What foreign purchases cost on each card
Stated foreign-currency fees applied to your own foreign and USD-priced spending.
At $300 a month of foreign-currency spending, a 3% FX fee costs $108 a year and a 2% fee costs $72. Shakepay charges 3%, 1.5% or 0% by monthly status; Crypto.com charges 2% on its free tier and less on paid tiers; MetaMask does not state a fee for its Virtual card. Enter your own amount.
Figures as of November 3, 2026.
Foreign spending
| Card | Stated FX fee | Cost per year |
|---|---|---|
| Shakepay Card | 3% | −$108.00 |
| Crypto.com Visa | 2% | −$72.00 |
| ether.fi Cash | 0% | $0.00 |
| MetaMask Card | 1% | −$36.00 |
| A typical card with your own FX % | 2.5% | −$90.00 |
How does the FX tool work?
It takes your monthly spending in a foreign currency, multiplies by 12 and applies each card’s stated foreign-currency fee for its entry tier. Your own card’s fee is added as a row so you can compare. Online shops that bill in US dollars count as foreign spending even when you never leave home.
What fees apply on each verified card?
| Card | Foreign-currency fee (entry tier) | Better with |
|---|---|---|
| Shakepay | 3% at Base | 1.5% at Bright, 0% at Blue, in months you qualify |
| Crypto.com | 2% on Midnight Blue | Free to CA$700 (Ruby) or CA$1,400 (Jade/Indigo) a month, then 2%; none on higher tiers |
| ether.fi Cash | 0.5% FX margin on any non-USD purchase (Core), including CAD | 0.25% on Luxe, none on Pinnacle |
| MetaMask Card | 1% cross-border, plus 0.5% to convert a USD stablecoin | No lower tier offered in Canada |
What about the exchange rate itself?
The fee is only part of the cost. The rate the network or platform uses to convert can carry its own margin, and ether.fi describes its fee as charged “in addition to the underlying FX base rate”. When a terminal abroad offers to charge you in Canadian dollars, decline: that conversion is set by the terminal operator and usually costs more than the card’s own.
Who this matters for
Anyone with USD subscriptions, cross-border shopping or regular travel. At $300 a month of foreign spending, the difference between a 3% fee and 0% is $108 a year, which can outweigh the reward rate entirely.
Does a US online store count as foreign spending?
Usually yes: if the merchant charges in US dollars or is based outside Canada, the card treats it as a foreign transaction. MetaMask’s fee table defines its 1% cross-border fee by the merchant being outside the cardholder’s country; Shakepay applies its fee to non-Canadian transactions. Check a recent statement for the fee line to see which of your merchants trigger it.
Can a status or tier remove the fee?
Yes, on two cards. Shakepay’s fee falls to 1.5% at Bright and 0% at Blue in months you meet the activity rules, and Crypto.com waives it entirely on its staked top tiers. ether.fi’s margin falls to 0.25% on Luxe and to nothing on Pinnacle, both paid levels. The rewards vs fees calculator shows whether those tiers pay for themselves at your spending.
| Foreign-currency spending on the trip | $2,500 |
|---|---|
| Shakepay Card (Base) | −$75.00 |
| Crypto.com Visa (Midnight Blue) | −$50.00 |
| ether.fi Cash (Core) | $0.00 |
| MetaMask Card (Free (digital)) | −$25.00 |
| Highest stated FX cost on the entry tier | $75.00 (Shakepay Card)Higher Shakepay statuses and Crypto.com tiers cut or remove the fee. |
Open the foreign-currency tool →Computed 2026-11-03.