Yes, PADI charges for eCards, but with it in eCard format you never lose it and never have to replace it, which eliminates the problem.
Also, you never need to carry more than 2 cards maximum. Nitrox card if you’re diving Nitrox, and any other card will get you onto a dive boat, let you rent gear, etc. so you can use any one of your other cert cards for that.
I have all of mine stored in my dive logbook other than my Nitrox and DiveMaster cards which I keep in my wallet and both of them have held up fine so I don’t know why you had issues with your cards?