Many apps allow users to track their spending and see how much money is being spent each month… but have you heard of the Curve card?
You may have seen us promoting the Curve card on Save the Student, but do you know what it is and the benefits of using it?
Having a Curve card offers many benefits, such as the best rates on travel money, ‘go early' to switch payment cards on purchases and 1% cash back. You can also earn free cash by referring friends and family.
Sign up here to get £10 free with Curve. When you sign up using our link, you'll receive a £10 bonus in your account within three days of making a transaction of £10 or more.
What is Curve?
Curve is an app that conveniently keeps all your debit and credit cards in one place under one card. You'll be able to see what you've spent with which retailer, and in the Insights section what you've spent for different categories.
There are four different cards you can choose from when signing up for a Curve card. We will explain all the details in detail later. The standard card is free and offers the same features as your paid cards.
There's an option to pay £9.99 a month for a Curve black card, which will give you access to Curve Cash (which lets you get cash back on your purchases). The most expensive card costs £14.99; however, don't overlook it as it has great benefits, especially if you are an avid traveler.
What is Curve Cash?
Curve Cash allows you to get cash back on purchases made with your Curve card. Loyalty scheme please.
However, you will need either the black Curve card or the metal Curve card to earn Curve Cash and spend it however you like.
You can choose three retailers for the black card and six retailers for the metal card to receive the discount. You can choose from 100 stores including Deliveroo, Uber and Amazon.
Customers on the free tier can benefit from a selected range of cashback offers in the “Rewards” section. They include deals like 31.5% cashback on UberEats and 10% on Amazon Fresh.
If you're lucky and sign up to Curve before 16 February 2018, you'll be on your old discount scheme, meaning you can basically have the card for free and continue to get discounts with selected retailers.
How do I spend my Curve Cash?
One Curve Cash point is equal to one penny, so if you earn 100 points you'll have £1 to spend. Your Curve Cash has no cash value and as such you will not be able to withdraw it to your bank; you can only spend it with your Curve Card.
In the Curve app, you'll be able to view your Curve Cash in both GBP and Curve units. To switch between these views, simply tap on your balance screen.
To use your Curve Cash, you only need to pay for the product in full with your Curve Cash card. Make sure you choose this card to pay and make sure the item you're paying for is fully covered by your balance, as you can't make partial payments with Curve Cash.
If your item costs £5 and you've earned £4.99 in Curve Cash, you won't be able to use it towards this purchase. You will also not be able to get cash back on purchases made with Curve Cash. If a refund is issued for an item you paid for with your points, the refund will be credited to your Curve Cash card.
Where can't you use your Curve Cash?
It is also important to know the limitations of Curve Cash in advance so that you are well informed before using it. You cannot withdraw Curve Cash from any ATM, nor will you be able to transfer it to a friend via Curve Send.
You can't redeem your points for cash, and it's also important to note that they expire after 6 months, so make sure you spend them so you don't lose them.
What can you use Curve for?
As we mentioned above, the standard card is free (with a delivery charge of £4.99). You'll get up to £1,000 a month at the fair exchange rate and £200 a month in free overseas cash withdrawals so you can get good rates fo travel in your chosen currency. However, if you don't travel often, you may not need more.
The next level is Curve X. This costs £4.99 per month. The main benefits of choosing this over a free standard card are free card shipping, the ability to add 3 more cards to your account, and crypto rewards.
The Curve black card costs £9.99 a month and does everything the standard card does, but gives you unlimited access to fair exchange rates, £400 free foreign withdrawals per month and 1% cashback. With three retailers of your choice. cash in the curve.
That means if you spend consistently with three companies, you can earn 1% of the value as cash back. You'll also get worldwide travel insurance, which again is great if you're a frequent traveler.
Finally, there's the Curve metal card, which costs £14.99 a month. You'll get everything we've mentioned above with the standard and black Curve cards, but you can withdraw up to £600 of foreign cash a month.
You can also choose six retailers to earn 1% Curve Cash back, plus mobile phone insurance, a global airport lounge key and rental car collision waiver insurance. All on 18g metal card.
This may seem expensive, but if you tend to travel, spend a lot of money on cashback and pay separately for mobile phone insurance, it might be worth looking into to see if it fits your lifestyle.
Anti-embarrassment mode
Have you ever gone to pay with your debit card and the payment was declined? Isn't it embarrassing? Don't worry, we've all been there.
Curve has cleverly designed an ‘anti-confusion mode' where users can create two backup cards that Curve will automatically use if your card is declined at checkout, saving you a red face at checkout.
To enable anti-shaming mode, go to the Curve app. You want to go to app settings, Features, Anti-Embarrassment mode, then turn it on. You will be prompted to select up to two backup cards that Curve can use to pay if your configured card fails.
Go Back in Time
Have you used the wrong card for a purchase and messed up your accounts, regretting it and wishing you could go back in time and use your other card? Another great feature of Curve is that you can use their Back in Time feature for up to £5,000 up to 30-120 days (depending on which card you have) after paying for an item.
Changing the card you used to pay for a product couldn't be easier. Click on the transaction you want to change, scroll to the bottom of the screen and select “Back in Time”.
From here, all you have to do is swipe your Curve Wallet on the screen and select the new card you want to use for payment. You can only do this once per purchase, so make sure you choose the right card.
If you need to go back in time to shop over £5,000, contact them here.
No charges on holiday
An added benefit of the Curve card is that you can very easily use it to get great exchange rates when you're at your destination, so you don't have to think ahead and waste time trying to find the best rates.
No ATM fees abroad
Say goodbye to ATM fees when withdrawing cash from abroad. The Curve card will allow free withdrawals. If you have their standard (free) card, you'll get up to £200 of free cashback a month. If you have a black card, you can withdraw up to 400 euros per month.
The metal card will allow you to withdraw up to £600, which is great if you're an avid traveller, but as we mentioned, this card will cost you £14.99 a month.
Real-time alerts on your phone
You'll also be able to see real-time notifications on your phone about how much and where you're spending. If you're sticking to a vacation budget (we love a budget), it's helpful to keep track of how much and where you're spending with phone notifications. It's also great if you accidentally lose your card, so you can track if someone spends on it and freeze the card.
Get cashback
If you book with some Curve travel partners, you can get extra cash back at these retailers by paying with your Curve card. Check out the suppliers here.
What can't you do with Curve?
While you can link debit and credit cards, you won't be able to link your American Express credit card and any Maestro credit cards. As a result, you won't be able to combine any AMEX rebate with a Curve rebate, for example.
It is also important to note that you will not be covered under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act if you use your credit card through Curve. This is because the charges will come from Curve, the third-party provider, rather than your original card, where it will be protected.
Section 75 basically means that any transaction between £100 and £30,000 is legally protected if the goods bought with a credit card are not what they should be, or you didn't receive them at all. Your card provider will take the same responsibility as the retailer you bought from and will have to pay you back.
However, you will be covered by Curve's customer protection. So if you have a problem with a purchase, you'll be able to file a claim with Curve and they can file a dispute on your behalf to try and get your money back. This would include defective items, items not received, counterfeit items where the seller does not refund you, or even double charges.
You can see more about Curve's customer protection here.
How to apply for a Curve card
It's easy to apply for a Curve card and claim your free £10.
- Head over to this page to get a free £10 bonus with our promo code
- “Click to get this offer”
- Enter your phone number to get started
- Download the Curve app
- Enter your personal information
- You can start spending almost immediately with Apple/Android Pay
- After making your first transaction of £10 or more within 14 days, you should receive your free £10 within three days.
This is the best app based bank for you. Check out our complete app-based bank comparison guide.
