Loyalty tier

A loyalty tier is the rung you sit on in a card’s rewards ladder. You climb it by holding — or locking up — more of the issuer’s token, and each rung up pays a higher cashback rate.

Why it matters: the headline rate on the box is almost always the top-tier rate, and reaching the top means tying up real money in a volatile reward token. So “up to 5% back” really means “5% if you buy and hold a large stack of our coin — otherwise far less, or nothing.” Before you trust a rate, check which tier it needs and what that tier costs you to maintain.

For example: the Nexo Card runs Base, Silver, Gold and Platinum tiers set by how much NEXO you hold as a share of your portfolio — cashback climbs from 0.5% at Base to 2% at Platinum, which needs NEXO worth at least 10% of everything you hold. The Crypto.com Visa works the same way: five tiers from 0% to 5% back, unlocked by locking CRO for 12 months (or paying a monthly subscription).