Curve

[planteria]

this is interesting for us stoozers...

https://www.imaginecurve.com/

potentially very useful indeed. but like others on other forums, i'm skeptical

i spend on Amex almost everywhere, and don't mind having a non-Amex backup..currently Barclaycard Cashback Visa, and have a Nationwide Select Visa in the box too.

not having S75 doesn't usually matter, but one day it could really matter.

if this is a tool to enable us to do cash withdrawals from our credit cards it would be a phenomenal tool for us .

[joker]

Seems far too good to be true. Also a one off £35 doesn't give them a decent revenue stream, so how do they make money?

[planteria]

not clear on their business modely, joker, but i would assume that they will be taking a slice of the purchase fees somehow

[mike_p]

Seems somewhat similar to the Travelex Supercard which I have and which is useful for overseas spending, although there are bank accounts (Nationwide, N&P) and CCards (Halifax Clarity) that do as good a job. But this seems to go further. I don't get the angle either.

[sparkey1]

Plantera, original post is two years old on this subject However you can get the best of both worlds by continuing to pay using Amex first, and linking your curve card to another cash back credit card. You then pay the Amex bill online using the curve card. Double cash back! `However the curve limits mean you can do this all the time. Another use of curve, paying HMRC who dont accept credit cards, but your linked card to your curve account can be a credit card! Finally, curve does allow you to withdraw £200 from a credit card, but thats the limit per day. Excessive use leads to curve charges.

[planteria]

some interesting points here sparkey...
i pay my Amex card by DD for the full balance. but you can definitely pay Amex using Curve, linked to, for example, a Barclaycard, and earn double cb, with no charges?

`However the curve limits mean you can do this all the time.

do you mean you can't do this all the time?
i wasn't sure that we can't pay HMRC using a creditcard.. but we can't, and yet we can use Curve, is that certain?
and we can withdraw £200 cash from a credit card, via Curve, with no fees? how is 'Excessive use' defined? and can the £200 be classified as a cashback-generating purchase somehow?

[sparkey1]

Amex, yes did it last week. Double cash back and nothing so far to make me concerned.
Paid on account at HMRC last week using Curve linked to Barclaycard. Tried paying a Santander credit card but that didn't work. Paid a Natwest Credit Card via Curve. I tried to pay £10 to Selftrade, and they refunded the transaction 2 days later, but have managed to pay Hargrieves Lansdown. So its hit and miss.

Yes to cash on card via a credit card, but its capped at £200 per month. Beyond that they charge you 2 percent.
Cash via a debit card is capped at 10 withdrawals per month, before they charge 50p per transaction.
The issue with the curve card is the limit. There is a daily limit of 2K, but there is a 5K over 30 day limit, and a 10K limit over the last 365 days. So essentially you are capped at 10K of transaction per year. So potentially someone could use the full 10K allowance, over 2 months and then probably not use the card for the next 10 months.

To summarise, Curve is useful, but the limits restrict it. Not the big breakthrough that you and I are looking for.

[planteria]

thank you sparkey, and agreed. using a Curve card to withdraw from a debit card obviously makes no sense if it's costing money.. have you been able to generate Amex cashback by withdrawing cash from your Amex card via Curve?

[sparkey1]

No, you cant link the curve card to Amex. The Amex solutuion is to spend as normal on the Amex card, but then pay online with the Curve Card which you should link to your Barclaycard. That way you get the Amex reward, and also the Barclaycard reward. I havent tried it yet, but you can also pay your Barclaycard online using a debit card. So I am wondering if you were to link your Curve card to another rewards credit card, you might then be able to pay the Barclaycard. Untested as yet. Not sure if we are allowed to do referrals on here, but if we are the Curve Card has referral bonus of £5 each! PM for code if allowed too!

[planteria]

ok, yes, interesting.