Capital Bank, part of Bread Financial, issues this Visa Signature card; Bread announced the deal on 24 April 2025. The card has no annual fee. Your reward rate depends on your Level Up tier in the app, paid by subscription or by locking up CRO, the company’s own token.
Rates from the rewards terms (2 September 2025) and the bitcoin rewards article, checked 21 October 2026:
| Level Up tier | What it takes | In CRO | In BTC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | Nothing | 1.5% | 1.5% on the first $250 a month, then 1% |
| Plus | $4.99 a month, $49.99 a year or $500 of CRO locked | 3.5% | 3.5% on the first $500, then 2% |
| Pro | $29.99 a month, $299.99 a year or $5,000 of CRO | 4.5% | 4.5% on the first $1,000, then 2% |
| Private | $50,000 of CRO locked | 5% | 5% on the first $5,000, then 2% |
| Private (Obsidian) | $500,000 of CRO locked | 6% | 6% on the first $10,000, then 2% |
CRO rewards have no monthly or annual cap. Our arithmetic: Plus at $49.99 a year pays for itself above about $2,500 of yearly spending, roughly $208 a month, as long as CRO holds its value. New cardholders until 31 December 2026 can earn $100 to $300 in CRO after spending $1,500 to $5,000 within 90 days, depending on tier.
Three catches. The 3% foreign transaction fee outweighs the base rate abroad. New York residents can’t apply. And no CRO is earned on cash advances, balance transfers or crypto bought on the platform. Purchase APR for new accounts was 17.49–31.49% as of March 2026; Comenity’s full agreement loads only as a script, so we couldn’t read it.
Trustpilot shows 2.0 from 9,475 reviews. Our Crypto.com card review covers the separate prepaid Visa and the autumn 2026 Level Up cuts in Europe.
Fold Bitcoin Credit Card: 1.5% flat, 5% with a $100,000 Reserve
Celtic Bank issues this Visa card on Stripe’s platform. There is no annual fee and no membership fee, but you need an active Fold account; the help centre, updated 10 October 2026, says any member can apply. Every purchase earns 1.5% in bitcoin with no cap, and you can pay a single bill from your bitcoin balance, though not by autopay.
Higher rates come from Reserve, prepaid value you buy from the company: $15,000 lifts the rate to 1.75%, $25,000 to 2%, $50,000 to 3%, $75,000 to 4% and $100,000 to 5%. The boost covers only the first $5,000 of purchases a month, one cap shared with the debit card, and the two cards’ rewards can’t be earned at the same time.
Reserve is not a deposit, has no FDIC insurance, pays no interest and can’t be cashed out directly: you buy bitcoin with it and sell that. Our arithmetic: on $1,000 a month, 5% instead of 1.5% adds $420 a year, a 0.42% return on the $100,000 you park.
Until 13 November 2026, new Reserve of $5,000 to $100,000 also earns a one-off 3% bonus, paid in bitcoin in three yearly parts while the money stays put; Fold says it is not interest.
Rewards are “unsecured promotional obligations” of Fold, Inc., not of the bank, and become withdrawable 30 days after a purchase settles. APR is 20.49–29.49% (rates as of 17 September 2026), with no penalty APR. The agreement lists no foreign transaction fee, yet the Reserve FAQ quotes $3.00 per international purchase with under $5,000 in Reserve and doesn’t say which card it means; ask before you travel.
A freeze on your Equifax file gets the application declined until you lift it. Trustpilot shows 1.8 from only 30 reviews; the iPhone app rates 4.21 from 2,272 ratings.
Credit line, not a credit card: Nexo Credit Mode and US crypto-backed cards
Some cards sold as credit don’t lend against your income at all: they lend against crypto you pledge. That is a secured loan that can liquidate your coins, not a rewards card you clear each month.
Nexo Card in Credit Mode (EEA, UK, Argentina)
The Nexo Card is a Mastercard issued by DiPocket UAB, and new cards start in Credit Mode: each purchase is added to a loan in xUSD, backed by crypto moved into your Credit Wallet. Gold clients pay 3.9% a year and Platinum 1.9%, both only below 20% loan-to-value, and interest compounds. Cashback of 0.5–2% in NEXO, or 0.1–0.5% in BTC, needs Credit Mode and a $5,000 portfolio.
The EEA terms say title to pledged coins “transfers to Nexo” and allow liquidation “without prior notice”. There is no card in the US: the company’s US site, run with Bakkt, offers a crypto-backed credit line “from 0.9% per year” instead. Card figures here were checked on 9 October 2026 and the US page on 21 October; details in our Nexo Card review.
In the US: credit cards backed by your own crypto
| Checked 8–21 Oct 2026 | Avici | ether.fi Cash | Uphold Exa |
|---|---|---|---|
| How the credit works | Secured: USDC in an escrow contract Avici calls self-custodial | Spends or borrows against your own vault | Borrow against BTC, ETH, USDC or XRP |
| Rewards | None on spending | 3% in ETHFI on the first $2,000 a month (Core) | None listed |
| Card cost | Virtual Platinum $15; Signature $30, then $20 a year | Core tier free | No annual fee; virtual only |
| US coverage | 31 states | 30 states and DC | Not listed on the card page |
We keep a virtual Avici Signature as a backup card. It pays no rewards, and an exploit on 28 August 2026 took $500,800 from 1,685 users’ card balances; Avici promised full refunds. Details in our Avici review.
Promo code QF3VW9: enter it when you sign up.
The ether.fi Cash card’s Borrow mode charges Aave interest from day one with no grace period; its Direct Pay mode charges none (our ether.fi Cash review). Uphold’s Exa card runs no credit check, caps spending at $10,000 a week and moves your collateral into the Exactly protocol’s smart contracts; you repay in one to eight payments, each plan with its own fixed APR.
Discontinued crypto credit cards: what happened to BlockFi, Upgrade and SoFi
- BlockFi Rewards Visa Signature: BlockFi filed for Chapter 11 on 28 November 2022. Its FAQ that day said “The BlockFi Card is paused and cannot be used to make purchases at this time”, with no new cards, while holders still had to pay their statements. The web platform shut on 31 May 2024, and in July 2024 the estate said clients could expect 100% of eligible claims.
- Upgrade Bitcoin Rewards: Upgrade’s 2021 press releases call it “a credit card that pays rewards in bitcoin rather than cash”. Archived copies show its page live on 7 June 2023 and redirecting to the general Upgrade Card page by 28 December 2023. On 21 October 2026 Upgrade’s credit-card help centre covered only the OneCard, and we found no notice giving an end date.
- SoFi: points, not crypto. Its card page (archived 16 October 2026) says points redeem at 1 cent each toward SoFi accounts such as checking, savings, investing or loans. Crypto is not among the examples, although SoFi Bank does sell crypto (page archived 5 October 2026).
How to choose a crypto credit card
Start with what you spend and already hold. Our worked example is $1,000 a month: $150 on gas and transit, $150 on dining, $250 on groceries and $450 on everything else.
- Default choice: that budget earns $20 a month on Gemini ($240 a year) with nothing to pay. Coinbase One’s 2% also gives $240, minus $49.99 for the membership; Crypto.com’s free tier and Fold each give $180. Gemini’s lead depends on that category mix: at 1% on everything it earns $120, the least of the four.
- You already pay for Coinbase One: the card adds no cost, ties with Gemini at 2% on our example and pulls ahead at 2.5%, which starts at $10,000 held.
- Maximum bitcoin back: Coinbase One’s 4% needs $200,000 held on Coinbase, which can sit in USDC; Fold’s 5% needs $100,000 in a Reserve that pays no interest; Crypto.com pays 5% in BTC with $50,000 of CRO locked (6% with $500,000), on the first $5,000 ($10,000) a month.
- Amex purchase protection: Coinbase One is the only card of the four on Amex.
- No subscription, ever: Gemini or Fold. Crypto.com’s Basic tier is free too but pays only in CRO, unless you pick BTC at 1.5% on the first $250.
- Outside the US: none of the four. Gemini closed all UK, EEA and Australian accounts on 6 April 2026. Look at Nexo’s Credit Mode above, or at the cards in our Wirex vs KAST vs Avici comparison.
Whatever you pick, pay the full statement. Gemini’s and Fold’s agreements both say: “We will not charge you any interest on purchases if you pay your entire balance by the Payment Due Date each month.” Late fees run up to $25 at Gemini ($35 for a repeat), $30 at Fold and $41 at Coinbase. Carry a balance and the sums turn.
Taxes and who holds your rewards
The IRS is brief: “For U.S. tax purposes, digital assets are considered property, not currency.” Form 1040 asks whether you received a digital asset “as a reward, award or payment for property or services”. The IRS digital assets page (last reviewed 2 September 2026) lists a reward among the cases for answering “Yes”. Selling or spending those coins later can create a capital gain or loss.
The IRS page does not single out card rewards. We don’t give tax advice; our crypto card guide covers the general questions.
Who holds the rewards matters if something goes wrong:
- Gemini credits your exchange account, and closing that account for any reason also closes the card.
- Coinbase forfeits bitcoin rewards not yet credited when the card account is closed, by you or by the issuer (rewards terms archived November 2025).
- Crypto.com may take up to two billing cycles to confirm CRO; closing the card doesn’t close your app account or Level Up plan.
- Fold’s bitcoin is held by BitGo, and its rewards are the company’s unsecured promise, not the bank’s.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which crypto credit card has no annual fee?
Gemini and Fold charge none and need no membership. Crypto.com’s card has no annual fee either, but its higher reward tiers need a Level Up plan at $49.99 or $299.99 a year, or locked CRO. Coinbase One’s card waives its fee only while you pay for the membership, from $49.99 a year, and closes if you cancel it.
Can I buy crypto with a crypto credit card?
Not usefully. Gemini’s agreement bans using the card to buy crypto or to fund a Gemini account. Coinbase’s agreement treats crypto purchases as cash advances, which cost $10 or 5% up front, accrue 32.24% APR and earn no rewards. Crypto.com pays no CRO on crypto bought on its own platform.
Does applying hurt my credit score?
Checking doesn’t at Gemini, Crypto.com or Coinbase: the first two use a soft inquiry to pre-qualify you, and the third shows whether you’re approved without affecting your score. The hard inquiry comes when you go ahead: for Gemini’s final decision, and at Coinbase only after you accept. For Fold, the bank decides automatically and the company can’t overturn a denial.
Is there a crypto credit card without a credit check?
One card we checked says so: Uphold’s Exa card states “No credit checks” and lends against BTC, ETH, USDC or XRP you pledge. Avici and ether.fi Cash also lend against your own crypto, but their US cardholder agreements let the issuer obtain “credit and income information” from credit bureaus. Borrowing against volatile coins can end in liquidation. Coinbase’s secured version comes only after a declined application.
Are crypto credit card rewards taxable?
The IRS treats digital assets as property and lists receiving them as a reward among the cases where you answer “Yes” to the digital asset question on your return. Selling or spending reward coins later can create a capital gain or loss. The IRS page does not address card rewards specifically, so check with a tax professional before you file.
Can I get a crypto credit card outside the US?
Not from these four: each is for US residents, and Gemini closed all UK, EEA and Australian accounts on 6 April 2026. In the EEA, the UK and Argentina, the Nexo Card’s Credit Mode borrows against your crypto instead. If you only want to spend crypto, our comparison of Wirex, KAST and Avici covers the three cards we have used ourselves.
Which card pays rewards in XRP?
Of the four, only Gemini: you can choose XRP among 50+ reward coins and switch at any time. The XRP Edition launched with Ripple on 25 August 2025 is the same card with a different design and identical rates. Coinbase One and Fold pay only in bitcoin, and Crypto.com pays in CRO or BTC.
What do cardholders say on Trustpilot and Reddit?
Reddit’s login wall blocked us on 21 October 2026, so we read Trustpilot, where scores cover whole companies: Coinbase 4.0 from 23,279 reviews, Crypto.com 2.0 from 9,475, Fold 1.8 from 30 and Gemini 1.3 from about 1,500. Recent card complaints mention closures and declines at Gemini, and slow support and bill payments at Coinbase.