American Express is rolling out it’s first-ever crypto rewards credit card as part of a partnership with Abra, according to a joint announcement at this week’s crypto conference Consensus in Austin.
The announcement is a move in the footsteps of other major credit card providers, most notably Visa and Mastercard, but is still a major call-out in crypto integration into the current credit card landscape. There are over 60M AmEx holders according to figures from earlier this year – and now the network will bring access to direct cryptocurrency rewards for spending for the first time ever with a partner card with Abra.
The ‘Abra Crypto Card’ was unveiled at the annual Consensus event in Austin, Texas today, and will offer crypto rewards for any purchase category and amount, according to the formal press release. Abra offers a platform token, ‘Crypto Perx’ (CPRX) that is expected to be alongside a variety (but thus far undisclosed) of top tokens as options for earning rewards. It was a big day for the team at Abra, who paired the American Express announcement with news that their app would support custody and gallery views of NFTs.
American Express’ president of Global Network Services Mohammed Badi stated that Abra brings “deep expertise in both crypto and traditional financial services” that makes them a fitting partner for the endeavor.
Join The Club
Visa and Mastercard are two of the most commonly-recognized names in the credit card business, but don’t sleep on American Express, who is only behind Citibank, Chase, and the two aforementioned top dogs when it comes to card issuance. AmEx has carved out a long-time niche of serving top dollar customers and offering commensurate rewards.
The Abra card is expected to bring those rewards along with it too, with rewards from the slate of the AmEx network, including “Amex Offers (for shopping, travel, dining, services, entertainment, etc.), presale ticket access, Global Dining benefits, and purchase protections,” according to the press release.
Abra joins a growing list of crypto-native card issuers with crypto rewards, including the likes of BlockFi, Gemini, Nexo and others. Even companies that aren’t crypto-first, such as Venmo and SoFi, are offering crypto reward cards.
