Curve adds 1% cashback – you can double-dip with Visa and Mastercard rewards
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Curve Card, the ‘all your cards [unless they are Amex] on one card’ card, has just launched its new rewards program, called Curve Cash.
As a reminder, Curve offers to consolidate your entire card portfolio into one card, letting you pay with a Curve Card and re-charging your preferred linked credit or debit card.
Key benefits of Curve Card for points collectors include:
being able to pay abroad and have the charge re-charged (in £) to your linked miles and points Visa or Mastercard, with either a 0% or a very low FX fee – far lower than the standard 3% on your underlying card
being able to withdraw £200 of cash from an ATM every 30 days and have it recharged as a PURCHASE to your linked Visa or Mastercard (unless it is a NatWest, RBS or Tesco card)
It is particularly useful in combination with rewards credit cards in situations in which retailers do not (or charge a premium to) accept credit cards but do take debit cards. HMRC is a good example – you can pay your tax with Curve and have it recharged to your linked credit card as a purchase, earning reward points. Last week we looked at the value of signing up for a Curve Card.
Curve Cash lets you ‘double up’ on your rewards
This new program works in addition to reward programs on your underlying cards. This means you can ‘double dip’ on spend you push through your Curve Card.
The new scheme offers cashback at many top retailers. You get different benefits depending on which card you hold:
Curve Blue (the free version): 1% instant cashback on up to three pre-selected retailers for 90 days.
Curve Black: 1% instant cashback on up to three pre-selected retailers indefinitely
Curve Metal: 1% instant cashback on up to six pre-selected retailers indefinitely
You can select the retailers you earn cashback at. The choice includes top brands such as Amazon, Apple, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Tesco, M&S, Pret, TFL, Uber, Gett, Spotify and Netflix.
A quick back-of-the-envelope guestimate is that a Curve Black cardholder should be able to easily earn £5 cashback per month (50% of the monthly fee) and a Curve Metal cardholder £7.50 (60% of the monthly fee if you are on the £150/year option).
This assumes that your top three choices account for £500 per month of spending (let’s say TFL, Pret and Waitrose) and your top six choices account for £750.
It could be a lot more, of course. If you have a family and are spending £100+ per week at Waitrose, Asda, Tesco, Lidl, M&S, Aldi or Sainsbury’s then you would generate £5 per month just from your top merchant.
This is a fairly good selection although you should do the maths before you select your retailers. Netflix and Spotify, for example, would yield fairly low cashback despite their recurring transactions: 1% on £9.99 is only 9p a month. You are likely to spend far more at supermarkets, Amazon or TFL.
If you use a Visa or Mastercard as your primary rewards credit card – which probably means you focus on the Virgin, Lufthansa or IHG Premium products instead of a BA Amex – you should do the maths to see if Curve Cash makes it worthwhile getting a Curve Card.
If nothing else, Curve Cash should be worth at least £10 to you if you apply for the free Curve Blue if you spend £300 per month at your chosen Curve Cash retailers. After 90 days, however, the free Curve Blue stops giving rewards.
You can find out more about Curve Card in our full recent review here.
PS. If you applied for Curve before February 2018, you will remain by default on the old Curve Rewards scheme. This has a smaller list of merchants but a higher cashback rate. You can switch to Curve Cash by contacting Customer Services. This may not make sense for everyone, depending on which plan you are on – you should have received an email in the last 48 hours explaining your options.
PPS. Curve will pay you £10 for trying it out if you use our link.
Want to earn more points from credit cards? – November 2024 update
If you are looking to apply for a new credit card, here are our top recommendations based on the current sign-up bonuses.
In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.
You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:
Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard
Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review
Barclaycard Avios Mastercard
Get 5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review
You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here. Here are the best of the other deals currently available.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 14th January 2025, the sign-up bonus on ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is increased to 30,000 Membership Rewards points. This converts into 30,000 Avios. Click here to apply.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 14th January 2025, the sign-up bonus on The Platinum Card from American Express is increased to 80,000 Membership Rewards points. This converts into 80,000 Avios! The spend requirement is changed to £10,000 in six months for this offer. Click here to apply.
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review
British Airways American Express Premium Plus
30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review
The Platinum Card from American Express
Huge 80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review
Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard
30,000 bonus points (TO 18 NOVEMBER) and 1.5 points for every £1 you spend Read our full review
Earning miles and points from small business cards
If you are a sole trader or run a small company, you may also want to check out these offers:
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 9th December 2024, there are EXCLUSIVE sign-up offers for our readers on the two Capital on Tap small business Visa cards. You can earn 20,000 points on the Business Rewards card and 30,000 points on the new Pro card. Click here to apply.
American Express Business Platinum
50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review
American Express Business Gold
20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review
Capital on Tap Pro Visa
30,000 points (TO 9TH DECEMBER) plus good benefits Read our full review
Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa
20,000 points (ONLY TO 9TH DECEMBER) Read our full review
British Airways American Express Accelerating Business
30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review
For a non-American Express option, we also recommend the Barclaycard Select Cashback card for sole traders and small businesses. It is FREE and you receive 1% cashback when you spend at least £2,000 per month.
Barclaycard Select Cashback Business Credit Card
Get 1% cashback when you spend at least £2,000 per month* Read our full review
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