ether.fi Cash vs Phantom Cash Card
Crypto native
Verdict
- ether.fi Cash scores higher overall (8.1 vs 3.6 out of 10).
- ether.fi Cash is clearly stronger on: Cashback & rewards, Availability, Product features, Credit & financing.
- Phantom Cash Card is clearly stronger on: Transparency.
- A full annual cost comparison is not possible yet because some fees are not disclosed or not yet researched.
ether.fi Cash is a good fit for
- People who want to keep control of their keys
- Stablecoin holders
- Users who need credit rather than a debit/prepaid card
- Everyday spenders who want cashback
Stronger on: Cashback & rewards, Availability, Product features, Credit & financing
Phantom Cash Card is a good fit for
- People who want to keep control of their keys
- Stablecoin holders
Stronger on: Transparency
Score by criterion
| Criterion | ether.fi Cash | Phantom Cash Card |
|---|---|---|
| Fees | 100 | – |
| Cashback & rewards | 69 | 0 |
| Availability | 100 | 3 |
| FX & international | 40 | – |
| Product features | 100 | 47 |
| Custody & security | 85 | 80 |
| Credit & financing | 75 | 30 |
| Limits & ATM | – | 20 |
| Transparency | 74 | 100 |
| Best for Cashback | 7.7 | 2.3 |
| Best for Travel | 6.7 | 3.8 |
| Best for Self-Custody | 8.1 | 5.8 |
| Best for DeFi Users | 8.1 | 4.8 |
| Best for Stablecoins | 7.7 | 4.9 |
| Best for High Spenders | 7.0 | 2.7 |
| Best for Low Fees | 7.4 | n/a |
| Best for Beginners | 9.0 | 5.0 |
| Best Crypto Credit Card | 7.9 | n/a |
Conditions apply, e.g. only for the base tier, up to a monthly cap or in some countries. Tap a value with * (or hover over it) to see them.
Product
Product status
ActiveShow source
ActiveShow source
Card type
Crypto-backed creditConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Marketed as a credit card; Direct Pay mode spends your own balance
Debit card, Stablecoin cardConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Debit card linked to the CASH stablecoin balance of the Phantom Cash account
Network
VisaShow source
VisaShow source
Custody model
Self-custodyConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Account is non-custodial; the card itself is issued by a third-party issuer under separate terms
Self-custodyShow source
Card issuer / program manager
Third National (issuer under Visa license); program by Ether.Fi Cash Ltd.Conditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
International cardholder agreement (Ltd.); US persons are covered by separate US agreements
StripeConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Replacement cards and cards activated after 2026-10-05 are Stripe-issued; cards activated before 2026-10-05 without a replacement are Bridge-issued (disputes via Galileo)
Tiers / plans
Core · Luxe · Pinnacle · VIPShow source
Fees
Annual fee
FreeConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Core membership; Luxe ($199/yr) and Pinnacle ($999/yr) can optionally be bought or earned via Liquid deposits / ETHFI staking
Monthly fee
FreeConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Core membership
Physical card fee
$60Conditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Core, including shipping; Luxe and higher get 1 free
Virtual card fee
FreeConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
First virtual card free on Core; $10 in some regions and for further cards
FX fee
1.5%Conditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Non-USD purchases, Core: 1% FX base fee + up to 0.5% (Luxe +0.25%, Pinnacle/VIP none). Purchases charged in EUR: 0% FX markup.
ATM fee
Not disclosedConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Core: ATM withdrawals available, fee not stated; Pinnacle and VIP: free, up to 10 withdrawals per month. The marketing page that listed 2% now redirects to /personal.
Cashback & rewards
Base cashback
3%Conditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Core membership, on the first $2,000 of card spend per month
Max cashback
4%Conditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
VIP membership, on the first $50,000 of card spend per month
Cashback paid in
ETHFIShow source
Cashback type
Platform tokenShow source
NoneConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
No purchase cashback; Phantom pays variable Cash Rewards on the balance (rate shown in the app)
Interest on balance
5.35%Conditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
USD Earn vault (ether.fi Liquid), variable APY, not guaranteed; EUR vault 5.29% APY; DeFi vault risk
Cashback-eligible spend cap
$2,000/monthConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Core; Luxe $10,000, Pinnacle/VIP $50,000 per month
Cashback conditions
Rates step down progressively with total monthly spend · EUR transactions use lower thresholds and rates · Spend tiers reset at the start of every monthShow source
Cash Rewards on CASH balances: variable APY set by Phantom, paid weekly, no lock-up · Rewards pause at $1,500 per tax year until tax details are provided · Cash Rewards not available in the US or US-sanctioned jurisdictionsConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Cash Rewards is a balance reward funded by Phantom, not purchase cashback; rate shown in the app as APY, paid weekly in CASH, no minimum balance, no lock-ups; rewards pause once total Phantom rewards reach $1,500 in a tax year until US-person status is confirmed or identity verified; not available in the US, where the card is offered
Reward expiry / vesting
Converted to ETHFI at settlement, locked for 7 days, then must be claimedShow source
Reward exclusions
ATM withdrawals and cash advances · P2P payments and transfers · Currency exchange services · Tax and government payments · Gift cards, stored-value cards, money orders and cash equivalents · MCC 6011, 6012, 6211, 6513 (rent), 6532, 7995 (gambling)Show source
Credit & financing
Credit line
YesConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Borrow Mode
NoShow source
Credit type
Crypto-backed creditShow source
Collateral assets
USDC · USDT · EURC · frxUSD · weETH · WETH · eBTC · ETHFI · sETHFI · OP · WHYPE · beHYPE · liquidETH · liquidBTC · liquidUSD · liquidReserve · liquidEUR · liquidRWA · QQQx · SPYx · PAXG · TBLLxConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Aave LendGateway Product LTV list for the Optimism lending market (parameters updated August 27, 2026); eUSD no longer counts as collateral
Max loan-to-value
81%Conditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Aave LendGateway Product LTV for USDC, USDT, EURC, frxUSD; volatile assets lower (weETH/WETH 55%, ETHFI/OP 20%); legacy Cash DebtManager LTV was 90% for stablecoins
Interest notes
Variable APY set by the underlying Aave v4 lending market per asset; accrues immediately and compounds continuouslyShow source
Grace period
None; interest accrues immediately after borrowingShow source
Repayment
Repay all or part of the outstanding balance at any time, without penalty, by means permitted in the Ether.Fi AccountShow source
Liquidation risk
YesShow source
Spend own balance directly
YesShow source
YesConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Spends the Cash account balance; the account must be funded before paying
Spend by borrowing against collateral
YesShow source
Availability
Available in
AD, AO, AG, Argentina, Australia, Austria, BS, BH, BD, BB, BZ, BO, Brazil, VG, Bulgaria, Canada, KY, Chile, Colombia, CR, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, DM, DO, EC, SV, France, Germany, GI, Greece, GG, GT, GY, HN, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, IM, Italy, Japan, JE, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, MV, Malta, Mexico, MC, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, OM, PW, PA, PY, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, PR, Romania, Saudi Arabia, SC, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, KN, LC, VC, SR, Sweden, Switzerland, TW, Thailand, TT, TC, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, UY, VU, Belgium, Ireland, United StatesConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Subject to KYC; Belgium and Ireland eligible but no physical card delivery; US only in listed states (AL, AK, AR, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, HI, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, ME, MA, MI, MN, NE, NH, NJ, NY, NC, OK, PA, SC, TX, UT, VA, WV, WY); unlisted jurisdictions cannot apply for virtual or physical card
United StatesConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Except New York; identity verification required for the card
Account / spend currencies
USDConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
CASH balance is converted to USD when paying; merchant is paid in USD
Features
Apple Pay
YesConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Only where Apple Pay is supported
YesShow source
Google Pay
YesShow source
YesShow source
Physical card
YesConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Not shipped to every eligible region
NoShow source
Virtual card
YesShow source
YesShow source
ATM withdrawals
YesConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Not permitted in North Korea, Iran and Myanmar
NoConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
ATM withdrawals and cash advances are unsupported merchant categories and are declined
Spend stablecoins
YesShow source
YesConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Spends CASH; USDC, USDT and PYUSD on Solana are swapped into CASH
Airport lounge access
YesConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Core: 2 free passes to premium lounges; unlimited from Pinnacle
Travel / rental car insurance
YesConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Auto rental coverage, shared across all memberships
Purchase protection
YesConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Purchase and price protection, all memberships
Spendable assets
USDC · LiquidUSDConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Direct Pay Mode spend assets; Borrow Mode can use all vault assets as collateral
CASHConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Cash account balance (CASH), converted to USD at payment
Blockchains
Ethereum · Polygon · Optimism · Arbitrum · ScrollConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Definition of Supported Blockchains in the card terms (page spells Arbitrum as 'Arbitrium'); other networks may be added
SolanaShow source
Limits
ATM limit
$25,000Conditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Per rolling 24 hours, same for all tiers; max $5,000 per transaction and 5 withdrawals per 24 hours
Spending limit
$2,000Conditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Per day; automatic review for $5,000 after 30 days
Security & custody
Regulation / licences
Ether.Fi states it is not licensed to provide financial services as part of the Card ServicesConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Nigeria: card marketed by BANEX Microfinance Bank, licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria; terms governed by Puerto Rico law
Deposit protection
NoConditions apply: tap or hover for detailsShow source
Account Balance Protection (Core up to $10K) is not yet live and is not deposit insurance
Smart-contract risk
YesShow source
Annual cost at 1,500 EUR/month
ether.fi Cash
- Annual & monthly fees+0 EUR
- FX costs−54 EUR
- Crypto conversion–
- ATM costsunknown
- Cashback+540 EUR
- Net annual valuenot enough data
Phantom Cash Card
- Annual & monthly feesunknown
- FX costsunknown
- Crypto conversion–
- ATM costsunknown
- Cashback+0 EUR
- Net annual valuenot enough data
Assumes 300 EUR foreign spend and 100 EUR ATM per month, base tier only. Use your own numbers