KAST

Cashback

The amount of cashback you receive depends on your total spend, tier and monthly cashback limit. However, your effective cashback rate may be lower due to FX and transaction fees.

KAST cashback is subject to a 14-day timelock before it becomes available to redeem. Once unlocked, users can manually redeem their cashback via the Rewards section in the app. Cashback is denominated in USD.

Redeemed cashback can only be used towards eligible KAST card spending. It cannot be withdrawn to a bank account or external wallet, and is automatically applied to the next eligible card purchase before funds are taken from the USD spending balance. Users must also maintain at least $0.10 in their main USD Spending Balance.

KAST Points

Users with leftover KAST Points can use them towards upgrading the membership tier, by contacting the KAST concierge. Premium users earn KAST Points equivalent to 1% of card spend, while Private users earn 2%. KAST has yet to clarify its long-term plans for Points or how they will ultimately be redeemed.

Tier Pricing

Standard is the default membership tier and has no membership fee. Premium costs \$1,000 per year, while Private costs $10,000 per year.

Card Benefits

Standard users receive Visa Platinum cards. Visa lists a range of benefits for Platinum cardholders, although the benefits available to KAST users can vary by region, card program and issuing partner. Premium and Private users receive Visa Infinite cards, which sit above Platinum in Visa’s card hierarchy and include enhanced versions of benefits such as concierge services, airport lounge access and travel, flight and recreational benefits.

Card Allowance

The virtual card is free across all tiers, with a limit of 10 cards per user. Once a tier’s included card allowance has been used, each additional virtual card costs $2. Physical cards cost $40 on the Standard tier, while Premium and Private include physical cards within their respective allowances.

Standard includes two virtual Visa Platinum cards, with the option of purchasing a physical card. Premium includes one Visa Infinite card in physical form and two virtual Standard cards. Private offers one physical gold-plated card, alongside two virtual Premium or Standard cards.

To identify the real fees behind the KAST card, we tested it in-store and compared the exchange rate with the Google exchange rate at the exact time of the transaction.

In our in-store test, we observed a gross FX spread of ~ 1.84%, resulting in an effective cashback of -0.34% for the Standard tier.

The calculation above excludes KAST’s low-value transaction fee, which is exclusive to non-USD spending. The fee applies to transactions below $25. This is notable for international users who frequently make small transactions.

You can fund your KAST account using crypto or fiat.

For crypto, users can deposit assets onchain from external wallets and exchanges. KAST supports stablecoin deposits across most EVM-compatible blockchains, as well as select non-EVM networks such as Solana and the XRP Ledger.

For fiat funding, KAST provides a US account and routing details alongside an EU IBAN. USD deposits can be made through ACH, Fedwire and SWIFT, while EUR deposits are supported through SEPA. Incoming EUR is automatically converted to USDC, while funds received through KAST's US virtual accounts are converted to USDC after settlement.

KAST's Global Account infrastructure is powered by Bridge, with underlying US banking services provided by Lead Bank. KAST's original Bridge integration introduced virtual accounts for receiving and sending USD through ACH and Fedwire.

For off-ramping, KAST supports withdrawals to bank accounts in USD, as well as local bank payouts in more than 15 supported currencies. KAST states that its virtual accounts, custody, fiat deposit and withdrawal services are provided through licensed partners, although Bridge is the only infrastructure provider it currently names publicly for its Global Accounts.

KAST uses Sumsub for know your customer (KYC) verification. In our testing, the process took around 10 minutes and required a full legal name, date of birth, residential address, government-issued ID and facial video verification.

Once the card was activated, we were able to add it to Apple Pay, although we had to enter the card details manually.

Earn

KAST Earn gives users access to two self-custodial USD yield vaults with different underlying strategies. Returns on both are variable rather than guaranteed, and the products are not bank deposits or covered by deposit insurance. KAST also lists smart contract, protocol, liquidity and counterparty risk among the risks associated with its Earn vaults.

USD Prime Vault

• Advertised APY: Up to 3.3%
• Deposit asset: Deposits are converted 1:1 into USDKy, a reward-bearing stablecoin launched by KAST in partnership with M0.
• Yield source: USDKy derives its value from underlying M collateral, consisting primarily of short-term US Treasury bills. The resulting yield is reflected in its redemption value over time.

Gauntlet Alpha Vault

• APY during testing: 5.5%, although the rate varies with market conditions.
• Deposit strategy: Deposits are routed into Gauntlet USD Alpha, a USDC-based DeFi strategy curated by Gauntlet.
• Yield source: The strategy allocates across selected variable and fixed-yield opportunities, including protocols such as Morpho and Pendle, and automatically compounds protocol rewards.
• Risk: This introduces greater DeFi-specific risk than the Treasury-backed USD Prime Vault, including exposure to smart contracts, liquidity conditions and the underlying protocols used by the strategy.

Reward Tasks

KAST offers one-off spending rewards alongside its standard cashback program. Current card-spending tasks can be seen in the table below.

These rewards are separate from the percentage cashback available through each membership tier and can therefore increase the effective return for users completing the required spending milestones.

Referral Program

KAST referral program pays out rewards based on the amount a referred user spends, with additional rewards when referrals upgrade to a paid membership. Alongside additional rewards, referred users receive 10% off their first paid subscription. As an additional incentive, higher referral activity improves a user’s position on KAST’s referral leaderboard.

Additionally, referrers earn a further $100 for each referred user that upgrades to Premium, or $1,000 for an upgrade to Private.

KAST is one of the most competitive entry-level crypto cards for US domestic spending. The free Standard tier earns 1.5% cashback on up to $2,000 of eligible monthly spending, while users also get US account details and support for stablecoin transfers.

The value drops considerably for foreign-currency spending. In our PLN test, we observed an FX spread of approximately 1.84%. Based on that spread, the 1.5% Standard cashback would be fully offset, while effective cashback on Premium and Private would fall to approximately 0.16% and 1.16% respectively, before any other applicable fees. The $0.10 low-value transaction fee on non-USD purchases can also have a noticeable impact on frequent small spenders. This makes KAST considerably better suited to USD spending than regular international use.

How to Sign Up

1. Create a KAST account through the KAST app or website.
2. Complete KYC verification by providing your personal details, government-issued ID and facial verification.
3. Fund your account using supported crypto or fiat payment methods.
4. Activate your chosen card.
5. Add the card to Apple Pay or Google Pay if supported in your region and start spending.