Pionex Card
- Apple Pay Enabled
- 1% cashback that offsets 1% fx fee
- Well-known crypto exchange, nice if you trade
- 200+ countries supported
- No Physical Card yet, but rolling out slowly
- No bank account offered
- Monthly spend limit capped at 50k (need to manually request increase)
- Custodial Card, good for beginners, not exciting for techies
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Key Features
Pionex Card Benefits and Rewards
Pionex Card offers 1% cashback on eligible purchases.
The cashback basically offsets the 1% FX fee on non-USD purchases, making the FX cost 0%. Nice.
And, there is no cashback cap. Max monthly spend is $50,000, so you can earn up to $500 cashback per month.
Reality CheckSome other crypto cards advertise higher cashback %, but you may end up earning less because their monthly cashback caps are much lower. When compared at the entry-level tier, Pionex Card's 1% cashback offers more value:
| Pionex Card | Industry Average1 | |
| Entry Level Cashback | 1% | 1% |
| Entry Level Cashback Monthly Cap | 500 USD | 55 USD |
Pionex Card is a Prepaid Card
- Debit Card
- Credit Card
- Prepaid Card
- No Bank Account Offered
Useful Card Structure:Pionex Card functions like a prepaid card, but on the backend, it is classified as a credit card. This means that while you cannot borrow money with this card, it will work at places requiring pre-authorizations.
Pionex Card carries its own balance, and you'll need to top it up before use.
It should be noted that Pionex doesn't offer a bank account with this card (while some crypto cards do), which means you won't be able to receive third-party payments, like fiat withdrawals from exchanges, for example.
It's Issued Solely in Virtual Form, Lacking a Physical Version
Pionex Card is available solely in virtual format, unlike 30% of crypto cards offering both physical and virtual versions. This means you cannot use it for ATM withdrawals, or at places like car rental companies or hotels that require a physical card for security deposit and identity verification. The virtual card will be issued to you instantly after you complete the KYC Identity Verification.
Wondering about the pros and cons of virtual-only format? Here are some highlights:
No Physical Card | Virtual Card |
|---|---|
| No ATM Withdrawals | Instantly Available, No Waiting for Mail |
| No Card when Hotels or Car Rentals Require it | Ideal for Online Purchases |
| No Card When Phone Dies or no Internet | Environmentally Friendly |
| No Feel-Good Backup Payment Method | No Tangible Item to Misplace |
Cost to Order: 0 USD |
Useful:Since Pionex Card supports Apple Pay, you can still use this card in real life, to pay for everyday purchases.
The 'back' of virtual Pionex Card
| Card Issuer | Photon Dance |
|
BIN Number ⓘ
BIN number is the first 8 digits of the card and identifies the card issuer.
| 52401394 |
| Validity Period | 3 years |
| Issuing Country | Hong Kong |
Crypto-to-USD Conversion Cost with Pionex Card
Pionex Card Requires Pre-Load
Before you can use your Pionex Card, you will need to top-up your account. This means you will have to convert your crypto in advance, exchanging it to USD and moving it to the card account, to make it available for spending.
| Crypto to Fiat Conversion Fee | 0% |
| Sell Spread | 0% |
| Load Fee | 0% |
| Transaction Fee | 1% |
| USD Transaction Cost | 1% |
| Foreign Exchange Fee | 1% |
| Non-USD Transaction Cost | 2% |
Reality Check:Compared to the average ~1.5% crypto-to-fiat cost of other cards, converting crypto with Pionex Card will cost you about the same (1%).
From all crypto cards we reviewed, Lava Card, Plasma One Card and OKX Card offer the cheapest crypto-to-fiat conversions (~0%, ~0% and ~0.1% respectively), while converting crypto with OWNR Card will cost you the most, ~4.64%.
How Does Pionex Card Compare to Other Crypto Cards?
Pionex Card ranks #14 out of 78 amongst all the crypto cards we have reviewed so far. This means it's in the Top 30%.
Strongest Features Against Competitors
Here are the strongest features of Pionex Card against its 77 competitors:
- Offers up to 500 USD per month in cashback for entry-level users (exceeding competitors 55 USD average).
- Solid company with a 8.5/10 brand authority score (the average for all competing cards is 6/10).
- You won't be charged any monthly fee (while 15% of other crypto cards charge one, with a median of 2 USD per month).
- Offered by a major crypto exchange, so you can trade, and spend your trading profits, all from inside of one ecosystem, without needing an external service.
Weakest Features Against Competitors
Compared to its 77 competitors, here are the shortcomings of Pionex Card:
- Offers 1% cashback (while other cards give an average of 4%).
- Requires preconversion of crypto to load the card (while 40% of competitors auto-convert on every purchase).
- Only available in virtual format (while 30% of competing crypto cards offer both physical and virtual cards).
Pionex Card vs. Tangem Card vs. KAST Card
Pionex Card
|
Tangem Card
|
KAST Card
|
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly Fee | 0.00 USD | 0.00 USD | 0.00 USD |
| Crypto to Fiat Cost | ~1% | 0% + Gas Fees | 0% |
| Highest Cashback | 1% | None | up to 5% |
| Entry-Level Cashback | 1% | None | 1.5% |
| Daily Spending Limit | 10,000 USD | 50,000 USD | Unlimited |
| Daily ATM Limit | N/A (Virtual-Only Card) | N/A (Virtual-Only Card) | 750 USD |
| Foreign Exchange Fee | 1% | 1% | 1.75% |
| Asset Management | Custodial | Non-Custodial | Custodial |
Availability for  United States |
|||
| Supported Cryptocurrencies | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Apple Pay | Enabled | Enabled | Enabled |
| Customer Service | Great | Great | Great |
| Brand Authority | Well-Known | Growing | Well-Known |
If you plan to use your card for daily purchases, then daily spending limit is an important consideration for you. KAST Card offers an unparalleled Unlimited daily spending limit. You will get lower daily limits with Pionex Card and Tangem Card.
Cashback rewards are a great way to earn back some of the money you spend on your card and is an important consideration as well. Out of the three, KAST Card offers the best cashback rewards of up to 5%. The cashback rewards for Pionex Card are not as high. With Tangem Card, you will have no cashback rewards at all.
To make a good choice, look through all features, as it is an individual choice. If you will mostly do online transactions with this card, then Apple Pay availability may not be a very important feature for you. If you travel a lot, foreign exchange rate will matter. And so on.
Is Pionex Card Available for Residents of United States?
No, Pionex Card is not available for residents of United States.
Pionex Card supports the following countries: Åland Islands, Albania, Algeria, American Samoa, Andorra, Angola, Anguilla, Antarctica, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bermuda, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Bouvet Island, Brazil, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cayman Islands, Chad, Chile, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Colombia, Comoros, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Croatia, Curaçao, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Falkland Islands, Faroe Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Finland, French Guiana, French Polynesia, French Southern Territories, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guernsey, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Heard and McDonald Islands, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Isle of Man, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Jersey, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lesotho, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macao, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Montserrat, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, Norfolk Island, North Macedonia, Northern Mariana Islands, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Palestine, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Pitcairn Islands, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Réunion, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Helena, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Samoa, San Marino, São Tomé and Príncipe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Sint Maarten, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, St Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent and Grenadines, Suriname, Svalbard and Jan Mayen, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tokelau, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Türkiye, Turkmenistan, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, U.S. Outlying Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vatican City, Vietnam, Wallis and Futuna, Western Sahara, Zambia.
To see our list of available crypto cards for 🇺🇸 United States, see this list. There are currently 21 cards listed there.
You may also be interested in this article: Crypto Cards for USA: The Best Options for Americans.
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