Get 25% off UK Accor hotels for NHS staff (Novotel, Ibis, Sofitel, Mercure, MGallery etc)

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• Klaus-Peter Dudas says:

  2 Jul2 July 04:34

  Curve is a business debit card, or did that change recently?

  • The Original David says:

    2 Jul2 July 05:32

    I thought Curve was classed as “business” back in the day when it was launched as a credit card, but became open to consumers when it switched to a debit card a few years ago. Happy to be corrected though…

    • Dan says:

      2 Jul2 July 07:22

      Might be true, never launched as a credit card though – has always been a card aggregator.

    • Andrew L says:

      2 Jul2 July 08:21

      Curve do both types debit cards….business amd personal. We had changed to personal from corporate years ago but when our new red investor cards arrived they have Business printed on the back. Do Curve make more money per transaction from Business cards?

      • Roy says:

        2 Jul2 July 09:23

        Yes.

  • Alex W says:

    2 Jul2 July 07:21

    I think I am still on the business version of Cuvre. However, I think Curve now charges 1.5% on HMRC payments? That being the case I will switch to Tesco debit card.

    • Neil says:

      2 Jul2 July 07:33

      Isn’t HMRC and other financial institutions excluded from earning Clubcard points through the tesco debit card?

      • Rob says:

        2 Jul2 July 09:28

        No, I think HMRC still works fine with Tesco because HMRC is NOT a financial institution. Tesco is no longer offering current accounts though.

  • Paul Pogba says:

    2 Jul2 July 07:43

    Website https://www.bincodes.com/bin-checker/ is showing my curve (5375 91) as a commercial debit card, and my IHG (5299 32) as business credit card. Anyone know what the distinction between commercial and business is in this context?

    • Jonathan says:

      2 Jul2 July 10:04

      Whereas mine 5375 90 is listed as personal.

• Aviosnewbie says:

  2 Jul2 July 04:45

  Isn’t Curve a business debit card? Then it might be the end of the game from next quarter

  • Andrew says:

    2 Jul2 July 06:45

    Yes when we signed up to Curve at the beginning we had to declare that we had a business and the card was for use with that. Of course most of us didn’t but signed up anyway. Those were the days when Curve worked with Amex and actually had a point – those days long gone.

    • Genghis says:

      2 Jul2 July 06:52

      My wife was actually asked by Curve to provide evidence of “business”. From memory, we just sent the Companies House number.

      • Dan says:

        2 Jul2 July 07:23

        Me too – although they literally just asked for my Company Name. Nothing else!

      • Graeme says:

        2 Jul2 July 08:04

        Me too. They listed the things that would serve as proof – the bar wasn’t quite as low as “if you promise”, but it wasn’t far off.

      • Lumma says:

        2 Jul2 July 08:05

        I said I was a freelancer. They never asked for anything

        • Graeme says:

          2 Jul2 July 11:45

          I did when applying – I’ve only been asked for proof more recently. I then took a couple of days to reply so they closed the ticket.

• Nick says:

  2 Jul2 July 05:26

  Bit of a rant….it would be nice if all these offers from airlines and hotel groups would show the odd bit of recognition occasionally to other emergency services key workers. Not decrying the fabolous NHS heroes it would be nice to get a small token of thanks in the form of a discounted break as I too am exhausted and my family would love a weekend off

  • Yawn says:

    2 Jul2 July 06:04

    +1

    • Jonathan says:

      2 Jul2 July 07:12

      I wouldn’t take it personally, I certainly never did when I noticed a retailer offered military discount. In my experience the offers are already drying up anyway. We’re certainly not getting free pizzas/coffees/cakes etc. delivered to my hospital anymore. Most of the other NHS Discounts in circulation can also be matched or bettered elsewhere eg. through the cash returning portals.

      • Andrew says:

        2 Jul2 July 07:17

        Indeed, the days of clapping in the street are a distant memory.

  • Anna says:

    2 Jul2 July 07:22

    You may already be aware, but Hilton has a permanent special offer for public sector workers, which is a special weekend rate with breakfast (though this may be less valuable if you are gold or diamond and get breakfast anyway). You need to enter code PR11PN (I think, it always looks like a local postcode to me!) to get the rate.

    • PaulC says:

      2 Jul2 July 09:12

      Local Anna, I’m in a PR post code too.

  • Harry T says:

    2 Jul2 July 08:43

    I think it’s a PR thing – looks good if they offer discounts to NHS workers. So far, as an NHS worker, I think I’ve availed myself of one free hot chocolate.

    The other marketing aspect is that some NHS workers earn relatively good wages, and encouraging them to book your hotels may lead to continued business/profit.

• Daniel Evans says:

  2 Jul2 July 05:58

  Curve issue both business and personal debit cards. Mine is a business card but given that Curve have introduced an HMRC fee, this makes no difference.

• Roger* says:

  2 Jul2 July 05:58

  I could never see the attraction of the tatty, scribbled-on, sticky mag in the seat pocket. As a potential interface with customers, High Life failed miserably, with less than sparkling content. At least in pre-HFP days, route news was interesting and the maps were not bad.

  I remember one edition had a mobile SIM card with some value (£1?) stuck on an inside page. I checked the 3 copies I could reach. The SIMs had all been ripped out. 😄 Failure of marketing campaign.

  PressReader was a far more interesting BA proposition allowing me to read more newspapers than I could buy, including the one I would never buy. 😏

  I continue to use PressReader, sponsored by my local library. Many UK and international papers and magazines are available. The Times is a major exception.

  • Genghis says:

    2 Jul2 July 06:53

    At least now my wife won’t be pressured to play the “Guess the miles from London” game.

  • Oh! Matron! says:

    2 Jul2 July 09:01

    I would love to scrutinise the transient creatures that swarm and multiply on a copy of High Life 🙂

  • AJA says:

    2 Jul2 July 09:06

    I agree when the magazine is tatty but if you flew early in the month the magazines were new I was happy to read them. Last year I snagged 3 pristine copies of the 100th anniversary editions (not the Concorde one unfortunately). They might accrue some value now that High Life is no more.

    I enjoyed reading Business Life too, it had interesting articles to while away some of the flight. A vicarious pleasure to deliberately not look at my mobile phone screen.

    I suppose it is inevitable given how few flights there are and the hygiene issues don’t help. I feel sorry for affected staff who’ve lost their jobs.

    • Rob says:

      2 Jul2 July 09:17

      Business Life is very good, I think a lot of poeple underrate it.

      • Michael C says:

        2 Jul2 July 09:31

        Yep, Business Life is always part of my laptops-away takeóff routine!

• Lawrence Howard says:

  2 Jul2 July 06:31

  I never got over the loss of “SkyMall”

  Laughing at that while flying was the highlight of a trip to the states

• Andrew says:

  2 Jul2 July 06:41

  Qatar Airways discontinued Oryx Magazine at the end of 2019 – which surprised me as they are known for not being penny-pinching. I would imagine like so many things airlines will use hygiene as a reason to stop producing the magazines and save a few quid. I guess it’s the end of First Life too – aesthetic but pointless magazine.

  • Heathrow Flyer says:

    2 Jul2 July 07:53

    My understanding was High Life was actually a profit centre for BA and has likely been pulled by Cedar. Doubt there any many advertisers out there willing to pay for a full page glossy in magazine seen by a few thousand people.

    • Rob says:

      2 Jul2 July 09:26

      My gut feeling is that BA never did the maths on the total cost of the magazine including the fuel burn it causes. 1 page of A4 weighs 5 grams so a 100 page magazine is 250g. Each copy is in the air for 12-15 hours per day. It adds up.

      • Rich says:

        2 Jul2 July 09:45

        From dealing with them as a supplier they use it as a negotiation point for contracts to secure marketing investment that they almost certainly otherwise wouldn’t get.

      • Will says:

        2 Jul2 July 10:15

        Clearly not even viable to talk about it in the current climate but….

        If carrying a 250g magazine per seat adds up, what’s the excess carbon generated from overweight passengers per year?

        • Paul Pogba says:

          2 Jul2 July 12:09

          There should be a fixed charge per seat and then a fee for body weight. Its always felt unfair that I’ll get charged for going 1kg over my luggage allowance only to be sat next to some lard ass that probably weighs 50kg more than I do.

      • Andrew says:

        2 Jul2 July 11:32

        Where are people going to find out about shoes that add 2″ to your height or be inspired to buy a moving map world clock to install behind a reception desk if in-flight magazines are withdrawn?

        What about the watches that aren’t just expensive, but are an investment for when your favourite grandson grows up?

        • Nick says:

          2 Jul2 July 12:32

          LOL
          The watches at least are also advertised in the Times weekend magazines, so you can still see the poor kid (who’s probably about 25 now, given how long the ad has been running).

          These did used to be a profit making enterprise for BA. Rob, remember when they crowed about how they started making them on slimmer paper to save fuel cost? So yes, they have done the sums. Guessing it just doesn’t work the same with lower ‘captive audience’ stats at the moment.

• Rich says:

  2 Jul2 July 07:11

  Does that link to High Life also help if I want a clock that shows which part of the world are dark and which are light? Or is that Business Life?

  • Rob says:

    2 Jul2 July 09:35

    Not sure. It’s also a different link if you want citizenship of some island in the middle of the Caribbean that you’ve never heard of.

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