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BlockFi Bitcoin Rewards Credit Card Review
Earn 1.5% back in bitcoin on all purchases and a $100 Bitcoin welcome offer.
- Get this card if you invest in bitcoin and want a method of earning bitcoin on everyday purchases.
- Pick something else if you want traditional rewards or cash back on purchases.
- Apply with a good to excellent credit score of 700 or higher.
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$100
Welcome offer
Up to 3.5%
Cash back
$0
Annual fee
15.74% to 25.74%
Purchase APR (variable)
Details
| Annual fee | $0 |
|---|---|
| Welcome offer | Up to $100 in Bitcoin rewards by earning 3.5% back in Bitcoin on all purchases in the first 90 days |
| Rewards | 3.5% back in Bitcoin in the first 90 days, up to a total of $100 in Bitcoin, then 1.5% on all purchases |
| Purchase APR | 15.74% to 25.74% variable |
| Balance transfer APR | N/A |
| Minimum Credit Score | 700 |
| Issuer | Visa |
Review by
Steven Dashiell
steven.dashiell@finder.comSteven Dashiell is Senior Writer, Personal Finance at Finder specializing in all things credit cards. With more than 300 articles under his belt, he aims to help readers embrace credit cards and maximize their rewards. Steve is studying to become a Certified Educator in Personal Finance, and is a frequent face on Finder’s YouTube channel, offering the latest in credit card hacks and advice. His expertise has been featured on numerous outlets, including U.S. News & World Report, NASDAQ, Time, CBS, Fox Business, Lifehacker, Martha Stewart Living and more.
Expert review
It was only a matter of time: The BlockFi Bitcoin Rewards Credit Card is one of the first credit cards on the market to let you earn Bitcoin as rewards on your purchases. It has a 15.74%–25.74% variable APR, but you’ll earn 1.5% back in bitcoin on all purchases and a welcome offer worth up to $100 in bitcoin. You’ll also get several bonuses related to trading and holding bitcoin. All for $0 annual fee.
Purchases made with the BlockFi Bitcoin Rewards Credit Card earn 1.5% back as bitcoin, the value of which is captured at purchase and deposited into your BlockFi Wallet account. This rate increases to 2% for every purchase made after $30,000 in spend in a given year, reverting to the original rate each card anniversary. As a unique signup bonus, you’ll earn 3.5% bitcoin on up to $100 in bitcoin in the first 90 days, reverting to the base 1.5% back afterward. The card also offers 0.25% back on eligible bitcoin trades, up to $500 per month.
Unfortunately, this card has undergone a rather important change: US consumers can no longer create a BlockFi Interest Account. Before February 2022, bitcoin earned with the BlockFi Bitcoin Rewards Visa was deposited into an interest account on a monthly basis, where earned rewards would begin to accrue interest. BlockFi however has entered into a resolution with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) to agree upon a regulatory path to a new interest product. Until then, consumers can’t create new interest accounts, though existing users can continue to use theirs. This kind of regulatory back-and-forth is all but certain for cryptocurrencies and crypto credit cards in the coming year.
It’s not easy to compare this card to other standard reward or cashback credit cards on the market because bitcoin doesn’t have a fixed value. For most reward cards, earning 1.5% back on every dollar is like earning 1.5 cents per dollar. But the value of bitcoin is in constant flux. While you might earn the “cash back” in bitcoin on four identical purchases, the quantity of bitcoin you earn on each purchase will likely differ with each purchase given market fluctuations. Once the bitcoin is in your account, the actual value of your bitcoin could go up or down with the market. That means the 1.5% “cash back” you earned in bitcoin could very well be worth 5% or more if the value of bitcoin goes up in the coming months – or it could be worth less than 1.5% should the market go down. As such, BlockFi tells Finder that it considers the BlockFi credit card as an entirely different product or category than a rewards credit card.
With that said, the BlockFi Bitcoin Rewards Credit Card is undeniably something bitcoin investors will want to examine, especially considering BlockFi says they want to add additional features and benefits to the card over time. But if you’re not invested in cryptocurrencies – and bitcoin in particular – a standard rewards credit card is going to provide you more value.
How to apply for the BlockFi Bitcoin Rewards Credit Card
As of early June 2021, you can only join the waitlist for the BlockFi Bitcoin Rewards Credit Card. If you’ve signed up for the waitlist, you will recieve an application invitation. BlockFi is aiming to launch the card mid-June 2021 and you’ll want a good to excellent credit score of 700 or higher to qualify. You’ll also need a BlockFi account to apply for the card.
- Select Apply now.
- Enter your first name and email address and click Join the waitlist.
What credit score do I need to apply for the BlockFi Bitcoin Rewards Credit Card?
To qualify for the BlockFi Bitcoin Rewards Credit Card you’ll want to apply with a good to excellent credit score of 700 or higher.
BlockFi Bitcoin Rewards Credit Card benefits
- Earn bitcoin on purchases. You’ll earn 1.5% back as bitcoin on all purchases. BlockFi will capture this value at the time of purchase and deposit it into your BlockFi Wallet monthly. You can increase this rate to 2% back after you spend $30,000 on your card in a year. This rate resets each card anniversary.
- Welcome offer. Earn 3.5% back in bitcoin rewards on all purchases in your first 90 days, up to a total of $100 in bitcoin. After that, your rewards will revert to 1.5% on all purchases.
- Offers portal. You can earn up to 10% back in bitcoin when you make eligible purchases through the BlockFi Offers portal.
- Earn back on trades. Earn 0.25% back in bitcoin on all eligible trades, up to $500 in bitcoin each month.
BlockFi Bitcoin Rewards Credit Card drawbacks
- Rewards volatile. Once your rewards are deposited into your wallet, their value is subject to bitcoin market fluctuations.
Compare Crypto credit cards that are available now
There’s a handful of eagerly-awaited crypto credit cards that haven’t launched yet, but you don’t have to wait if you want to start earning crypto rewards now. Below are the cards that you can apply for now.
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BlockFi reviews and complaints
BlockFi is not accredited with the Better Business Bureau and earns a B+ with the bureau as of August 2021. The company has just one customer complaint and one review, with the consumer disappointed in BlockFi’s customer service.
The company fares much better on TrustPilot, earning a 3.8 out of 5 based on customer reviews as of August 2021.
Bottom line
Bitcoin credit cards are a new and unexplored frontier and BlockFi is leading the way with the BlockFi Bitcoin Rewards Credit Card. While the card is unlikely to compete with standard cashback cards on the market, it may well prove essential for bitcoin investors as a method of steadily building on an existing investment. BlockFi has almost certainly opened the floodgates for more bitcoin rewards cards to hit the market so stay tuned to Finder for more crypto coverage reviews of this emerging credit card space.
