【Actual measurement】Crypto.com debit card usage experience and Spotify monthly fee 100% feedback

Before going to bed last night, I saw someone sharing on Facebook that Crypto.com wants to modify the bonus reward of the Crypto.com debit card (also known as debit card/debit card/Visa debit card, hereinafter referred to as the Crypto.com debit card). , but I don't have too many negative emotions (for reasons explained later). After waking up in the morning and having a clearer mind, I reconsider and still agree with my thoughts last night (in some respects, I am glad that I did not write this article first XD). So I want to share it for everyone's reference, especially those who feel anxious and nervous after seeing the Crypto.com debit card modification bonus feedback last night (or this morning).

At the end of last year and at the beginning of this year, I started to explore the world of cryptocurrencies and web3.0. After seeing @Erica sharing the experience of using Crypto.com debit card and Wirex debit card on Matters, I immediately applied for one (this It is an old article I saw at the time , but there is an updated version recently). The reason is very simple. If cryptocurrencies are to be used as currency, they must be combined with real life. Cryptocurrency charge cards are a good attempt. Although the cryptocurrency charge card is used, it is still necessary to convert the cryptocurrency into fiat currency before you can actually swipe the card, but it is already a good start.

However, I only succeeded in applying for a Crypto.com debit card. I should have no luck with Wirex for the time being. It may be related to my Apple Store country setting (which will be explained later). In short, there are some puzzling situations.

4 Best Things to Know Before Applying for a Crypto.com Charge Card

Before applying for the Crypto.com debit card, I did a little homework myself. However, some things are still, at that time, when I read various experience sharing articles, I seemed to understand but not understand, but after actually using it, I found that some situations were different from what I thought I had (this part was actually not clear at the time, and after actually encountering the situation, I checked the article I read on the Internet again, and I suddenly realized "that's what it meant~"). To quickly sort out a few points that I think is best to know before using them:

1. Although the Crypto.com charge card is an encrypted currency charge card, it does not directly swipe the encrypted currency. Instead, you must first convert the encrypted currency into fiat currency and store it in the electronic wallet of the Crypto.com charge card. Consumption. (But I first encountered a situation where there was no money in the Crypto.com debit card account, but it could be used... This matter will be described later)
2. To apply for a Crypto.com debit card and to enjoy credit card rewards, you need to use Crypto.com's platform currency CRO. A certain amount of CRO must be pledged in order to apply for a Crypto.com charge card. Different levels of Crypto.com charge cards, or whether CRO is pledged or not, will affect the % of the credit card bonus reward. The point is, on Crypto.com, CRO cannot be directly added to the Crypto.com debit card. You must first exchange the CRO for stable coins (USDC, USDT) or other mainstream currencies before adding value to the Crypto.com debit card. Cary.
3. (I found out after a long time of searching) There are only the following cryptocurrencies that can be added directly to the Crypto.com debit card: (For the latest information, see here )
   BTC, ETH, LTC, XRP, ADA, CHZ, DAI, DOGE, ENJ, LINK, MANA, MATIC, TAUD, TCAD, TGBP, THETA, UNI, USDC, USDT, VET and ZIL
4. The earliest headquarters of Crypto.com should be located in Hong Kong (now I am not sure if it is moved to Singapore), but the debit card issued by Crypto.com is in cooperation with the card issuer in Singapore, so the default value of Crypto.com when swiping the card is Singapore Dollars. I would also suggest that when exchanging cryptocurrencies for fiat, it would be better to exchange them for Singapore dollars.

The above points are what I feel most need to tell those who want to buy a Crypto.com charge card after using this card for more than 2 months.

Another thing I think is good about Crypto.com is that, after all, it is a cryptocurrency exchange in Hong Kong/Singapore. I think the traditional Chinese of the user interface is very good. It’s too much to be safe), when I apply for a Crypto.com account, I also use Chinese documents to complete the identity verification (KYC), which is very fast (but I have seen some netizens sharing that I can’t pass using Chinese documents. Originally, I planned to use Chinese documents first, and it would not be bad to change to English if I could not pass.)

Crypto.com Debit Card 5 tiers at once (?)

Other information about Crypto.com or Crypto.com charge cards is also important, for example: Crypto.com charge cards have 5 tiers, from highest to lowest:

1. Black Obsidian (Obsidian)
2. Icy White in silver or Frosted Rose Gold in rose gold
3. Royal Indigo in violet/indigo or Jade Green in green
4. Ruby Steel in red
5. Blue Midnight Blue

The CRO that needs to be pledged for each level is different, and the bonus returns are also different. It is good for everyone to study this point before applying for the card, and evaluate how much money you can pledge and what kind of feedback you want. But almost every article on Crypto.com charge cards mentions it, so I personally don't think it's that important compared to the previous 4 points. The name in brackets is the translated name of the official website of Crypto.com, but in fact, in the use of APP or online crawling to find information, almost everyone speaks in English or color, and rarely uses the official translation, especially if there are "Royal Blue" and "Midnight Blue" are very easy to confuse...

I personally chose to bid for the red Ruby Steel. One factor is, of course, that the Ruby Steel and above are the metal card surface, and the Midnight Blue is a plastic card, which seems to lack the taste of the Crypto.com debit card. Many people make this card for the metallic texture. In fact, after getting this card, it is really "heavy" and very thick XD

Another factor, and the reason why I got a Crypto.com debit card, and this time the Crypto.com debit card change bonus rebate, but it didn't have a big impact on me was Spotify.

Spotify monthly fee of "substantially zero"

One of the great features of Crypto.com debit cards is that Ruby Steel and above cards enjoy 100% of Spotify's monthly fee back. Royal Indigo or Jade Green and above, even Netflix's monthly fee is 100% back. (Please refer to the official website of Crypto.com for the full feedback, I am not sure when this Chinese version link will be updated to the latest information published last night )

100% feedback, in a relatively cool Japanese term, can be said to be "substantial zero yuan (実円 0 yen)", but 100% feedback is a Chinese description that is closer to the actual situation. To put it simply, the amount you swiped with your Crypto.com debit card, Crypto.com will give you back 100% equivalent CRO. You can then take these to CRO and exchange them for other cryptocurrencies (for example: USDC or USDT) and then add value to the Crypto.com charge card. In theory, you can achieve the effect of endless "self-circulation".

This 100% rebate is provided by Crypto.com, so actually Spotify (or Netflix, if you have a higher tier Crypto.com charge card) does receive your monthly fee, but you But you can get back the equivalent cryptocurrency after paying a monthly fee. For me, it's a bit like I regularly buy cryptocurrency equivalent to Spotify's monthly fee every month, but I also get paid Spotify memberships at the same time.

This matter is very important to me, and basically I made this card for this 100% feedback. In fact, I have been using this method for nearly 2 months, and I can really assure you that it is true~ A major factor in the fact that this Crypto.com debit card experience article will be delayed for so long is because of this matter : I want to actually experience and see if using the Crypto.com debit card can really give back 100% of the Spotify monthly fee, so I haven't written this article. I saw the news last night and felt that it was really right that I hadn't written this article before, now is the time XD

Reasons to reluctantly say goodbye to Apple Music (friends who are not interested in my personal story can skip this entire paragraph)

Here's the thing: I started in the second half of 2015 and used the Japanese version of Apple Music for several years. The reason is very simple, I was in Japan at the time, I was using an iPhone, and I happened to be a student, so I could apply for the Japanese version of Apple Music's student plan. The price of the student plan is half the price of an At-Large member! feel save. What's even more amazing is that (this must be a problem with the system design), after returning to Taiwan after a one-year exchange course in Japan, I could still receive an e-mail to verify my student's identity, so it's better to be respectful than to obey (?) continue to enjoy my Japanese Apple Music Student Plan. At that time, before returning to Taiwan, I first stored some points in the Japanese version of the Apple Store. I flew back to Japan for a short period of time from time to time, and I would buy a point card recharge account by the way. When I came back to study in Japan 2 years ago, I was able to continue using my student program with my head held high for granted.

The problem is that this time it wasn't as smooth as last time. After graduating from the graduate school, because this time I graduated as a regular student (it was only an exchange student before, and there was a difference in the student status, so it was not really "graduated"), the school will automatically switch the graduate's e-mail subdomain, and then I If you don't receive the letter, you won't receive the letter that Apple Music regularly sends to verify the student's identity every year. That's okay, I've been enjoying the half-price discount for a long time, and it's time to pay the full monthly fee. But then I encountered various problems... In short, many people on the Internet should teach others to switch the country setting of the Apple Store. I used this trick before, so I have the Japanese version, the Taiwan version and the US version at the same time. 's Apple Store account. However, Apple does not know when it started. It has added a rule that if you have stored value points in the Apple Store in a certain country, there is no way to switch the country where the Apple Store is located, otherwise there will be problems with the account.

After I returned to Taiwan, I tried many times, and there was really no way to move (the system will keep threatening you, you still have points in your account, and if you ooo, you will xxx...), so I often encounter people asking me to join the APP , as long as this APP is not on the Apple Store in Japan, I have no way to download it.

Dig away, back to Apple Music. Everyone should know that the yen has depreciated a lot recently, so I don't want to pay the monthly fee for Apple Music with the yen I exchanged a few years ago. I didn't expect that the Japanese version of Apple Store can't use Taiwan's credit card to swipe it~ I tried a lot of cards, both debit cards and credit cards. The Japanese version of Apple Store can only bind Japanese credit cards, or directly in Buy point cards in Japan to add value. At present, I can't go to Japan (if I could go, I would definitely buy an Apple Store credit card!), I can only let the Japanese version of Apple Store deduct money from my bank account in Japan regularly every month, every time I deduct my heart rate. Just cool it down once (those are the money I exchanged 2 years ago...)

Until the beginning of this year, I learned that the Crypto.com debit card actually has 100% of Spotify's monthly fee back, which is really a blessing and a celebration. In fact, even if the Crypto.com debit card doesn't have this benefit, if I want to say goodbye to Apple Music and put myself in the arms of Spotify, there is no problem. But people just don't go to the Yellow River, and they feel that the compatibility of Spotify with iPhone is not so good in terms of user experience, so they didn't change it.

That's it for my personal story.

Switching to a Singapore account is a big hurdle

There is actually a small threshold to use the Crypto.com debit card to enjoy 100% rebate on Spotify's monthly fee. It's not a matter of money, you want to use the Crypto.com charge card to buy Spotify's personal plan, or a double plan (Premium Duo), a family plan (Premium Family) to share with relatives and friends, this is completely OK! The monthly fee is really 100% paid back to your Crypto.com account. Only in operation, it is relatively small for Crypto.com cardholders, that is, the main account of Spotify Premium, but if you buy a two-person plan or a family plan to share with relatives and friends, your relatives and friends will encounter some troubles .

This goes back to Crypto.com being a Singapore-based credit card, at least for users in Asia Pacific. So when you want to pay Spotify monthly fee with Crypto.com debit card, your Spotify account must be set up in Singapore. Intimate reminder, I strongly recommend that you open a new Spotify account, do not directly use the original Spotify account in Taiwan to do the following things, otherwise it will be more troublesome.

By the way, if you are a friend who is accustomed to using Gmail, there is a trick that can generate a bunch of Gmail accounts, but the way to return all letters to the most commonly used mailbox is to add in front of your Gmail mailbox "@gmail.com". Enter "+region country code", such as "account name+jp@gmail.com", remember to hit the half-shaped plus sign, it will become another e-mail. This trick is very useful when you need to set up an account across regions, and all letters will still be returned to the original "account name@gmail.com" mailbox.

Ok, if it is the main account of the Spotify account, which is me, when I use the Crypto.com debit card to bind the Spotify member, on the one hand, it may be because I directly use "account name + sg@gmail.com" to open one New Spotify account, on the other hand, because Crypto.com is a Singapore debit card, so as soon as I enter the card number of the Crypto.com debit card, Spotify automatically changes the country and region of my account to Singapore. But my friends, the friends of my Spotify family, didn't go so well. She didn't just open a new Spotify account, she had to connect to a Singapore VPN to successfully change the country of her Spotify account to Singapore.

As for why it must be changed to Singapore... Because of the system settings, family members on Spotify must be in the same place, not only the address must be exactly the same when inputting (a difference of one character, or the problem of Chinese-English conversion will not work. , I tried back and forth with my friends many times, only to get two people to enter the same address), the country must be the same.

I originally invited many friends to be my family members on Spotify, but in the end only one person managed to be patient and overcome many difficulties before becoming my Spotify family members. . However, I can assure you that after my friend and I tested it, it was really only at the very beginning. My friend received an invitation link. To become my Spotify family member, I needed to connect to a VPN in Singapore. After that, I couldn’t listen to music using Spotify question. I have been using it for 2 months myself without any problems.

Can you swipe your debit card without any money?

Finally, let’s talk about a small episode, which is mentioned earlier in this article, “I first encountered a situation where there was no money in the Crypto.com debit card account, but it could be used.”

I got this card for Spotify, and if Spotify doesn't work, I won't continue to use this card. One very experimental thing I did was buy a paid Spotify membership without having any money on my Crypto.com charge card. As a result, because I created a new Spotify account, when I directly upgraded to a paid membership, I had a 1-month free trial period. So in the beginning, Spotify did not deduct the money, only automatically transferred the location of my Spotify account to Singapore.

Should it be said to be clever but mistaken by cleverness? In short, because of this matter (I didn’t expect that a debit card with no money in it could be swiped!) I was worried for a month, and I was very afraid of the next month. What can go wrong when debiting money. However, this did not actually happen, because after I joined the Crypto.com account, I decided to directly store up SGD 100 with my credit card in Taiwan dollars and go to Crypto.com to sign up before the end of the 1st month fee discount period. inside the debit card. I stored fiat currency directly, just like I used to use the Japanese version of Apple Music to buy a credit card to store value.

write at the end

At this point, everyone should already know what my attitude towards the Crypto.com charge card is: this card is the point card I use to "self-circulate" Spotify's monthly fee. As long as Crypto.com doesn't take away the 100% point rebate on Spotify's monthly fee, I'll keep using it. (Although the price of CRO has plummeted because Crypto.com suddenly modified the bonus rebate of the debit card...)

The biggest changes to the Crypto.com debit card this time are the bonus points for swiping the card (% of the CRO returned), as well as the newly added bonus points for the debit cards of Ruby Steel and Royal Indigo/Jade Green ( aka CRO) monthly reward cap. For me, I do not regard this card as my daily consumption card, and the amount of Spotify monthly fee does not exceed the threshold of CRO's monthly reward limit, so this change has no impact on me.

If you have studied the Crypto.com charge card, you will actually know that Crypto.com has undergone greater changes before this time: the original Crypto.com charge card rewarded with MCO, which was changed later. Become a CRO, is this change big enough? In the non-cryptocurrency world, you will hear from time to time that the credit card company adjusts the bonus rebate %. If the original direct cash rebate is changed to rebate the points limited by the credit card company's system, you will really want to jump. I would be really dumbfounded if the scope of the new version of reward points became less applicable. Although I'm not sure if I can use this analogy (at least I think the application scope of CRO is wider than the number of points limited by credit card companies), but at least what this thing tells us is that what will happen in the non-cryptocurrency world, in encryption It can also happen in the world of money, really do your homework. Investment must be risky, and cryptocurrency investment is also profitable and losing. You really need to think clearly before applying for a Crypto.com debit card~

ps. Some users of Crypto.com debit cards on the Internet say that they wait a long time to receive the card after applying for the card. I personally feel that it is very fast. I waited about a week after the application for the app, and the app showed that the card was being produced and sent, and then I arrived at my home in Taipei within a few days.

If you find this article helpful, or after reading it makes you want to join the Crypto.com charge card ranks, welcome to use my referral code en7vwudz7c to sign up for Crypto.com, and you can get $25 worth of CRO together .

This article is simultaneously published on the personal blog .