the card getting declined saga that everyone here seems to have

[usdt_nadia]

Adding the bit nobody warns you about: a card deposit, on the rare site where it works, is one way. Try to withdraw back to a UAE card and watch it stall.

With USDT in and USDT out you keep one rail the whole way and that is where the speed comes from. Just double check the network before you send, sending on the wrong chain is the classic newbie mistake and that one is on you, not the casino.