SoFi Credit Card vs BlockFi

The Basics: How each card works?

In this section, I am going to explain how each card work and what are their key benefits.

SoFi Credit Card Basics

The SoFi credit card allows you to earn unlimited 2 points for every dollar that you spend on the card. There are many redemption options. Most redemption options results in you getting a 2% rewards or cash back. The cash back can be redeemed in the following ways: shares (fractional or whole) in your SoFi invest account, cash deposited in a SoFi money account, cash applied to outstanding SoFi student refinance loans or personal loans, or digital currencies credited to your SoFi crypto account. You can also redeem your rewards for statement credits but that results in you only getting 1% back in rewards or cash back terms.

There is no annual fee or foreign transaction fee. As it is a Mastercard, it includes benefits like Mastercard cell phone protection insurance, free Roadrunner membership, credits on Lyft, 3 month free membership to DoorDash and Fandango rewards.

BlockFi Rewards Visa Basics

BlockFi is a crypto exchange and the BlockFi Rewards Visa allows you to earn rewards that are invested in cryptos in your account. You will earn 1.5% back in cryptos for up to the first $30,000 in annual spending. When you spend above $30,000, you earn 2% back. You can choose which cryptos you want to earn each month. Having this card enables you to get a 0.25% discount in fees when you trade in bitcoins.

There is no annual fee or foreign transaction fee. You can get a credit limit of up to $25,000. You also go through a soft pull pre-approval without any impact on your credit score.

Similarities

• Both cards are proprietory in nature - Both the SoFi and BlockFi credit card are proprietory in nature in that you need to have an account with SoFi to get their card and you also need to have a crypto account with BlockFi.


• Both offer flat rate rewards - Both the Sofi and Blockfi credit card offer flat rate rewards on all purchases. Technically, BlockFi is not exactly a flat rate because you start to earn 2% when you annual spendin exceeds $30,000. Prior to that you earn 1.5%. But for all intents and purposes, it is a flat rate card.


• No Annual fee - Both cards do not charge any annual fee.



• No Foreign Transaction Fees - Both cards also do not charge any foreign transaction fees.


• Both allow you to earn crypto rewards - Both cards allow you to earn crypto rewards. With Blockfi, rewards are automatically invested in a crypto of your choice whereas for for Sofi, you can put it in a crypto investment account or use it for other purposes like paying off your Sofi loans.

Differences

• Use of Rewards - As SoFi is a financial services firm, the 2% rewards can be used for a variety of purposes. For example, you can redeem cash back in your savings account, investment account or to pay off a SoFi loan. SoFi has an investment account account where you can invest in cryptocurrencies.
  
  In contrast, as BlockFi is a crypto exchange, the 1.5% rewards you earn are automatically invested in a crypto of your choice in your BlockFi account.



• Transferability to external wallets - With regards to cryptos, BlockFi (being a crypto exchange) allows you to transfer your cryptocurrencies (including the ones you earn from your BlockFi credit card) to an external wallet.
  
  SoFi is not a crypto exchange. So though you can invest cryptos in their investment account, you cannot transfer them to an external wallet.

Ways which SoFi is better

The SoFi credit card is better than BlockFi in the following ways.

• Better flat rate earnings - SoFi credit card allows you to earn 2% cash back on all purchases regardless of spending level. In contrast, the BlockFi credit card allows you to earn 1.5% in rewards for up to $30,000 in annual spending. Only when your annual spending exceeds $50,000 do you earn 2% rewards.


• SoFi offers more redemption choices - That is because SoFi is not just a crypto exchange but also provides savings and investment accounts and loans to their customers.


• Offers cell phone protection insurance - This is now a standard Mastercard benefit which SoFi has. BlockFi, being a Visa does not have this benefit.

Ways which BlockFi is better

• BlockFi is an actual crypto exchange - The crypto rewards you earn with the BlockFi card gets deposited and invested into your account with them. But more importantly, because BlockFi is an actual crypto exchange, you can transfer your cryptos to an external wallet. That is the only way to make sure nobody can steal or any country can confisticate your cryptos.


• Discounts on crypto trades - Having the BlockFi card enables you to get a 0.25% discount in transaction fee on crypto trades with BlockFi which you would have never gotten.


• Choose your cryptos to earn every month - BlockFi allows you to choose which crypto you want to earn each month. Hence, you can choose to earn different cryptos during different periods.

Which is better? BlockFi is better for crypto rewards

If all you are looking are is the reward rate, then you have to say that the SoFi credit card is better than BlockFi because you earn 2% cash back from the get go. In contrast with BlockFi, you earn 2% in crypto rewards only after spending more than $30,000 (annual spend). Prior to that, you earn 1.5%.

But as both SoFi and BlockFi are really proprietory credit cards, I suspect most of you considering either of these cards are really too hung up over the reward rate (both are competitive in this aspect). If you have a SoFi savings account, investment account or loan, then the SoFi credit card is a good credit card to get not just because of the 2% flat rate you can earn, but also because you the redeem the cash back you earn in a variety of ways. And this includes depositing it in their crypto investment account where you can invest in cryptos.

If you have a BlockFi account and want to earn your credit card rewards in the form of cryptos, then the BlockFi Rewards Visa is the obvious card to get despite the SoFi credit card offering a 2% flat rate (as well as many other 2% flat rate credit cards). Having an account with an actual crypto exchange allows you to transfer your cryptos to an external wallet (where nobody can confisticate it). In addition to that you get a 0.25% discount when you transaction in cryptos with BlockFi if you have that card. Depending on how much you trade, this feature alone may be worth the card.

So to be fair, we should not be comparing these two cards (both of which are very good cards). If you are looking for a flat rate credit card and have a SoFi account, then go get the SoFi credit card. If you have an account with BlockFi and want to earn crypto rewards, then go get the Block Rewards Visa. If you have a SoFi account and are looking to invest in cryptos in their crypto investment account, I suggest you reconsider that decision and instead consider opening an account with a proper crypto exchange instead. That way, any crypto you invest can be transferred to an external wallet.