Travelex Supercard relaunches and it’s still free – should you get one?

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• Genghis says:

  15 Jun15 June 05:14

  And Supercard did appear on MSE this week so apply while you can to avoid a seriously long wait.

• Bob says:

  15 Jun15 June 05:27

  “you would have spare credit available – by cancelling your Halifax Clarity, MBNA Everyday etc card”

  I don’t think this is how credit scoring works – cancelling credit cards is more likely to have an adverse effect. Reducing debt helps, reducing the amount of a line of credit you are using can help – reducing your lines of credit is unlikely to help.

  • John says:

    15 Jun15 June 05:35

    Furthermore, it’s easier to charge back when you buy something directly on a card. I’d only use Supercard / Curve for something that won’t be refunded. I wouldn’t give it to a hotel or car hire agency for example.

    I don’t know what the typical HFPer is like, but I have 14 credit cards in 3 countries and 36 current accounts in 5 countries, so cancelling one or applying for a new one is neither here nor there. The only thing I churn is Amex Gold in the UK.

    • Richard says:

      15 Jun15 June 08:30

      Totally agree John, I have had refunds through Curve and they went through fine.

      • Mr Dee says:

        15 Jun15 June 10:45

        I’ve had refunds from Curve for Pre Authorisations or Declined transactions after 10 days. which completely messes up my credit card statement/credit limit and cashflow.

        Lets also not forget that Curve is meant for businesses and when you are making purchases for personal reasons the merchant/retailer is being done over with the higher percentage, its not really something to base a business around and that is why Amex knocked them out as well as the above reasons.

  • Alex W says:

    15 Jun15 June 05:37

    But isnt it the case that I can’t get a Virgin card because I already have 5 other credit cards?

    • Bob says:

      15 Jun15 June 06:41

      They care more about how much of your credit limit you are using and I believe it’s best not to exceed 20-25% of it. Having three cards and using 20% of each limit is better than having one card and using 60% of the limit (ie this would not mean you had freed up three ‘slots’)

  • Genghis says:

    15 Jun15 June 05:37

    As an example, I believe that MBNA only provides a certain level of credit across all card types so you could argue that by cancelling the Everyday card you could apply for another MBNA card.

    • Bob says:

      15 Jun15 June 06:38

      That’s about spreading one line of credit with MBNA between different cards.

      • Genghis says:

        15 Jun15 June 06:58

        No. If you cancelled the MBNA everyday card because you had hit your max MBNA credit line and you wanted the Virgin Amex for example “you would have spare credit available” albeit with one provider.

        • Bob says:

          15 Jun15 June 07:04

          That’s what I said

• Dave says:

  15 Jun15 June 05:32

  I think I applied yesterday via the new app. After inputting my details, I saw a message saying something like “I got the email, now log in”, which I pressed before checking my inbox. A day later, I still have no email and can’t log in with the email/password I set up. I’m assuming this is normal?

  • Genghis says:

    15 Jun15 June 05:35

    For me it is..

  • Danny says:

    15 Jun15 June 05:40

    Very normal as it stated after you applied and also in the article that they needed to carry out a few checks.

    • Genghis says:

      15 Jun15 June 06:11

      You would expect an email confirm, however, advising of such

    • Alan says:

      15 Jun15 June 08:37

      They could make that far clearer in-app though. It reads like you’ll have been sent an email to verify your email address and have to click it to progress in the application – they should have emailed folk to confirm receipt of application.

      • Andy says:

        15 Jun15 June 09:03

        Agree ! Just been caught out myself !

• Boris says:

  15 Jun15 June 06:38

  Do charges apply if I sit in my office in the UK and buy something in from a foreign website, eg bike24.de or Turkish airlines?

  • Hugh says:

    15 Jun15 June 07:15

    No charges were applied in the pilot, my understanding is, this is still the case

    • Alan says:

      15 Jun15 June 08:39

      That was different though – they didn’t charge for UK transactions during the pilot. The example here is a genuine foreign purchase so there’d definitely be no fee. It doesn’t matter where you make the transaction, it’s what currency it’s billed in that matters.

  • Fran says:

    15 Jun15 June 07:16

    No – I’ve made a few online transactions from international sites which were fee free.

    • Jonathan says:

      15 Jun15 June 07:52

      I’m guessing international sites charging non-GBP?
      I perhaps mistakenly assume it’s based more on the currency rather than geographic location, but please correct me if I’m wrong.

      • Genghis says:

        15 Jun15 June 07:54

        Correct

• David says:

  15 Jun15 June 06:54

  Supercard or Lloyds? I have the Avios rewards card which is coming to renewal. Since I have cancelled curve, is it worth getting the supercard or just pay the £24 for Lloyds Amex/MC for the Avios I get with it? Also I have got the upgrade voucher with Lloyds already and will I lose this if I cancel my Lloyds card? Any help would be appreciated.

  • Genghis says:

    15 Jun15 June 07:00

    Depends on what your underlying card would be on Supercard. I’ve just got the Lloyds card for referral and upgrade voucher. After hitting that spend would use Supercard all the way (for purchases)

    • TGLoyalty says:

      15 Jun15 June 07:21

      Over the MasterCard maybe but even then 1.25 Avios per £5 is better than 0 unless you have a better visa/MasterCard points card (I have Virgin Black ATM) but you wouldn’t over the AMEX as earning rate is 1.25 Avios per £

      If you can spend Atleast £2500 a year on the Lloyds AMEX it’s got to be worth keeping if not just because the protection is better if the merchant takes the AMEX directly.

      • David says:

        15 Jun15 June 09:33

        Thanks people.
        Only got my IHG mastercard as my other card, so for me not much use getting the supercard for now. Stick to my Lloyds for now since my overseas spend is enough to get my £24 back and the upgrade voucher is useful.
        DOes anyone know if you cancel you Lloyds card, do you lose the upgrade voucher or not since it is linked to your avios account?

        • Simon says:

          15 Jun15 June 09:45

          I would use Supercard charged to the IHG card over the Lloyds MasterCard as the earning rate on this is not great.
          In fact this is exactly what I will be doing. Lloyds Amex as #1 card and Supercard charged to IHG for anywhere that does not accept Amex.

        • mark2 says:

          15 Jun15 June 10:28

          Don’t forget that you get an Amex card with Lloyds which can be use if there are ever any more good statement credit offers. It was a bumper year last year; this year has been lean. Also Lloyds cash back if you also have their current account.

        • TGLoyalty says:

          15 Jun15 June 13:23

          As lloyds is one of my current accounts the few offers I’ve had with lloyds have been really useful and places I would shop anyway, paid back the £24 and some.

        • AndyR says:

          15 Jun15 June 14:30

          You don’t lose the voucher if you cancel the card. The voucher is in your Avios account.

  • Mr Dee says:

    15 Jun15 June 10:46

    Use the one that gets you the most points.

    If abroad they accept amex then use the Lloyds avios amex card if they don’t use the supercard for the reward card higher than the Lloyds one.

• Ian H says:

  15 Jun15 June 07:19

  Never any mention of Nationwide on HfP. Select credit card is free to use abroad, and you earn 0.5% cash back. Flex plus current account gives you free cash withdrawals (albeit for £10 a month but with added benefits like travel insurance)

  • Callum says:

    15 Jun15 June 08:24

    That’s because the consensus is operating a current account is somehow too difficult.

  • Stuart says:

    15 Jun15 June 09:21

    And although there is the Flex Plus account, to get the Select card doesn’t need the paid for version of the current account.

  • nerd. says:

    15 Jun15 June 09:39

    Also Norwich and Peterborough. Have had this debit card for years and now that supercard pilot has ended I’m back to using it for cash withdrawals. Will possibly stick with it too if there is a 1% fee now. Though using Mastercard instead of Visa (which N&P use) combined with the points from my marriott card and bmi visa will probably make it worthwhile using the supercard for both.

  • Mr Dee says:

    15 Jun15 June 10:47

    Use the one that gets you the most points.

    If abroad they accept amex then use the Lloyds avios amex card if they don’t use the supercard for the reward card higher than the Lloyds one.

• rams1981 says:

  15 Jun15 June 07:40

  So without a legacy BMI card is the new HSBC premier MasterCard the best earner to have? Any others?

  • Jonathan says:

    15 Jun15 June 07:54

    For non-Amex yes, but eligibility criteria will exclude most from being able to apply.

  • pauldb says:

    15 Jun15 June 11:39

    The value of the Lloyds MC will be specific to you but I think it’s generally under-rated here. If you put you Amex spend on Lloyds and that gets you the voucher then the MC is low value. However if you have a better place for your Amex spend (BAPPs and triggering a few Amex sign-up bonuses), then if you can put getting on for £7000 on the Lloyds MC (topped up if necessary with some redirected Amex spend) then you get a great return on that MC spend. The voucher value again depends on you and it certainly isn’t as flexible as the BAPP voucher but you should at least be able to upgrade a short-haul return. That’s got to be worth £100 used wisely on in avios terms at least 12k avios. Or much more: mine saved me 72k avios to Asia. Unless you think the voucher is wasted on you, any of those is a good/great return on £7k MC spend.

    • Alan says:

      15 Jun15 June 11:55

      Indeed I think the Lloyds one is a fantastic voucher – especially when used on off-peak WTP to CW upgrades, which have become more expensive since last April. I paid 52k Avios + £360 vs 100k Avios + £504 on BA.com. I’ve no idea why the taxes/fees were less but I’m not complaining! Even if they were the same (as I was expecting) then it’s still a great saving.

      • Gavin says:

        15 Jun15 June 22:26

        72000 avios saved for me is a massive result

• BigDave says:

  15 Jun15 June 07:53

  I think Supercard had a limit of 5 cards that can be added in the app but curve was unlimited…
  I could be wrong though?

  I’m keeping the curve for now as waiting to see what the rewards scheme is going to be like and hoping like a romantic fool that Amex comes back…

  • Shayele says:

    15 Jun15 June 08:07

    I received the email below from Shachar Bialik. The CEO of Curve this seems to imply that they have taken away the 1% fee for international transactions? Anyone heard anymore of this??

    For many people the ‘Amex everywhere’ proposition was Curve’s USP, however it’s just one aspect of what we do at the moment – super low fx rates, more visibility over your spend, real-time notifications, and a central platform for all transaction disputes and card blocking for when things go wrong. We now even let you use your 0% fx cards via Curve (we think it’s worth giving up the 1% we make, for you to get the convenience of all your spend in one place). Plus we’re working on lots of new features, including supporting apple pay later this year.

    • Rob says:

      15 Jun15 June 08:42

      What Shachar means in that email is that if you link a 0% card to Curve (eg Halifax Clarity), Curve will not charge its usual 1% fee on foreign transactions.

      • Genghis says:

        15 Jun15 June 09:09

        That’s kind of them but I can see no benefit of this. Can anyone else?

        • Rob says:

          15 Jun15 June 09:32

          You get all the data analytics on your spend via Curve and, at some point, Curve Rewards as well as not paying a fee. If you use a different card in the UK you can link both to Curve and just carry that around instead of 2 cards, one for UK spend and one for overseas.

        • Rum says:

          15 Jun15 June 10:00

          It’s still a pointless card if you ask me. The rest is just marketing talk. Without being able to use our Amex cards to generate points and other rewards, Curve is merely a useful piece of plastic to spread margarine on your toast (anyone remember Mr Bean making his sandwhich in the park?). I see no benefit in having Curve over something like Halifax Clarity or even the Lloyds Avios duo cards.

        • Mr Dee says:

          15 Jun15 June 10:55

          Yes but the Curve card is often declined and if you make a purchase that pre authorises your card they will charge that pre authorisation and not refund it for 10 days as well as actually charging the amount of the transaction, so it ties up the limit of twice what you purchased.

          Its a pointless card without a loyalty scheme in place, what is the point of using the card to charge my hilton visa when I can just use the hilton visa directly. They are the only ones making money of the transaction in this scenario, if a loyalty scheme launched maybe it would change my mind.

    • Alan says:

      15 Jun15 June 08:42

      Interesting, I don’t think it quites mean what you say though – to me it sounds more that they’ll let you add a 0% forex fee card (eg Clarity, Lloyds) and bill it in the original currency, thus making the conversion on the destination card rather than by them…

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