Once you enter the world of cryptocurrency and crypto rewards you may find yourself drowning in different terminology. Chances are the term ‘Blockfi rewards’ will come up at some point, if it hasn’t already.
Blockfi rewards aren’t a specific set of rewards. Rather Blockfi rewards refer to cryptocurrency rewards earned with the Blockfi Rewards Visa Signature Credit Card. Since that card was the first rewards credit card that allowed card holders to earn crypto such as Bitcoin, the term “Blockfi rewards” is sometimes used when describing crypto rewards more generally.
How do Blockfi rewards stack up? Are there better crypto reward cards you should consider? Let’s dive into the best crypto rewards cards here.
How Blockfi Rewards Work
You’re probably familiar with cash back rewards. Spend money using your card and earn a percentage of the purchase amount back in cash back.
The Blockfi card is similar except that instead of getting cash back in the form of fiat currency, you can get rewards in the form of crypto. With the Blockfi card you earn:
1.5% back on eligible purchases
2% back on purchases above $50,000 in annual spend
3.5% cash back welcome bonus, up to $100 in crypto
The Blockfi rewards credit card was the original bitcoin rewards credit card, and initially offered only bitcoin rewards. However, you can now choose from a variety of crypto: Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), Chainlink (LINK), PAX Gold (PAXG), Basic Attention Token (BAT), Uniswap (UNI), Algorand (ALGO), Bitcoin Cash (BCH) or Dogecoin (DOGE). Stablecoin rewards include Gemini Dollar (GUSD), USD Coin (USDC), Paxos Standard (PAX), Multi-Collateral Dai (DAI), or Binance USD (BUSD).
Blockfi is a crypto exchange and you can also earn .25% (up to $500 a month) on eligible trades on the platform, with some exclusions. Finally there is a $30 refer-a-friend bonus.
Pros and Cons of Blockfi Rewards
Pros:
No annual fee
No foreign transaction fees
Can choose variety of cryptocurrencies
Get preapproved without affecting credit score
Cons:
Must have a Blockfi account
No business credit card offered
Balance transfers not available
Variable APR can be high
As with any credit card, you want to understand the full terms and conditions, and not just the rewards you’ll earn. The terms of this card are generally similar to other major credit cards, though it’s worth noting this card does not offer balance transfers or cash advances. There is no annual fee, but there is a late payment fee of up to $25.
Your interest rate will depend on your qualifications. You can avoid interest charges by paying your balance in full.
While good credit to excellent credit is required, you can get preapproved on the Blockfi site without a hard credit pull. (If you decide to apply there will be a full credit check.)
This card also comes with Visa Signature Card perks that include access to special events as well as 24/7 Visa Signature® Concierge assistance if you want help booking travel, transportation, accommodations, event tickets, restaurant reservations or golf tee times.
The BlockFi Rewards Visa Signature Card has two partners: Deserve, Inc. and the financial institution Evolve Bank & Trust which offers the credit line.
Credit Cards with Crypto Rewards
The universe of cards offering crypto rewards is still fairly small. There are fewer card offers with crypto rewards when compared to cash-back credit cards or travel rewards cards. However, the number of options is growing. Here are cards to compare:
Dash.fi Credit Card
Type of card: Business credit card
Type of crypto rewards: Bitcoin and Ethereum
Rewards rate: Up to 3% crypto rewards for the first 60 days and 1.5% unlimited rewards after that. dash.fi also offers the opportunity to extend the 3% crypto rewards beyond the first 60 days with up to 10 - 20X higher limits than other business credit cards along with unlimited virtual cards.
0% interest rate on purchases when using the dash.fi charge card.
Blockfi Rewards Visa Signature Credit Card
Type of card: Personal credit card
Types of crypto rewards: Variety offered
Rewards rate: The basic rewards rate is 1.5% unlimited crypto rewards. It also has an intro bonus of 3.5% the first 90 days of account opening (for up to $5000 in spend, capped at $100 in bitcoin). If you spend more than $50,000 on your card in a year, purchases over that amount will earn a 2% rewards rate.
Rewards are credited monthly and you are free to change your choice of crypto for your rewards.
Brex Credit Card
Type of card: Business credit card
Types of crypto rewards: Bitcoin and Ethereum
Rewards rate: Most purchases earn 1 point per dollar spent, but certain purchases can earn higher rewards; for example, 8 points/dollar on rideshare purchases, 4 points per dollar on restaurants and 3 points/dollar on recurring software. You earn more points if you pay your balance daily.
You can redeem points for a variety of rewards, including crypto. You’ll need a crypto wallet in the name of the business. Crypto rewards require a minimum 1000 points and cap out at 1 million points.
Gemini Mastercard
Type of card: Personal credit card
Types of crypto rewards: Variety (60+)
Rewards rate: Standard rewards are 1% cash back in crypto, but you can earn 3% back on dining up to the first $6000 spent annually, then 1%. And you can earn 2% on groceries and 1% on other purchases. This card credits rewards immediately, rather than on a monthly basis. Gemini is a cryptocurrency exchange providing access to 60+ crypto assets.
This card has no annual fee or foreign transaction fees.
Also note that the waitlist has been lifted and you can apply for this card if you have a Gemini account.
SoFi Credit Card
Type of card: Personal credit card
Types of crypto rewards: Bitcoin and Ethereum
Rewards rate: Spend $1 on your SoFi credit card and earn 2 reward points. You can then redeem those points as crypto to your SoFi active invest account. You’ll redeem points for $0.01 when redeeming for crypto. (Alternatively, you can redeem points for $0.05 as a statement credit to your account.)
This card has no annual fee.
Venmo Credit Card
Type of card: Personal credit card
Types of crypto rewards: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, or Bitcoin Cash
Rewards rate: The Venmo credit card earns cash back in three tiers: 3% for your top spending category, 2% for your second spending category and 1% on everything else, If you choose cash back to cryptom your cash back rewards will be used to purchase the cryptocurrency of your choice from the options offered.
This card has no annual fee.
