3/9/2022 Update: Because of the massive nerf, I have decided to make this post publicly visible.
3/3/2022 Update: Massive nerf on cashback limits. For example, for Elites, maximum cashback per transaction has been lowered from $80 to $20. Further, for Elites maximum cashback per month has been lowered from $1500 to $80. I have added the details below.
A new crypto card has landed in US without much coverage but the readers of the blog know that we cover stuff nobody else covers. So, here is a very detailed review of the new card. This card is so insane that it will not last long in its current iteration and will likely issue bans left and right.
The card of discussion is the up to 8% cashback earning Wirex card. Sure, there is a 8% cashback earning card from crypto.com but this one doesn’t require you to put house money in a native token. In fact, there is no native token in play in the US market. The points earned are good old glorious cashback.
X-Points
It is important to highlight that x-points are US specific reward and it is not a cryptocurrency. In fact, 1 x-point has a fixed value of 1 cent and have been called loyalty points in their terms and conditions. This has a tax huge implication as this is essentially cashback and not cryptoback. The latter of which can go up or down and make you tax liable.
You can read full terms and condition here. This terms and condition is worth a read and we will come back to bits of it later.
Their website seems to claim there might be some APY on X-Points but I have my doubt. Remember this is a company that is new to US market and their FAQs etc are typically just copy paste with minor adjustment for US market. I suspect whoever is in charge of it forgot to remove the APY bit.
$50 Referral Bonus
The referrer and the referred can both get up to $50 worth of XPoints. The process of getting $50 involves getting account verification, making first deposit of minimum value $40, first crypto exchange of minimum value $40, ordering the card, and finally downloading Wirex wallet and account registration.
However, this referral promo expired on March 6, 2022. If you joined through a referral you have “until the 14th of March to complete all of the remaining actions which will be paid out within 30 working days”.
I had joined without a referral and more or less instantly got $15 worth of X-Points for simply completing the verification process. I did not get bonus for doing other activities but maybe that will post in the future.
Now, verification itself requires ID documentation, SSN, as well as a video of yourself where you speak some digits that show up on the screen.
Cashback Membership Plans
Wirex offers three membership plans namely Standard, Premium, and Elite. Their notable benefits are as follows:
- Standard (no fee):
- 2% cashback (in store)
- no ATM fee on up to $400/month
- Premium ($9.99/month or 999 X-Points/month):
- 4% cashback in store as well as online
- no ATM fee on up to $400/month
- Elite (29.99/month or 2999 X-Points/month):
- 8% cashback in store as well as online
- no ATM fee on up to $400/month
Membership Fee Discount
Membership is paid in X-Points. Those who choose to pay 12-month fee upfront are provided a 15% discount. In other words, when paid up front premium costs $99.99 (9999 X-Points) while Elite costs $299.99 (29999 X-points).
Cap on Cashback
The maximum points you can earn per month (or transaction) is based on which membership you have. The cap is as follows:
| Cashback limits | Standard | Premium | Elite |
|---|---|---|---|
| Max Cashback/month | |||
| Max Cashback/transaction |
The maximum amount of spend that will earn you reward per month (or transaction) is as follows:
| Max Reward Earning Spend | Standard | Premium | Elite |
|---|---|---|---|
| Max Spend/month | |||
| Max Spend/transaction |
Funding Wirex Account
As of writing this article (2/23/2022) there is no way to connect your bank account. I assume this feature will eventually be available via collaboration with Plaid.
Although the website says you can deposit crypto, at the moment, this is not possible for US customers. You do have an option to swap deposited crypto to X-Points or USD. The minimum X-Points you can swap is 3,000 ($30).
The third source of funding Wirex is debit card and thankfully it works, kind of. There is no fee for debit card funding and all debit cards will not work (eg Amex).
Initially there is a $150/day limit on debit card funding but you can raise it to $5,000/day by verifying your card (this requires looking at how the charge posts on the debit card you are funding with). See this FAQ post on how to link your card and this one for how to verify your linked card.
Cashback Reward Exclusions
The following Merchant Category Codes (MCC) are excluded from cashback:
| MCC | Description |
| 4304 | Service code of visa |
| 4829 | Money Orders Wire Transfer |
| 5292 | Service code of visa |
| 5295 | Service code of visa |
| 5415 | Service code of visa |
| 6010 | Financial Institutions Manual Cash Disbursements |
| 6011 | Financial Institutions Manual Cash Disbursements |
| 6012 | Financial Institutions Merchandise and Services |
| 6022 | Financial Institution (RCL Internal) |
| 6023 | State Banks (RCL Internal) |
| 6025 | National Banks (RCL Internal) |
| 6026 | National Banks Non Federal (RCL Internal) |
| 6028 | Unincorporated Private Banks (RCL Internal) |
| 6050 | Financial institutions – quasi-cache |
| 6051 | Non-Financial Institutions Foreign Currency, Money Orders (not wire transfer) and Travelers Cheques |
| 6211 | Security Brokers/Dealers |
| 6529 | Remote Stored Value Load – Member Financial Institution |
| 6530 | Remote Stored Value Load |
| 6531 | Payment Service Provider – Money Transfer |
| 6532 | Money Transfer – Financial Institution |
| 6534 | Money Transfer – Financial Institution |
| 6535 | Claims on Values - Financial Institutions |
| 6536 | MasterCard MoneySend |
| 6537 | MasterCard MoneySend |
| 6538 | MasterCard MoneySend Funding |
| 6539 | Transaction on financing (excluding MoneySend) |
| 6540 | Transactions on financing POI (except MoneySend) |
| 6611 | Overpayment (down payments) |
| 6760 | Bonds of Savings Loan |
| 7012 | Time-share |
| 8664 | Service code of visa |
| 9034 | I-Purchasing Pilot |
| 9211 | Judicial payments, including alimony and child support |
| 9222 | Fines |
| 9223 | Payments on bonds and bonds |
| 9311 | Tax payments |
| 9399 | Government services – nowhere else classified |
| 9401 | I-Purchasing Pilot |
| 9402 | Postal services (government only) |
| 9405 | Government procurement – only government |
| 9411 | Payments on the state loan |
| 9700 | Automated Referral Service (VISA only) |
| 9701 | Credentials validation service Visa (VISA only) |
| 9702 | Emergency services (GCAS) (VISA only) |
| 9950 | Service code of visa |
| 9999 | Service code of visa |
Interestingly enough rent payment, utility bill, nor gift card purchase is excluded like they are in crypto.com’s 8% cryptoback card.
Upgrade/Downgrade Terms and Conditions
The following is taken from terms and condition page I had mentioned earlier:
4.1 You have the right to withdraw from a Paid Subscription and move to the Free Subscription for a period of 14 calendar days after the start of the Paid Subscription (the ‘Cooling Off Period’). The Cooling Off Period commences on the day that your Paid Subscription is activated and ends 14 calendar days later. If you decide to withdraw from the Paid Subscription during the Cooling Off Period you will receive a full refund. However, your right to a refund will be waived if you make a transaction of any kind during the Cooling Off Period.
4.2 If you wish to downgrade your Paid Subscription to a Free Subscription you have the right to do this without paying a Break Fee during the first 90 days from the day that your Paid Subscription is activated (the ‘Introductory Period’). To do so please email us at supportescalation@wirexapp.com with “Subscription Downgrade to Standard” (or wording of similar effect) in the subject line.
4.3 If you have had a Premium or Elite Paid Subscription and have subsequently downgraded, you can upgrade again at any time. However, if your downgrade occurred less than 12 months ago, the Introductory Period and its terms do not apply. You can downgrade your Paid Subscription to the Free Subscription at any time by contacting the Wirex Support team. However:
(a) if you wish to downgrade within the first 10 months of your Paid Subscription period (but after any applicable Introductory Period) Wirex will charge a fee which equals to 1 month’s Paid Subscription fee ie., 999 X-Points for Premium and 2,999 for Elite (‘Break Fee’).
(b) If you wish to downgrade 2 months (or less) before your annual contract expires, Wirex will not charge a Break Fee; it will only charge for payment due for the current period.
4.4 If you do not actively downgrade your Paid Subscription to the Free Subscription at least 1 day before the next period of your Subscription begins, it will be assumed that you wish to continue with your existing subscription and any Paid Subscriptions that have not been downgraded to Free Subscription will be renewed on the same basis. For instance, if you do not actively cancel your Paid Subscription which is due to start on 10 December 2020, your Paid Subscription will renew on that date and will subsist until 9 December 2021.
4.5 If a user wishes to upgrade their Paid Subscription, for example from a Premium to an Elite subscription, a new Paid Subscription term will start, and the previous Paid Subscription will be cancelled.
4.6 If a User does not hold sufficient funds in their Wirex account to pay the fee for their Paid Subscription, they will have 2 weeks after this where they can continue to use the benefits of their existing Paid Subscription at no cost (‘Preferential Period’), to give the user time to top-up their X-Points balance before turning off their Paid Subscription benefits. If no top-up is made by the end of the Preferential Period, your Paid Subscription will be temporarily frozen i.e.., the user cannot use any Paid Subscription benefits, and will be limited to those available on the Free Subscription.
4.7 If no top-up is made for 3 consecutive months and you are paying monthly for a Paid Subscription, you will be automatically downgraded to a Free Subscription. Should a User wish to restart their Paid Subscription following the automatic downgrade, they can do so via the Wirex app.
Funds Locked? Non-Existent Customer Service
Reading through existing (international) users experience there seems to be a common point of complaint – “my funds is locked” and “I can’t get a hold of the customer service”. See these Reddit threads [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] for example.
If you run into similar issue (probably likely) I suspect complaining to the cfpb will do the job.
Closing Remarks
8% card is a no brainier. I would not make use of 15% discount as I don’t think this is sustainable.
3/9/2022 Updated Remarks:
Assuming you pay $30/month for Elite (8% cashback) and get $80/month in cashback, your net profit is only $50/month. You could also view this as a 5% cashback card assuming you spend exactly $1000 spend per month with each transaction being no more than $250.
So, is this product worth just for cashback? Likely not. Is it worth for something else? Possibly.
