Regardless of people’s belief about cryptocurrency being the future of financial freedom. The crypto world is increasing exponentially as the industry is not relentless in gaining mass adoption. As virtual currency is evolving, we now have companies that give out credit cards and offer their cardholders rewards in crypto after making a purchase. As companies are partnering to give out crypto-linked credit cards, American Express Company has not approved it yet.
The American Express Company (AmEx) was founded on March 18, 1850. The firm is a worldwide corporation that specializes in payment card services. The company also has its headquarters located in New York City and employs approximately 63,700 employees worldwide. The company’s charge cards, traveler’s cheques, and credit cards have a logo (designed in 1958) that has an image of a gladiator.
There was a record of 22.9% credit cards in the United States using the American Express network in 2016. In 2017, AmEx was worth US$24.5 billion and was named the 23rd most worthy brand in the world by Forbes. As of 2019, the company had about 114.4 million cards in force with each card spending an estimated amount of $19,972 in the United States.
Aside from the benefits attached to different AmEx cards, their cardholders are still exempted from enjoying crypto benefits. According to a report, Stephen Squero, the CEO of AmEx, does not see their cards being linked with cryptocurrency happening soon although it might happen in the future.
Best American Express Credit Cards and Benefits
After the first charge card was introduced in 1958, there had been other cards issued ranging from no-annual-fee alternatives to heavy metal comfortable cards. A Forbes adviser once analyzed the best American Express card on each sector for different cardholders.
- American Express Business Gold Card.
It has huge travel benefits and its redemption is flexible
- The Platinum Card
Bookings on flights and hotels through American Express travel has high reward
- Blue cash preferred card from American Express
The cashback reward is high in some categories and it is automatic.
- Blue cash everyday card from American Express
There is an APR offer on purchase, and there is no annual fee
- American Express Green Card.
It has high bonus rewards and travel benefits. It is used by people who want to earn more rewards at restaurants and on travel Mastercard.
How the crypto card works
Just like the traditional credit card, crypto reward credit cards can be used to make purchases physically or online. It can also be used to withdraw fiat. Its ability to source funds and earn rewards with digital currency gives it an edge over traditional credit cards.
Adoption by Visa and Mastercard
With the increase in acceptance of cryptocurrency worldwide, some credit cards such as Visa and Mastercard are partnering with cryptocurrency firms. This is to make their cardholders enjoy the benefit of cryptocurrency when they make a purchase.
Early last year, a credit card was released by Gemini (a crypto exchange). It makes its users earn 3% BTC, ether, or another crypto as a reward. It does not require an annual fee or exchange fee to claim rewards. The deposit of your reward is instant after purchasing to enjoy an increase in price peradventure
Master card made an announcement in December about launching a crypto-linked card to its users across the Asia-Pacific region. This would enable them to exchange their digital assets for fiat. So the benefits are not just for users in the United States. Visa cardholders also receive 1.5% cashback in Btc after BlockFi announced its partnership with them.
AmEx Plans
In an interview with Yahoo! Finance on Tuesday, Stephen Squerie said the company is already involved in using their cards for stable coins instead of bitcoin. He considers bitcoin as an asset that has high price volatility just like gold. He continued by saying “You don’t have the service with [crypto], you don’t have the dispute rights with it, you’re not getting rewards, and you’re not extending credit.”
According to a report, the company has no plans to give a crypto-linked card to its holders but they are figuring out other ways users can claim their membership reward points.
