Beware Crypto.com Card 2023 Changes? $5 Inactivity Fee, 0.5% Forex Fee & Priority Pass Lounge Access

In better times, the Crypto.com Card was an awesome metal card to have in my wallet.

The Crypto.com Card is a prepaid Visa card that allows me to spend my cryptocurrency. The card offers a variety of benefits, including:

• Up to 5% back in CRO rewards on eligible purchases
• No monthly or annual fee
• Free Spotify and Netflix rebates
• Unlimited airport lounge access with Priority Pass
• Interbank exchange rates
• No overseas fees

As we all know, good times don’t last and a plethora of gradual changes have been made to the Crypto.com card that has relegated it from my wallet must-have to the stack of unused cards.

Even though I am a holder of the Royal Indigo tier card, I haven’t been using it much in recent months because there are better options out there.

$5 Inactivity Fee For Crypto.com Card

First things first, apparently there will be an inactivity fee of S$5 being charged per month after 12 months of inactivity.

I bet many people didn’t know about this huh?

If your prepaid Crypto.com VISA card still has value in it, might be a good idea to check it out and do something about it.

Nothing too troublesome about it as I do use it once in a while in Singapore from the CRO rewards that I receive.

Use it to buy a vanilla cone from McDonald’s or something like that.

0.5% Foreign Transaction Fee Using Crypto.com Card

[14 November 2022]

Another big change was the updated 0.5% foreign transaction fee, if you haven’t noticed.

Previously touted as offering interbank exchange rates and no overseas fees, it was truly awesome as I withdrew money from ATMs (no fee!) in Malaysia and Indonesia at close to Google rates.

In the past, I have used this card when travelling and enjoyed REALLY good rates when making transactions overseas as well.

But take note of this change effective from November last year.

Foreign transaction fee of 0.5% on all purchases and ATM withdrawals that are not denominated in SGD, AUD, EUR, GBP, HKD, JPY, or USD for Midnight Blue, Ruby Steel, Royal Indigo, and Jade Green Cards will be applied.

When there are SO MANY multi-currency wallets and good-for-travel cards such as Instarem Amaze, YouTrip, Revolut, Wise and even peripheral contenders like

• Singlife: “There will be zero FX fees charged on your overseas purchases”
• Trust Bank: “Trust does not charge any foreign transaction/markup fees, not even the usual 1% Visa charge”

This is going to be a tough and losing battle for Crypto.com VISA card.

Hello Priority Pass, Goodbye LoungeKey

[31 May 2023]

From 31 May 2023, the airport lounge access program for Crypto.com Card has been changed from LoungeKey to Priority Pass. You will no longer be able to access your LoungeKey account.

I have never used LoungeKey before so I don’t really know much about it.

FYI, it is mandatory to register for Priority Pass to enjoy your lounge access benefits because the membership isn’t automated.

Not sure what Priority Pass is?

Priority Pass is a program that provides members with access to airport lounges around the world. The program has over 1,300 lounges in over 600 cities in 148 countries. Priority Pass members can use their membership card to enter any of the lounges in the program, REGARDLESS of their airline or ticket class.

Lounge visit fees of US$32 per person, per visit apply but if you have a Priority Pass membership, entry is free.

When I fly budget or economy, lounges are a great place for some peace and quiet plus food with WIFI.

Meanwhile, Jade Green and Royal Indigo Crypto.com card holders continue to enjoy 4 complimentary lounge visits per calendar year, but it is only for the cardholder and not the guest. Great option if you’re a solo traveller.

This doesn’t matter to me as I have been unlimited Priority Pass visits but if you’re looking to get free Priority Pass visits, do check out DBS Altitude and Citi PremierMiles.

They offer 2 complimentary lounge visits per 12-month membership period, and each card count as a separate Priority Pass account, so they can add up.

Free Spotify/Netflix only first 6 months (if applicable)

[23 January 2023]

Really old news by now, but in case you haven’t been checking your bills, existing Jade Green, Royal Indigo, and Ruby Steel Crypto.com Card holders who activated their Card before 23 July 2022, 15:00 UTC will enjoy the merchant rebate benefit(s) (Spotify, Netflix) tied to their current Card tier for six more months (until 23 January 2023, 15:00 UTC).

Thereafter, cardholders will no longer receive CRO reimbursement(s) when spending with these merchant(s); they will instead receive up to 2% back when spending with these merchants with their Crypto.com card, depending on their card tier.

Private Members holding an Icy White, Frosted Rose Gold, or Obsidian card will continue to enjoy their existing merchant rebate benefits.

It was great to have milked this benefit for years ($35/mth) and saved hundreds of dollars along the way.

Can’t complain.

Ending Thoughts

All the updated fees and limits that I’ve mentioned can be found on the Crypto.com web page specifically for Singapore users.

The way I see it, Royal Indigo tier and below Crypto.com card holders are basically peasant category right now and not really worth it for using the Crypto.com VISA card.

Perhaps a bull run might bring back additional perks and give me reasons to use it. Otherwise, it is what it is.

In other news, Crypto.com has received the major payment institution licence from MAS.

With the licence, Crypto.com can continue to extend its DPT services to customers in Singapore, including e-money issuance, account issuance and cross-border and domestic money transfers, the exchange said in a release on Thursday.

This is a year after the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) handed out an in-principle approval to the firm.

Crypto.com has been a convenient option for me as a crypto bridge and this licence will grant it the status of a trusted provider of this role along with Coinbase for the Singaporean market.

Guess the Crypto.com card goes back into my drawer for now.

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Kevin

Kevin started Turtle Investor when his net worth languished at negative $25,755. His desire to turn things around led him to build passive income from investments and side hustles that pay for all his daily expenses and overseas vacations. You can learn more about Kevin here.