How much does opening a card cost, and what is the minimum limit?
Card issuance fee is $1–2 per card depending on the BIN, plus a 2% service fee on the card limit. Minimum limit is 26 USD. Example: a 26-limit card costs at most 28.52 in total (26 + 2% + $2 fee). Everything is shown on the card-opening page before you submit.
When people ask about the card issuance fee and the minimum limit, the key is to separate two completely different kinds of money. One is money you spend and never get back: the issuance fee, plus a 2% service fee on the card limit. The other is purchasing power that goes onto the card and still belongs to you: the card limit itself, minimum 26 USD. Lump the two together and you will badly overestimate the cost of opening a card. Remember that the limit simply moves from your platform balance onto the card; not a cent of it evaporates. The only money actually spent to open a card is those two small fees above.
Opening a card deducts three amounts, but only two count as cost
| Component | Amount | Counts as cost? |
|---|---|---|
| Card limit | Your choice, minimum 26 USD | No (it is your money, moved onto the card as spendable purchasing power) |
| Limit service fee | Limit × 2% (a 26 card = 0.52) | Yes |
| Issuance fee | $1–2 per card (by BIN) | Yes |
The minimum limit is 26; go lower and it won't cover the first subscription
26 is not an arbitrary figure; it is the safety line calculated on the card side. Mainstream US AI subscriptions on the $20 plan usually charge around $20–22 in practice (some states add sales tax), and certain past-due back-charges can reach $25. If the card limit is below 26, it may fail to cover a tax-inclusive or back-charge amount and get declined by the issuer for “insufficient limit”. Among card-side failures on the platform, the insufficient-limit category accounts for about 45%, most of them precisely because the limit was set too tight. 26 leaves a thin cushion above $25, and is the lowest value that keeps a first subscription from being declined for insufficient limit. This line only governs whether the first tax-inclusive subscription can be settled; the card limit itself is a one-time total pool, and whenever you want to spend more you can simply top up the card.
The issuance fee is fixed at $1–2; only the 2% service fee grows with the limit
One fixed formula computes the maximum total cost for any limit: total cost = card limit + limit × 2% + issuance fee. The key structure is this: the issuance fee is fixed at $1–2 by BIN and does not rise with the limit; the only part that grows linearly with the limit is that 2% service fee. The limits in the table below are examples (you set the actual value), and the issuance fee is taken at its $2 ceiling as the worst case, so the real figure may be lower.
| Card limit (example, USD) | Limit 2% service fee | Issuance fee (ceiling) | Maximum total cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | 0.52 | $2 | 28.52 |
| 50 | 1.00 | $2 | 53.00 |
| 100 | 2.00 | $2 | 104.00 |
Check it this way before submitting, and you won't overpay
- Choose the BIN—it determines which tier of the $1–2 issuance fee applies.
- Enter the card limit: minimum 26 USD; leave a cushion based on the tax-inclusive amount of your first subscription, ideally covering at least $22.
- Look at the three items the card-opening page calculates in real time—the limit, the 2% service fee, and the issuance fee—and how much the total will draw from your platform balance.
- Confirm the total does not exceed your platform balance; if it falls short, top up first (minimum first deposit is 30 USDT, crediting 29.40, more than enough to cover one minimum-limit card).
- Verify that total figure and then submit; the card is issued in seconds, with the card number, expiry date, CVV, and billing address all shown together on the card detail page, each field copyable.