Traditional travel credit cards compete on sign-up bonuses and lounge passes, then quietly claw it back with FX markups, annual fees and points that devalue. Here's the line-by-line comparison.
The numbers
- • FX rate: mid-market on FurlPay vs. 1.5–3% markup on most bank cards
- • Cashback: 2–7% in liquid USDC vs. 1–2% in devaluing points
- • Settlement: instant, on-chain, 24/7/365 vs. 1–3 business days
- • Fraud surface: single-use MCC-locked VCNs vs. one number reused everywhere
- • Annual fee: $0 vs. $95–$695 for comparable travel perks
Where traditional cards still win
Airport lounges, primary rental-car insurance and chargeback leverage on non-crypto rails remain genuine advantages of the big travel cards. Many travelers carry both: FurlPay for spend and cashback, a legacy card for its lounge pass. That's a rational split — just stop paying FX markups on the spend.