Fold Card Review: Fees, Cashback and Fold Reserve Tiers

Fold Card is a free prepaid Visa debit card for US residents that pays 0.25% back in bitcoin on every purchase, with no cap. Higher rates, up to 3%, need a balance of $15,000 to $100,000 in Fold Reserve and apply only to the first $5,000 of spending each month.

Fold Card spends dollars, so you can load it with dollars and pay at no cost, or sell bitcoin held in Fold to fund it, which costs 1% on the base tier. Fold also has a separate bitcoin credit card, and holding that card cancels the debit card's boosted rates.

Fold Card cashback

Fold Card pays 0.25% back in bitcoin on all purchases with no monthly cap, and boosts that rate only for people who hold a Fold Reserve balance.

On the base tier, 0.25% is small, so spending $2,000 a month earns $5 in bitcoin, or $60 a year.

The boosts depend on how much you keep in Fold Reserve. $15,000 gets 0.5%, $25,000 gets 1%, $50,000 gets 1.5%, $75,000 gets 2% and $100,000 gets 3%. Every boost covers only the first $5,000 of card spending each month, and spending above that earns 0.25%. A $5,000 balance doesn't raise the rate, but it removes the fees covered below.

The $5,000 cap sets a hard ceiling, so at $100,000 the most you can earn is 3% of $5,000, which is $150 a month or $1,800 a year. That's 1.8% of the balance, on money that earns no interest and can't be withdrawn as cash. Fold Reserve is bought in units of up to $2,000, with at most $10,000 a day, and can only be redeemed for bitcoin, gift cards or other Fold products.

Fold is moving accounts to the Reserve system in stages. Accounts not yet moved stay on the terms from August 14, 2026.

Fold Card fees

Fold Card has no card fee and no monthly fee, and paying from a dollar balance costs nothing.

The fees on the base tier come from bitcoin and from travel. Selling bitcoin to fund a purchase costs a 1% fee plus a Fold spread. Each purchase in a foreign currency costs a flat $3.00, which is 15% of a $20 coffee abroad and 1.5% of a $200 hotel night.

A Fold Reserve balance of $5,000 or more waives the 1% bitcoin fee, the Fold spread and the $3.00 foreign transaction fee. For anyone who travels or funds the card with bitcoin, that waiver matters more than the boosted cashback.

Fold Card ATM withdrawal fees

Fold Card charges $3.50 per ATM withdrawal on the base tier, and nothing once you hold $5,000 or more in Fold Reserve.

On a $200 withdrawal, $3.50 is 1.75%. If you fund the cash by selling bitcoin, the 1% conversion fee applies on top on the base tier. The ATM owner may also add a charge, which Fold doesn't cover.

Is Fold Card safe?

Fold Card is custodial: Fold holds your dollar balance and your bitcoin, and the card is issued by Sutton Bank with Marqeta as program manager.

You don't hold keys to the bitcoin in your Fold account, so your access depends on Fold. Fold Reserve adds a second consideration, because it's closed-loop stored value: money placed there can't come back as cash and can only be turned into bitcoin, gift cards or Fold products.

Anyone moving $15,000 or more into Fold Reserve for the cashback should treat that money as committed to Fold.

Who should get Fold Card

Fold Card suits US residents who already keep a dollar balance with Fold and want a steady trickle of bitcoin from everyday spending. The base tier costs nothing to use if you spend dollars at home.

The Reserve tiers make sense only for people who would put that money into bitcoin through Fold anyway. Parking $25,000 to earn up to $50 a month is a poor trade for most people.

If you travel often on the base tier, the $3.00 fee per foreign purchase adds up quickly. The comparison below shows the alternatives.

Where Fold Card is available

Fold Card is available only in the United States, to citizens and permanent residents aged 18 or over with a Social Security number.

Applicants must live in one of the 50 states or Washington, DC. There's no version of the card for other countries.