As mentioned in an earlier post, I have been searching for a “fun” debit card to replace my existing ones. I recently reviewed the 1% and 3% debit cards from MetaMask (which are effectively close to 1% cards), Uphold’s generous 2% and 4%, and relatively unknown 4% debit card from Amp Pay. In this post, we discuss Ether Fi’s 3% debit card, which currently has a 15% cashback promotion for grocery and restaurant usage for new customers who sign up via referral.
Support the blog and use our referral to earn 15% cashback on
groceries and restaurants through May 15
https://www.ether.fi/@d8bc859e
Thank you for your continued support.
Cashback
Here is a high-level summary of the lucrative cashback this card earns:
- 3% cashback on all purchases, with a baseline monthly eligible spend cap of $2,000. Higher account tiers increase this cap, up to $50,000 per month.
- Elevated cashback (typically 10–15%) on rotating promotional categories. These promos are subject to a shared cap across all users. For example, if Ether Fi allocates $50,000 in total promo rewards, the offer may end early once that pool is exhausted. You will see how much cashback you have incurred during the promotional period, as this amount is updated per transaction.
Tiers
Ether Fi card has four tiers. The free tier (Core) will be sufficient for most individuals who are using this card. All tiers earn the same cashback rate of 3% everhwere. However, Core (free) ears 3% on up to $2,000/month, while Luxe earns 3% on up to 10,000/month, and Pinnance earns on up to $50,000/month.
You can upgrade to higher tiers by earning loyalty points each month. Points can be earned in a few ways:
- Staking ETH, using Liquid staking, or holding ETHFi.
- Using your card. You earn 3000 points for every $1000 spent. This means after spending $3,334 in this card, you will be able to get Luxe.
If you have a Core membership, then issuing a physical card costs $40 (although a virtual card that you can add to your Google/Apple wallet is free). Luxe and Pinnance get a metal card for free. If you pay $40 for a physical card and upgrade to Luxe within 12 months, $40 will be refunded.
How to Fund Your Card?
You can fund the card with either crypto or cash. In the U.S., ACH deposits cost $0.50 plus a 0.2% transaction fee, while Fedwire deposits cost $10 plus the same 0.2% fee. The cheapest option, though, is usually the stablecoin route, which can be free or nearly free. A simple beginner-friendly path is:
- Buy USDC on Coinbase using your bank account. This is typically free.
- Wait until Coinbase allows you to withdraw the USDC to an external wallet. If you need access sooner, Coinbase One may let you withdraw earlier. Coinbase One is Coinbase’s monthly/yearly subscription, which is typically available for free for a week.
- Send the USDC to the deposit address provided by Ether Fi.
- If you use Ethereum, the network fee is currently under $1. However, at the moment, sending USDC using other networks (e.g., Base or Polygon) is free. In my experience, sending via Base is deposited into Ether Fi in about a minute.
Sign up for Coinbase using my link and we can each get $20 BTC when you trade $15+.
https://coinbase.com/join/ZGCGG67?src=android-share
Some Terms and Conditions!
- Cashback from the promotion is given after 30 days from the promotion and the transaction review period ends.
The terms for the 15% promotion are fairly extensive, and they include broad language excluding transactions that Ether Fi considers to be fraudulent, abusive, or suspicious (click here). The site also explicitly warns that manufactured spend, or any attempt to game the promotion, can result in immediate forfeiture of cashback rewards and even account suspension (click here).
Closing Thoughts
I only recommend depositing money into Ether Fi when you know you are going to use. The 3% cashback you get as wrapped ether (WETH), which is 1:1 with the 2nd largest cryptocurrency, Ethereum, is instantly available to you. You can convert it to USDC right away. This way is the way to go if you want to minimize tax hassle.
I think this card is going to be added to my daily driver cards for as long as the promotions keep getting renewed.
P.S. Did you know that we have a dedicated Telegram channel for crypto and stocks?
