OUR SCORE
How we rate them
Our own assessment, not a user rating — four criteria at 25% each, scored against each issuer's published terms. See the scoring model.
Editorial scores for the Coinbase Card and the Uphold Card| Criterion | Coinbase Card | Uphold Card |
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| Overall | 4.0 / 5 | 4.0 / 5 |
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| Cost 25% | 4.5No annual or card fee and no Coinbase transaction fee on spending; the cost is the spread Coinbase applies when it converts crypto. | 4.0Elite removes both the foreign transaction fee and ATM charges for $99.99 a year; on the free Essential card those cost 1.5% per foreign purchase and $2.95 per withdrawal. |
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| Conditions 25% | 5.0Nothing to stake, hold or subscribe to, and no minimum balance. | 4.0No stake or balance — the better rate needs only the $99.99 annual membership, which typical spending recovers several times over. |
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| Rewards 25% | 2.0There is no standing cashback rate — rewards are rotating offers you opt into in the app, so a cardholder cannot count on a particular return. | 4.54% in XRP on crypto-funded purchases with Elite, capped at $300 a month, worth around 3.4% after the fee. The free tier pays 2%, capped at $120. Uphold describes these as promotional rates for the first three months after activation. |
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| Reliability 25% | 4.5A large, publicly listed issuer with clear terms, issued by Pathward, and our data was re-checked this month. | 3.5A long-running issuer with published reward terms and caps, but its rewards terms URL has moved and the US and UK cards run on different networks. |
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QUICK VERDICT
Who wins on what
Only stated where the published data supports it. A card with a tiered or conditional fee is not counted as free.
THE SHORT VERSION
How they actually differ
- →Rewards arrive in different assets: Cryptocurrency tokens from the currently available Coinbase reward offers on the Coinbase Card, XRP in the US, GBP in the UK on the Uphold Card.
- →Coinbase Card runs on Visa; Uphold Card runs on Visa (US) / Mastercard (UK).
EVERY FIELD
Coinbase Card vs Uphold Card, side by side
Full field-by-field comparison of the Coinbase Card and the Uphold Card| Field | Coinbase Card | Uphold Card |
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| Card type | Debit | Debit |
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| Network | Visa | Visa (US) / Mastercard (UK) |
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| Max cashback | Variable | Up to 4% |
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| Rewards paid in | Cryptocurrency tokens from the currently available Coinbase reward offers | XRP in the US, GBP in the UK |
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| Annual fee | Free | Free (Essential) / $99.99/yr (Elite) |
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| Monthly fee | None | None |
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| FX fee | No Coinbase transaction fee for card spending; crypto conversion may include Coinbase's spread | 1.5% on Essential; 0% on Elite (US); 0% on the UK card |
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| ATM fee | No Coinbase fee; ATM operator fees may apply | $2.95 on Essential; free on Elite |
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| Crypto conversion | No Coinbase card transaction fee; Coinbase includes a spread when it buys, sells or trades cryptocurrency | Conversion spread of roughly 0.5–1.2% depending on the asset |
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| Where it works | United States (NOT available in: Hawaii) | United States (NOT available in: Louisiana, New York or US territories), United Kingdom |
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| Self-custody | No | No |
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| No staking needed | Yes | Yes |
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| Apple Pay | Yes | Yes |
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| Google Pay | Yes | Yes |
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| Virtual card | — | — |
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A dash means the issuer has not published that figure — it does not mean zero. See our methodology for how each field is verified. Rewards and availability change often and vary by region. Not financial advice.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Coinbase Card vs Uphold Card: common questions
Which is better, the Coinbase Card or the Uphold Card?
It depends on what you optimise for. Coinbase Card is a debit card advertising Variable; Uphold Card is a debit card advertising up to 4%. Compare their fees, regions and custody model side by side before deciding.
Can I get both the Coinbase Card and the Uphold Card?
Usually yes — these are separate products from different issuers, so holding one does not prevent you from applying for the other, provided you meet each issuer's own eligibility and region requirements.
GO DEEPER
Read the full review of each
