Gemini Credit Card Review - 1 Year Later

In my expat resources page I suggest the Gemini credit card as an alternative cash back card because it pays out in Bitcoin upon usage which you can then withdraw to your own wallet or sell it for cash on Gemini.

I've used this credit card for a year now so this review is based on me actually using this card.

It gives:

• 3% on dining (capped at 6K a year).
• 2% back on groceries.
• 1% on everything else.

You can also change the rewards from Bitcoin to Gemini USD, Ethereum, Doge coin, Ape coin and a few other random erc-20 tokens that the Gemini exchange supports.

Gemini credit card results for far (November 2023):

Here are the rewards so far as of November 2023:

So far I've been paid out 0.01 BTC using this card.

On average I'm getting 0.0008-0.0009 BTC a month. It really depends on the price of Bitcoin how much Satoshis (Sats for short) I get each month.

When Bitcoin was at 20K USD, $30 of that is more in Sats than when Bitcoin is at 40K USD. The interesting thing I like in the Gemini app is that Gemini keeps track of the current value appreciation of what has been paid out to your account.

The BTC that I have been paid out over the course of a year has gone up in value by a $150 USD.

Not bad if you're strictly looking for a cash back card.

March 2024 Update:

My BTC appreciation has grown to an impressive $572.

If this was a "normal cash back credit card" earning 2%, I would have earned around $360 dollars for the year.

But because I'm paid out in Bitcoin, the cash value of that earned Bitcoin if I chose to hold BTC for a year and then sell it on Gemini would have netted me $870.

I'm still earning $30 a month roughly as I use the credit card to buy coffee and groceries. One interesting note though, you can see the amount of SATs I'm earning each month has dropped.

Because the dollar value of Bitcoin has risen, I'm now getting .0004 Sats. My previous screenshot from 4 months ago shows .0009 which is now worth $67 for reference.

Gemini's withdrawal fees

I earned 0.0009534 BTC in credit card rewards. I then bought about $150 of Bitcoin so I wanted to move 0.00479414 BTC off Gemini.

I was charged 0.00064449 BTC as a fee to move my BTC off the Gemini exchange.

This fee basically cancels out the BTC rewards of the credit card for small amounts.

A $25 fee to move $200 worth of value?

That is a bit excessive.

The reason for this are that network fees on the base layer are currently high and Gemini is adding a spread on top of this fee.

Instead, Gemini should either provide one free withdrawal every month (or free once you earn a certain amount) or provide a lighting network channel.

So, if you are going to get this card, you should wait until you have at least .01 BTC in your account on Gemini so it makes sense to withdraw it to cold storage or just sell the Bitcoin rewards for cash once you're happy with the asset appreciation.

Gemini 

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It's a great way to stack sats as they say

The point of earning BTC with a credit card is to help "stack Sats" as they say in a passive way without you having to do anything.

However, with high fees on the Bitcoin base layer and Gemini adding a small spread on top, you need to wait till you have roughly .01 BTC minimum in your account before you should consider moving your BTC off Gemini.

This is to:

1) Avoid fees being a high percentage of what you're taking off the exchange. $20 of $200 is a lot, $20 of $1000 not so much (and yes the fees don't increase with larger amounts, you're paying for block space per transaction be it $1 or one million dollars).

2) UTXOS. This is going to be something you'll be hearing a lot about in a few years. Unspent transaction output is amounts of BTC you've received but have not used. The issue is that when you have small amounts, the fee to move those UTXO's become expensive.

A good example is if you have $10 in your wallet, but want to send me that $10 via a bank wire which let's say costs $20. Well, you can't send me that $10 because the fee to send is greater than the amount. UTXO's are like that, if you have .00000087 BTC, it's going to cost more than that to move it on the base layer.

They should offer credit card users one free withdrawal a month

To keep this credit card offer competitive they should offer users who are serious about Bitcoin one free withdrawal per month if they spend a certain amount on the credit card or start using the lightning network like I said.

This seems pretty obvious to me as human beings are driven by incentives; if you want people to use your card, then reward them. But Gemini has it setup now where they disincentivized people from using this card because the fee to move your BTC is the same amount roughly as the rewards you earn.

It's still a great cash back credit card

With all that said, there is no denying that this credit card is a fantastic cash back credit card. Sure on paper there are more generous offers from other credit card companies but getting paid out in BTC, holding it on the exchange for 6 months to 1 year and then selling your BTC (hypothetically) will earn you more than other cards.

What I've earned at the time of writing this has appreciated by $150. If I was to sell the BTC I've earned, I would have a nice stack of $400 to spend.

Conclusion

Get the Gemini credit card if you're looking to earn Bitcoin as part of a dollar cost average (DCA) strategy. Currently I'm getting $30 a month. It's small, but it does add up and you need to start somewhere.

The Gemini platform has a great app, an easy to use platform, the option to switch to Gemini trader for more advanced users and a credit card. The only thing I don't like is the lack of support for the lighting network which I hope changes soon.

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