Curve card review – is it time to ditch it?

The smart app and card has made big changes to what you get.

Regular readers will know I’ve quite a few current accounts and a few credit cards – all with different benefits. To carry them all with me would just be impractical.

But Curve has allowed me to add almost every single card to a digital wallet and just carry the single Curve card with me instead. 

I’ve been using the Curve card since it launched in 2016, and though not perfect, it’s been a staple in my wallet. But from summer 2022 there are new limits being put in place for free users. So is it still worth it?

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What is Curve?

Curve lets you use more than one bank or credit card through a single “smart” debit card that you manage via an app.

In lots of ways it’s similar to using Apple Pay or Google Pay, with the added benefit of a physical card and some cool features such as changing your payment card after purchase, low or fee-free spending overseas and earning cashback.

However you can only add MasterCard or Visa cards to your Curve account. This rules out others such as American Express or Maestro.

You might also get limited access to some features depending on which Curve card you have.

Types of Curve card

There are four options: Curve, Curve X, Curve Black and Curve Metal. Each has a different cost and access to different features.

• Curve is free (previously known as Curve Blue)
• Curve X is £4.99 a month
• Curve Black costs £9.99 a month
• Curve Metal costs £14.99 a month or £150 if you pay upfront for a year

What is changing

From July 2022, there will be new limits on the free card. According to Curve, the changes are due to increasing costs and a shift in focus “towards short term profitability”.

Rather than ditch the free option completely, they’ve reduced what it offers and introduced a mid-tier Curve X card.

The big difference between these two cards and the premium cards will be the number of cards you can add. Until now there have been no limits to the number of cards you can add to your Curve card, regardless of the type you have. So you’d be able to get the free option and benefit from this core feature.

Now the free Curve card will only let you add two cards, while Curve X limits you to five cards. Both Black and Metal remain unlimited.

Curve free will also only allow only three uses of the Back In Time feature each month and one smart rule. Curve X will limit you to five smart rules.

I’ll give my full opinion at the end of the review, but this is a huge change and it means the free option is very, very basic.

Curve card & app features

All in one connected cards

The big sell for Curve, in my view, is the ability to slim down your wallet but still have a physical card to use. However, in reality it never quite meant I could have just one card on me.

As mentioned, you can’t add American Express cards, so I’ve always got that in addition. Plus I always want to have a non-Amex credit card on me for large purchases over £100 at retailers that don’t take Amex (to ensure I get Section 75 protection).

So I generally carry my Curve, Amex and another credit card at all times. It has allowed me to ditch my business debit card and a couple of other debit cards.

However, the new limits on the free and X tier really reduce the ability to maximise this feature. Having just two cards on the free card feels a bit pointless, and blocking business cards on this tier could be a real issue. The slightly higher limit of five cards on X might be enough for some.

If you can manage with these limits, then great. But I think the more you need to carry extra cards or have to add them to your phone’s digital wallet then the less Curve serves a purpose.

Go Back In Time

The Go Back In Time feature is a great idea, and one I tend to use a lot. If you forget to change the payment card you want to use in the app before buying, you can switch it to a different one within a 30 to 120 day window (depending on the card).

This has been really useful for me when spending money for my business. Rather than claim it back, I can just swap the expenditure over to my business bank account.

I’ve also used it a lot for spending via Chase Bank in order to earn the 1% cashback. This isn’t my main account, so I don’t always have lots of money in there. Go Back in Time has meant I’d pay from my main current account, then switch the transactions to Chase once I’ve topped it up.

But again, the new limits on this feature make it pretty pointless on the free option as you can use it just three times a month.

The paid cards let you do this unlimited times a month, though there are different windows for how far back you can go. You can also only change a payment once.

Anti-embarrassment mode

If for some reason your selected payment card is declined, then you can activate up to two backup cards in the app which will be automatically charged instead. This is available on all Curve cards.

Smart Rules

This is a new feature that looks to be expanded on soon. You’re able to create rules for spending on specific cards based on factors like the type or size of transaction. I’ve set up cash withdrawals to always come from my main linked debit card.

You get one Smart Rule with the free Curve, moving up to five with X and then unlimited rules with Black and Metal.

Other app and card features

As soon as you use your Curve card to pay you’ll get a notification on the app, which helps you keep track of what you’re spending.

There’s a timeline of all purchases made on Curve, no matter which card you used. Which helps you see all your spending in one place.

You can also lock your card if it’s lost, or check your PIN and card details.

Overseas spending

The best cards to use abroad are the ones that charge you zero fees for spending and cash withdrawals AND earn you some cashback on spending at the same time. My guide takes you through my top travel debit and credit card picks such as Chase Bank and Barclaycard Rewards.

However, Curve is an attractive option as a back up or if you don’t already have or can’t get one of these specialist credit or debit cards.

For a start, there’s no credit check to get it – unlike when applying for a Halifax Clarity or Barclaycard Rewards credit card. You’ll also be able to use your connected main debit or credit card and avoid that bank’s own hefty charges.

However there are limits on spending and withdrawals that reset on a rolling 30-day period. The size of each limit depends on the type of Curve card you have (see table above). If you go above these amounts you’ll get charged a 2% fee.

Plus although Curve is fee-free when using it Monday to Friday, at the weekend a 0.5% charge will be added for Dollars and Euros transactions and 1.5% to other currencies. This is temporarily paused in the summer of 2022, but will return from 1 September.

Curve Flex

Curve Flex is a way to borrow cash on purchases you’ve already made. It’s effectively a restrospective Buy Now, Pay Later scheme – but with interest added on.

You can choose a transaction and then split it into installments of 3, 6, 9 or 12 months. Those installments will be taken from a selected card each month to repay the loan.

There’s a soft check on your credit report to see if you can be offered the loan, then a hard check if you proceed.

There’s obviously interest added on top too. Curve says rates begin at 9% though the representative APR is 14.18%. This is probably cheaper than an overdraft or credit card (except 0% cards), but not something that should be used lightly. It’s better to save up for anything you can’t afford.

If you miss a payment because there’s not enough available on the linked account you’ve seven days to pay it (Curve will try this automatically). If you still don’t catch up in this time you’ll be charged £6.

Curve cashback 

A big attraction with Curve is cashback. There are two ways to earn this, though you won’t get both on all the cards.

Curve Rewards

This is available on all the Curve card and allows you to earn money back on certain purchases. These offers come and go, such as 15% off Disney+ or 5% back at Five Guys. Watch out for restrictions, such as new users only. You need to activate the offer in the app, then pay using your Curve card.

The money you earn will be added to your Curve Cash wallet, which you have to select before spending to use (Back in Time won’t work).

Curve Cash (Metal and Black only)

The premium Curve cards also offer ongoing cashback at 1%, but only on limited retailers that you must select. For Black, it’s three shops, and for Metal, it’s six shops.

Once you’ve chosen them you’ll earn money back each time you use your Curve card there, and once again the money made will be put in your Curve Cash wallet.

If your connected card is also a flat-rate cashback or rewards card, you’ll earn both together. For example, if you spend on Chase via Curve you’ll get 1% from Chase to your Chase account and 1% for that retailer to your Curve account.

Curve Cash retailers

The list of 60-plus shops includes the following:

Supermarkets	Food & Drink	Shopping	Travel
Aldi	Caffe Nero	Amazon	Booking.com
Asda	Costa	Apple	BP
Co-op	Deliveroo	ASOS	EasyJet
Iceland	Dominos	Boots	Shell
Lidl	Eat	Ikea	TFL
Morrisons	Five Guys	John Lewis	Uber
Ocado	Leon	Primark	Entertainent
Sainsbury’s	McDonalds	White Company	Disney+
Tesco	Nandos		Netflix
Waitrose	Starbucks		Spotify

This is just a selection. The full Curve Cash list is available on the Curve website, although annoyingly it includes European brands alongside the UK retailers.

Personally I’d pick one of the supermarkets in my three or six. Spend £200 a month on groceries and you’ll earn £24 over a year.

The big rewards come if you’re looking to make a big purchase or two, such as furniture or white goods at the likes of John Lewis, Apple or Ikea.

Then it’s worth thinking about places you shop at often, such as Starbucks. You’ll get less cashback per transaction but it’ll add up over the year. Petrol is a good option too.

Curve cashback and existing bank offers

If you have any retailer-specific offers on your underlying cards they won’t be recognised.

For example, my John Lewis credit card will give 1.25% back off when I shop at Waitrose. But if I used that card via Curve I’d get just 0.25% back.

So only use the Curve rewards if they are better than what you’d get direct with your bank card.

Curve Insurances

Both Black and Metal come with added insurance as part of the fees. Black has worldwide travel insurance, while Metal also adds car collison waiver and mobile phone cover.

Don’t just assume these are going to provide the cover you need. Check the policy documents and limits.

Using Curve

As mentioned I’ve used Curve since it first launched in beta. On the whole it works really well.

In shops and online

You use the card as you would any normal debit card. I’ve had no problems paying in shops. On my bank statements, transactions appear as CRV followed by the shop name, so for example CRV*SAINSBURYS.

Cash machines

It works getting cash out of my current account via an ATM too. There’s a £200 a day cap.

You can even get cash out using a connected credit card without incurring extra charges (normally you should never get cash out on credit cards). However there is a limit of £200 a month for this.

Restrictions and limits

You won’t be able to use Curve for pre-authorisations, such as pay-at-the-pump petrol or car hire deposits.

There’s a daily spending cap of £2,000, and a rolling monthly cap of £5,000. You can’t spend more than £10,000 a year. These will increase the longer you have your card.

Curve Fronted

You’ll be charged 1.5% if you use an underlying credit card for services which don’t allow this (e.g. paying your tax return or paying off a different credit card bill). This feature is known as Curve Fronted.

The Metal tier of Curve has a £10,000 allowance where this charge isn’t added, though Curve warns this could impact your credit score, depending how your credit card company treats these transactions.

Your consumer protection

Any purchase you make with Curve, even the underlying card is a credit card, isn’t covered by Section 75 of the Consumer Rights Act. These laws basically give you better protection for anything which costs more than £100.

However, Curve has its own customer protection policy, and ultimately all purchases via your Curve card are covered by the Chargeback scheme.

How to get a Curve card & £10 welcome bonus

You simply enter your mobile number on the Curve website and you’ll be sent a link to download the app, or search in your phone’s app store.

Verdict