diff --git a/src/hooks/wallet/__tests__/useSpendBundle.test.ts b/src/hooks/wallet/__tests__/useSpendBundle.test.ts
index 47cf0e508..885201a4a 100644
--- a/src/hooks/wallet/__tests__/useSpendBundle.test.ts
+++ b/src/hooks/wallet/__tests__/useSpendBundle.test.ts
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
  * The hook itself orchestrates kernel clients, Rain API calls, and the
  * session-key grant flow — those paths are covered by integration + manual
  * testing on sandbox. These tests lock down the deterministic pieces:
- *   - `computeSpendStrategy` routing (smart → collateral → mixed → insufficient)
+ *   - `computeSpendStrategy` routing (collateral → smart → mixed → insufficient)
  *   - `usdcUnitsToRainCents` amount conversion at the Rain API boundary
  */
 
@@ -45,17 +45,8 @@ import { computeSpendStrategy } from '../useSpendBundle'
 describe('computeSpendStrategy', () => {
     const amount = 1000n
 
-    it('prefers smart-only when smart covers the amount, even if collateral-only is allowed', () => {
-        // Smart account is spent first so the payment never touches the Rain
-        // collateral (and its per-account withdrawal-signature cooldown) when
-        // smart-account USDC already covers it.
+    it('prefers collateral-only when allowed and rain covers the amount', () => {
         expect(computeSpendStrategy({ smart: 5000n, rain: 10_000n, amount, collateralOnlyAllowed: true })).toBe(
-            'smart-only'
-        )
-    })
-
-    it('uses collateral-only when smart cannot cover but collateral can (allowed)', () => {
-        expect(computeSpendStrategy({ smart: 100n, rain: 10_000n, amount, collateralOnlyAllowed: true })).toBe(
             'collateral-only'
         )
     })
diff --git a/src/hooks/wallet/useSpendBundle.ts b/src/hooks/wallet/useSpendBundle.ts
index 55bbaea92..a6c2eb93e 100644
--- a/src/hooks/wallet/useSpendBundle.ts
+++ b/src/hooks/wallet/useSpendBundle.ts
@@ -104,13 +104,16 @@ export class SessionKeyGrantRequiredError extends Error {
 
 /**
  * Pure routing helper — decides which bucket(s) a spend will pull from.
- * Priority: smart → collateral → mixed. The smart account is spent first
- * whenever it can cover the whole amount, so a payment never touches the
- * Rain collateral — and Rain's per-account withdrawal-signature cooldown —
- * if the user's smart-account USDC already covers it. Collateral is the
- * fallback (single recipient AND no subsequent kernel calls, since Rain's
- * coordinator transfers tokens directly with nothing following), and `mixed`
- * tops up the shortfall from collateral when smart alone can't cover it.
+ * Priority: collateral → smart → mixed. Collateral-only requires a single
+ * recipient AND no subsequent kernel calls (Rain's coordinator transfers
+ * tokens directly; nothing follows).
+ *
+ * NOTE: a smart-first variant (#2230) was reverted — it routed `smart-only`
+ * whenever the cached `smartBalance` covered the amount, but card funds are
+ * swept smart→collateral, so a stale/pre-sweep balance made smart-only spends
+ * revert on-chain ("ERC20: transfer amount exceeds balance") for collateral-
+ * funded users. Re-introducing smart-first needs a live (uncached) balance read
+ * AND a fallback to collateral when the smart-only path can't be funded.
  */
 export function computeSpendStrategy(input: {
     smart: bigint
@@ -118,8 +121,8 @@ export function computeSpendStrategy(input: {
     amount: bigint
     collateralOnlyAllowed: boolean
 }): SpendStrategy {
-    if (input.smart >= input.amount) return 'smart-only'
     if (input.collateralOnlyAllowed && input.rain >= input.amount) return 'collateral-only'
+    if (input.smart >= input.amount) return 'smart-only'
     if (input.smart + input.rain >= input.amount) return 'mixed'
     return 'insufficient'
 }