They've been available for over a year. I started doing this earlier in the year. Couldn't be happier.
Just so you know, I don't see visa / mastercard going anywhere. Until you can use bitcoin using the same paywave tech that credit cards use, the over-the-counter use case of bitcoin will not be realized. The alternative is just too easy. But with a bitcoin debit card, you get the best of both worlds. My money isn't being debased while it sits in my wallet, and I have the freedom to use it when I want.
I think it will be several years before the layer-2 tech of bitcoin like lightning allows that type of functionality. The existing system is just too effective. I think it is more likely that lightning will be bootstrapped through organic growth like paying your local dealer than it will be by paying for your groceries.
If aliens invaded tomorrow this utility is removed. It doesn't take away from its utility right now though, does it? Bitcoin would have to drop 85% of its value to have only doubled in value this year. So what you're doing is using an argument of 'hypothetically it might not have utility' where I'm pointing out where it does, in fact, have utility. Right now. And it has grown in utility. Right now.
