Pay for ChatGPT with a crypto card

OpenAI runs two separate billings: the ChatGPT subscription on chatgpt.com and the API platform on platform.openai.com, where you prepay credits. Neither takes crypto, and both refuse cards from a long list of countries. A prepaid card issued in US dollars gets you past both problems without opening a bank account anywhere.

The flow is short: buy the card, send USDT to it, add the card at the OpenAI checkout. From then on it behaves like a normal card on file.

What ChatGPT costs

ChatGPT Plus is $20 a month and ChatGPT Pro is $200 a month at the time of writing; Team is billed per seat. API usage is prepaid: the minimum credit purchase is $5, and OpenAI lets you set a monthly budget so spending stops at a figure you choose.

Everything is priced in US dollars, so there is no conversion on this card. A Plus renewal takes $20 plus the $0.10 service fee.

At the ChatGPT checkout

On chatgpt.com open Settings, then Subscription, pick the plan and enter the card. OpenAI uses Stripe, which asks for the cardholder name, a billing address and sometimes a postal code; use the name from your CryptoCardex account and the address you gave at sign up. A 3D Secure code may be requested and arrives in your account.

For the API, go to Settings, Billing on the platform, add the card as a payment method and buy credits. Turn on auto recharge only if you want the card charged automatically when credits run low.

If the payment is declined

OpenAI declines are usually one of three things: the card balance is below the amount plus the small hold, the 3D Secure code was not entered in time, or the billing address does not match the one you typed. Fix the one that applies and retry once. Several rapid retries can lock the card at the processor for a while.

If OpenAI refuses the purchase with a message about the region, check the country set in your OpenAI account rather than the card; the card itself is accepted worldwide.

What the card itself costs

The card costs $49.99 once and nothing per month. A top up is 3% plus the network fee. A purchase in a currency other than US dollars costs 2.5% of the amount, every approved purchase over $1 carries a $0.10 service fee, and the issuing bank's fee on a purchase is passed on at cost. All of it is in one table on the pricing page; if a charge is not there, we do not take it.

How to get the card and pay

1. Open the card. Sign up with an email address and pay $49.99 once for the virtual Mastercard. The card number, expiry date and CVV appear in your account about two minutes later. No passport and no selfie.
2. Top it up with crypto. Send USDT or USDC on TRON, BNB Chain, Polygon or Ethereum to the deposit address shown in the account. The top up costs 3% plus the network fee, and the balance is held in US dollars.
3. Pay at the checkout. Enter the card like any other Mastercard: number, expiry, CVV, the name from your account and the billing address it asks for. The merchant sees an ordinary card payment, not crypto.

Questions people ask

Does OpenAI accept prepaid Mastercards?

Yes. Plus, Pro and API credit purchases go through on this card. The only extra step is keeping a small buffer above the price for the authorisation hold.

Can I use the same card for ChatGPT and the API?

Yes, it is one card with one balance. If you prefer separate budgets, open a second virtual card; there is no monthly fee on either.

What if ChatGPT charges in my local currency?

ChatGPT bills in US dollars in most countries. Where it bills in another currency, the card converts at the Mastercard rate plus 2.5%.