KAST card review: fees, cashback caps and Premium

KAST is a stablecoin account with a Visa card attached. You deposit USDC or USDT, it shows as dollars, and you spend it anywhere Visa works. As of September 2026 the free Standard tier pays 1.5% USD cashback on the first $2,000 you spend each month. It’s a sensible card for moderate spenders who keep a stablecoin float. For most people, the paid Premium and Private tiers are hard to justify on cashback alone.

This review covers what each tier costs, where the fees are, how the cashback caps work in practice, and the risks of holding money with a custodial crypto card. If you’re weighing it against a self-custodial option, see our KAST vs ether.fi Cash comparison.

What is KAST?

KAST is an app-based account built around stablecoins. You can hold a USD balance, receive crypto or bank transfers, send money to bank accounts in dozens of currencies, and spend with virtual or physical Visa cards.

According to KAST’s help center, every KAST card is technically a credit card issued through a banking partner, with the credit line secured by your deposit. You can’t spend more than you’ve deposited, and there is no credit check. Terminals will treat it as a credit card, so pick “Credit” if asked.

How much does KAST cost? Tiers and membership fees

KAST moved from paying per card to account-wide memberships. There are three tiers, all billed upfront for 12 months with no monthly option (membership pricing):

	Standard	Premium	Private
Annual fee	$0	$1,000	$10,000
Card network level	Visa Platinum	Visa Infinite	Visa Infinite
USD cashback	1.5% on first $2,000/month	2% on first $10,000/month	3% on first $40,000/month
KAST Points	None	1% of eligible spend	2% of eligible spend
Max cashback per month	$30	$200	$1,200
Physical card	$0 card + $40 delivery	Metal card included	Gold-plated card included

Figures as of September 2026, from KAST’s fees and conditions page.

A few details that matter:

• Standard includes up to two Standard cards. In some regions a $2 issuance fee applies to Standard virtual cards, even included ones.
• If you upgrade mid-membership, a new 12-month cycle starts immediately and unused time on the old tier doesn’t carry over.
• If an auto-renewal payment fails, there’s a 7-day grace period, then the account drops back to Standard.

KAST card fees: FX, ATM, deposits and withdrawals

USD card spending carries no transaction fee. Everything else has a cost:

Fee	Amount (Sept 2026)
USD card purchase	0%
Non-USD purchase (FX)	0.5%–1.75%, depends on country and program
Non-USD purchase under $25	extra $0.10
Declined for insufficient balance	$0.50
ATM withdrawal	$3 + 2% (plus FX fee if non-USD)
ATM limits	$250 per withdrawal, 3 withdrawals or $750 per 24 hours
Stablecoin deposit	0% (network gas only)
Other crypto deposit	Auto-converted to stablecoin, fee varies by token
USD bank deposit	ACH $2, Fedwire $15, SWIFT $30
EUR SEPA deposit	0.5%
USDC/USDT withdrawal	Solana $1 + 0.1%, Arbitrum $0.20 + 0.1%, Ethereum $6 + 0.1%, Tron $5 + 0.1%

The FX fee is the number to watch. KAST publishes a range, not a single figure, and says the fee in the app before you confirm is the one that applies. Budget for 1.75% if you haven’t checked your country’s rate.

The ATM fee is steep. A $200 withdrawal costs $7 before any foreign exchange fee or operator surcharge, so treat the card as a spending card and not a cash card. ATMs also need the physical card; virtual cards won’t work.

Deposit other crypto only if you have to. KAST auto-converts BTC, ETH, SOL and other tokens into stablecoins, and its own help center warns that the conversion fee can run to several percent on less liquid tokens. Converting to USDC yourself first, for example with CoW Swap, is usually cheaper.

How does KAST cashback work?

Cashback is paid in USD, which is a real advantage over cards that pay in a volatile token. The mechanics are less simple than “1.5% back”:

1. Cashback is added to your Rewards balance after an eligible purchase settles.
2. It stays Locked for 14 days, then turns Redeemable.
3. You tap Redeem manually. Redeemed cashback is used first on your next card purchases.
4. It can’t be withdrawn to a bank or wallet, and you need at least $0.10 in your main balance for it to apply.

Eligibility is based on the merchant category code (MCC), not on the store’s name. ATM withdrawals, money transfers, quasi-cash and fees don’t earn cashback. If a purchase is refunded, KAST claws back the cashback, and if you’ve already spent it, the shortfall can come out of your main balance (cashback rules).

Once you pass your tier’s monthly cap, eligible spend stops earning cashback for the rest of the month. On Standard, the 1.5% stops after $2,000, so a $5,000 month still earns only $30.

What about KAST Points?

Premium and Private also earn KAST Points. Don’t put a dollar value on them. In September 2026 KAST said it no longer plans a standard token launch for points and is working on a different structure, targeted for Q4 2026, whose terms and eligibility aren’t final (KAST Points FAQ). For now, points can be redeemed toward a membership: 25,000 points for Premium or 250,000 for Private.

Is KAST Premium worth it?

On cashback alone, Premium pays off only for high spenders. It earns 0.5% more than Standard on the first $2,000 a month and 2% on spend between $2,000 and $10,000, where Standard earns nothing. Against the $1,000 fee:

Monthly spend (USD)	Standard cashback/year	Premium cashback/year	Premium minus $1,000 fee
$1,000	$180	$240	−$760
$3,000	$360	$720	−$280
$5,000	$360	$1,200	$200
$10,000	$360	$2,400	$1,400

Break-even against Standard sits at about $5,700 of eligible spend a month (at $5,000, Premium nets $200 a year versus $360 on Standard). Below that, Premium makes sense only if you value what the Visa Infinite perks add: KAST lists travel insurance, lost-luggage and baggage-delay cover, purchase protection, extended warranty, discounted lounge access through Visa Airport Companion, and included eSIM data. Check the terms of each benefit before paying for it.

Private at $10,000 a year earns at most $1,200 of cashback a month. It beats Standard on cashback only at roughly $29,000 of monthly spend, or somewhat lower if you put a value on the points.

Worked examples: $1,000 and $5,000 a month

These assume the account is funded with stablecoins (no conversion fee), all spend is eligible, and points are valued at zero.

Spending in USD

Monthly spend	Standard (net)	Premium (net, after 1/12 of fee)
$1,000	+$15.00	$20.00 − $83.33 = −$63.33
$5,000	+$30.00	$100.00 − $83.33 = +$16.67

Spending in euros (USD equivalent, FX fee between 0.5% and 1.75%)

Monthly spend	Standard cashback	FX fee	Standard net
$1,000	$15.00	$5.00–$17.50	+$10.00 to −$2.50
$5,000	$30.00	$25.00–$87.50	+$5.00 to −$57.50

The euro case shows KAST’s weakness for heavy spending abroad: the FX fee applies to every dollar, but cashback stops at the cap. At $5,000 a month in a foreign currency with a 1.75% FX fee, the Standard tier costs you money overall. Premium’s higher cap helps (2% cashback against the FX fee), but the $1,000 annual fee still has to be covered first.

How to get started with KAST

1. Download the app and open a KAST account. If a friend referred you, enter their code at sign-up or later under Profile, then Account, then Referred by.
2. Complete verification. Level 2 (government ID and a liveness check) unlocks cards and most features. Level 3 (proof of address and extra checks) is needed for the USD account and bank payouts.
3. Tap Receive, choose Stablecoin, then pick the token and network. The network in your sending wallet must match the one you choose in KAST. USDC on Solana or Arbitrum is cheap to send; USDC on Ethereum mainnet costs more gas.
4. Your virtual card works right away for online payments and Apple Pay or Google Pay. Order a physical card if you need ATMs or chip-and-PIN terminals.
5. At foreign terminals, always choose to pay in the local currency. Picking “pay in USD” lets the merchant’s provider set the exchange rate, which is usually worse.

Sending USDC on a network KAST doesn’t list for that token can mean losing the funds. Always double-check the network before sending. Our Jumper bridging guide helps if your stablecoins are on a different chain.

KAST referral program

KAST’s standard referral program, as of September 2026 (referral terms):

• Your friend gets 10% off their first paid membership: $100 off Premium or $1,000 off Private. There’s no discount on the free tier.
• You earn up to $250 as your friend’s cumulative card spend reaches $600, $1,600 and $6,600, plus a one-time $100 if they buy Premium or $1,000 if they buy Private. Amounts can vary by the friend’s country.
• Rewards sit locked for 14 days and can be clawed back if the qualifying spend is refunded.

KAST also runs a separate affiliate program for creators, with an application and performance-based commissions.

Is KAST safe? Risks to know

• Custody. By default KAST holds your balance through its partners. It isn’t a bank, and it says accounts can be restricted for compliance reviews. Only keep what you plan to spend, and store long-term holdings in self-custody (see our hardware wallet picks).
• Self-Custody Mode is optional and partial. Where it’s enabled, it moves your USD balance into a dedicated Solana USDC wallet (built on Privy) while the card keeps working. It can’t be combined with the Reserve account.
• Programs change. In 2026 alone, KAST moved from paying per card to memberships, dropped its planned points token, and ran time-limited promotions. The 8% “Reserve Rewards” on idle USD is promotional, funded by KAST, and scheduled to end by 30 June 2027 at the latest.
• Cashback is a store credit. Because it’s paid in USD and only spendable on the card, it’s less volatile than token rewards. You can’t cash it out, though.
• Country coverage. KAST doesn’t publish a full list of countries. You’ll see whether yours is supported in the sign-up dropdown, and using a VPN breaks its terms.

Verdict: who should use KAST?

KAST Standard suits people who spend up to about $2,000 a month, mostly in USD or in a country where KAST’s FX fee is at the low end, and who want cashback in dollars instead of a token. The app’s local-currency bank payouts are a bonus if you’re paid in stablecoins.

Skip the paid tiers unless you reliably spend more than about $5,700 a month or will actually use the Visa Infinite travel cover. If you spend heavily in euros or want to keep custody of your funds, a card like ether.fi Cash may net you more; our ether.fi Cash review runs the same numbers.

If Standard fits, KAST costs nothing to open. Fund it with stablecoins, not other tokens, to avoid conversion fees.