5 Things to Know About the Coinbase Credit Card

The Coinbase One Card is a crypto-earning option from the cryptocurrency exchange company Coinbase.

Issued by First Electronic Bank, the stainless-steel card earns up to 4% back in Bitcoin — depending on how much you hold in Coinbase assets. If you’re interested in investing in Bitcoin or already manage your assets through the Coinbase platform, the card might be an option to consider for its high earning potential.

However, to get the card, you must be a Coinbase One member, which requires a paid subscription. Plus, as is the case with any crypto-earning card, reward values will fluctuate over time.

Here are five things to know about the Coinbase One Card.

» MORE: NerdWallet's best crypto credit cards

1. You must be a Coinbase member to apply

The Coinbase One Card itself doesn't charge an annual fee, but to get it, you must be a Coinbase One member, and that does come at a price:

• Basic membership: $4.99 a month or $49.99 a year.

• Preferred membership: $29.99 per month or $299.99 a year.

• Premium membership: $299.99 a month or $2,999.99 per year.

Each tier comes with varying benefits commensurate with how much it costs. For example, Premium members get access to 24/7 priority concierge support and free wires, but the basic tier doesn’t offer either of those perks.

You can find crypto-earning cards that don’t charge membership fees. For example, although the Gemini Credit Card® requires a Gemini exchange account to hold your cryptocurrency, creating an account with the platform is free. (Note that holders are still charged trading, custody and transfer fees when using the platform.) The Gemini Credit Card® also allows holders to choose from more than 50 cryptocurrencies to earn as rewards, including Bitcoin. You can only earn Bitcoin with the Coinbase card.

2. Holders can potentially earn up to 4x back

The Coinbase One Card can earn up to 4% back in Bitcoin on every purchase, though the rate you'll get will depend on how much you have in assets with Coinbase. Here's how the assets-to-rewards system works:

• Less than $10,000: 2% back.

• $10,000–$49,999: 2.5% back.

• $50,000–$199,999: 3% back.

• $200,000 or more: 4% back.

Note that rewards above 2% are capped at $10,000 in purchases per month. After that, the rate drops to 2%.

Bitcoin earned with the card is rounded to the nearest dollar and is automatically credited to your digital asset wallet on the Coinbase platform.

» MORE: The crypto credit cards market is on the rebound

3. It comes with some added crypto-related perks

In addition to ongoing rewards, the card offers useful crypto-related benefits, including:

• No trading fees on the first $500 of trades every month.

• 4.5% APY on the first $10,000 held in Coinbase.

• An extra 5% boost on ETH, SOL and other eligible assets when you "stake" your crypto.

• $120 in Base network transaction credit, distributed as $10-per-month rebates. (Base is an Ethereum Layer-2 blockchain developed by Coinbase.)

4. You’ll get benefits from the AmEx network

The Coinbase One Card operates on the American Express network, which means that holders get access to attractive American Express network benefits, including:

• Amex Offers, which features bonus rewards and discounts at select merchants. 

• Amex Experiences, which gives members access to exclusive events. 

• Retail and purchase protection. 

• Travel protections like car rental loss and damage insurance; lost or damaged luggage insurance; and roadside and emergency assistance.

» MORE: American Express card benefits you may not know you have

5. There’s risk involved

The Coinbase card earns rewards as cryptocurrency, which means their value can fluctuate.