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Curve Card review: A must have account?

How do you fancy having all your credit and debit cards linked into one? Or would you like a better exchange rate when you’re spending abroad? Or cashback from a range of retailers? Then take a look at this Curve card review to see what’s good and what’s bad. Plus, you’ll get £5 for trying it out.

Curve review home


Curve summary

If you have multiple bank cards, this is a very handy account to have. Not only does it make your life easier, it comes with some great benefits. There are subscription options, but they won’t provide great value for most people.

– Pete Chatfield

Curve logo
Ease of using the app
Cashback offers
Extra features
Paid membership value

Pros and cons:

✅ The card makes life easier
✅ Some good cashback offers
✅ Useful to be able to move payments between cards after a purchase

❌ Budgeting features are a little limited
❌ You will need a monthly subscription if you want to link more than three cards
❌ Curve Flex is quite expensive
❌ No longer great for foreign spending

Curve

3.5


What is the Curve card?

Curve allows you to combine your payment cards into one single card. This physical card can then be used as a substitute for any of the cards you have linked to your Curve debit card. Before you go out for the day, just choose which account you want your payments to come from with the Curve app. Or, you can do it just before you make a purchase. And if you change your mind, you can even switch your payment method after making a transaction. The card is provided by Mastercard and so can be used anywhere you see the Mastercard sign.

Curve OS Limited is based in London and was first registered in April 2015.

Is it safe?

Your data on Curve is protected with financial services industry-standard encryption and security measures. Curve is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

If you should lose your card, just clicking a button on the app will stop the card from being used.

How does Curve work?

You will need to fill in a fairly quick and painless application, qualifying you for a virtual and physical Curve card. Then, you will need to download the Curve app. From here, you can link your credit and debit cards.

The app allows you to choose which bank account or credit card you want the money taken out from when you make a purchase using your Curve card. All it takes is a simple swipe. For the free version of Curve, you can add three payment cards (this was unlimited when Curve first launched), whilst the paid versions allow you to add more.

You’re not restricted to just using the physical card either. Curve connects to digital offerings like Samsung Pay, Google Pay and Apple Pay. So, the majority of spending can be made straight from your phone.

A list of Curve payments


How much does it cost?

There are three options to choose from when you open your Curve account. Unsurprisingly, the more you pay, the greater the benefits.


Curve StandardCurve XCurve BlackCurve Metal
Monthly costFree£5.99£9.99£17.99
Annual costN/AN/A£99.90£179.90
Minimum subscription6 months
Cancellation feeN/AN/A£5.99£59.99
Card delivery fee£5.99FreeFreeFree
Number of linked cards35UnlimitedUnlimited
Add business cards
No. of Smart Rules25UnlimitedUnlimited
Go Back In Time (days)30 6090120
Go Back In Time limits
(per 30 days)
33UnlimitedUnlimited
ATM fee-free withdrawal
per 30 days*
(Then 2% of the withdrawal amount or £2)
£300£500£1,000
Foreign fee-free ATM
withdrawals*
per 30 days (Then 2% of the withdrawal amount or £2)
£300£500£1,000
Card spending abroad per
30 days
(Fee-free then 2.5% above Mastercard Wholesale Rate)
£250 £1,000£2,000None (fair usage policy applies)
Curve cash (aka cashback)3 retailers6 retailers
Curve Fronted feefree
per 30 days (Then 2.5%)
£1,000£3,000
Worldwide travel insurance
Ticket cancellation
insurance
Extended warranty
Priority Support
ExtrasMobile Phone insurance,
Airport LoungeKey Access,
Car Hire Excess insurance


*ATM fees

Remember that the ATM fees above are those purely charged by Curve, and you may also have to pay fees to the issuer of your linked card. For example, most credit cards charge at least a 2% fee when withdrawing cash. If you withdraw large sums from a credit card regularly, your fees could be twice as much if you do it through Curve.

Main Curve features

Linking all your cards into one is quite a unique feature, but it isn’t the only benefit of Curve. Here are the other major benefits included.

PayPal compatible

If you’re a regular user of PayPal and keep money in the account, you’ll be pleased to know that you can spend directly from it using your Curve card. Just enter your login details on the Curve app to connect.

Curve Fronted

From time to time, you may need to make a purchase when you have very little money in your bank. Usually, you’ll use your credit card, but some companies won’t accept that as a payment method.

Curve Fronted allows you to use Curve as a debit card, whilst taking money from your credit card account. However, a 2.5% fee comes with any transaction unless you are a Curve Black or Metal customer (limits do apply).

Go Back in Time

One of my favourite features of Curve is the ‘Go Back in Time feature.’ This allows you to move any transaction you make from one card to another. Depending on your subscription, you’ll have between 30 and 120 days to do this, although the amount has to be under £5,000.

This is especially useful for anybody with a corporate credit card attached to their Curve account and who pays for that coffee with it in error.

Curve cashback (aka Curve Cash)

When you join Curve, there are two types of cashback. The first is open to all cardholders and can earn up to 10%. Activate the offer from the app, shop using your Curve card and you’ll earn cashback. The amount you earn depends on your subscription, but Metal holders will earn more. However, the list of retailers is very limited.

The second type of cashback works slightly differently. You choose a certain number of retailers (from a much longer list) and earn 1% cashback every time you shop there.

Curve Black customers earn for an unlimited period of time from 3 retailers, whilst Curve Metal customers can earn cashback indefinitely from 6 retailers.

The money you earn is paid back into a separate section on your Curve card. When you decide to spend it, you will need to select the option from your Curve app.

Curve cashback


Curve Cashback Retailers

Some of the major retailers you can earn 1% from include:

  • Aldi
  • Amazon
  • Argos
  • Apple
  • Asda
  • B&Q
  • Burger King
  • Co-op
  • Costa Coffee
  • Clarks
  • Deliveroo
  • Easy Jet
  • Five Guys
  • Halfords
  • Iceland
  • IKEA
  • Just Eat
  • KFC
  • Lidl
  • Netflix
  • John Lewis
  • Marks & Spencer
  • Mcdonald’s
  • Primark
  • Sainsbury’s
  • Starbucks
  • Subway
  • Tesco
  • Topshop
  • Uber Eats

spending with curve cash


Anti-Embarrassment feature

What happens if you go to pay and you have the wrong card set as your main payment and there’s no money in that account? Curve has an Anti-Embarrassment feature, which means it will automatically use a backup card if this should happen.

You will need to turn this on in the mobile app.

Curve Flex

Flex allows you to split your payments over the last year into instalments. Just select the payment, swipe and select whether you want to pay over 3, 6, 9 or 12 months. Your original payment will then be refunded to your account. The representative rate for the service is 14.2%. It is cheaper than a credit card but more expensive than many loans.

Rewards

On top of the cashback mentioned above, you can earn even more money back when using your card when shopping at chosen retailers. This can be up to 20%. Visit the Rewards section of your app and activate your chosen reward.

Retailers change but can include the likes of HelloFresh, Costa, Mountain Warehouse, Amazon Fresh and Kindle Books.

Spending abroad

When you’re abroad, Curve will allow you to spend a set amount with your card without paying extra fees, depending on your subscription. And Curve doesn’t set its own exchange rate but uses the Mastercard Wholesale Rate

When it comes to withdrawing cash, only the paid subscription options offer access to your money fee-free.

Track your spending

Curve also offers you an option to receive instant notifications and an email receipt every time you make a purchase. This could be particularly useful if you need to track your spending for tax purposes.

Smart Rules

Smart Rules are a feature you can set up from the app which mean that payments will be taken from a certain card if it meets certain criteria. For example, if you’re buying groceries, you can set up a rule so it’s taken from your preferred card. Or, if you’re spending over a certain amount, the money is taken from another card.

Add your loyalty cards

If you find that you’re running out of room in your wallet or purse or often find that you’ve left your loyalty card at home when you go shopping, you can add them to the Curve app. From Tesco to Nectar to Boots, you’ll never leave home without them.

Contactless

You’ll be pleased to hear that the Curve card is contactless. Although that may not sound particularly exciting, it is very useful. Some of my cards can be a little temperamental regarding contactless technology, with some refusing to work at all.

If this is the case, I can switch to Curve instead of ordering a new card.

Any downsides to Curve?

It can’t all be good, can it? Of course it isn’t. Here are a few things you need to be aware of.

Additional fees

There are additional currency conversion fees if you make a transaction during weekends and public holidays. For EUR, GBP and USD currencies, there is an extra 0.5% charge. For all other currencies, this increases to 1.5%.

Not compatible with American Express

If you have an American Express payment card, you’ll know that it’s not as commonly accepted in the UK compared to Mastercard and Visa cards. So, Curve would seem like the ideal solution to get around this issue. And although the Curve Mastercard could be linked to American Express in 2019, this only lasted for a couple of days before AMEX blocked it. It’s unlikely that it will ever be reinstated.

Section 75 cover

The final downside to using Curve is that you will not be covered by Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act. This piece of legislation allows you to claim your money back on purchases over £100 if something should go wrong. But using a 3rd party provider, such as Curve, excludes you from the cover.

However, Curve does state that Mastercard’s chargeback protection will cover your purchase. You can claim for purchases over £10 if:

  • The company goes into administration 
  • The item is not as described
  • Non-delivery 
  • Technical issues 
  • Clerical error such as being charged twice
  • Fraud

But remember, Section 75 is written into law. The chargeback protection is down to Mastercard’s discretion.

Curve refer a friend

Curve reintroduced their refer a friend scheme in May 2022. Just share your personalised link with friends and they’ll earn £5 if they make five transactions using their card within the first ten days. And you’ll get £5.

Why not take a look at the best refer a friend offers available in the UK?

My Curve card review conclusion

My view of Curve has changed as many times as they’ve added and taken features. But at the moment, it receives a thumbs up. It makes your life much easier and reduces the number of cards you need to carry around with you. Yes, the free version only allows you to link three cards, but that should still be enough for most people.

If you’re looking to use Curve Standard as a travel card, then I wouldn’t bother. The cuts made in November 2023 mean that it’s incredibly limited. Even the paid options come with heavy restrictions.

I would only consider subscribing to Curve if you can make use of travel insurance, cashback and the like Fronted and Go Back in Time.

Curve promo code

If you click the button below, you’ll receive a £5 bonus if you make one purchase of at least £10 within 14 days of signing up.


Curve


Any Curve alternatives?

Curve is quite unique and there’s nothing like it on the market. At least, you won’t find one product with all of its features rolled into one. However, there are some options available. You can take a look at my post for the best Curve card alternatives.

Further reading

Why not take a look at my post on Curve vs Revolut?


FAQs

How do I add my Curve card to Apple Pay?

You can add your Curve Card to Apple Pay on your iPhone through the Curve app. Just click ‘Account’ and then select ‘Add to Apple Wallet’. Just click ‘next’, accept the terms and conditions and it will be ready to use.

How do I cancel my account?

If you’re a free or X subscriber then visit the app and click on the “Account” tab and select “Settings” and scroll down the the “Cancel account“.
For Black or Metal subscriptions you will need to contact their support team through this form.

Which is the best Curve card?

This really depends on your needs. The free Curve card (known as the O.G.) will suit most people. However, if you travel abroad quite often, then the benefits of the Metal card should appeal.