Curve Black Beta v Curve Investoer

[Supergers49]

Six years ago I signed up for the original Curve Black Beta commercial card. At the time I had a small business but this closed a few years ago. To be honest I had completely forgotten that it was a commercial card until very recently. For the last six-months the primary use for the card has been, (1) ATM Withdrawals (<£200 per quarter), Foreign Currency Transactions (on holiday), Shopping at Beta Cashback Retailers, and Shopping at Curve Rewards Retailers.

Two years ago I also signed up for the lowest investor package and received the Curve Investor Card (red – Personal Card), which I’ve never activated.

Now that I have no commercial use for the card, I am wondering whether I ought to activate the Personal Card. However,

– Will the underlying cards care whether the Curve Card is Commercial or Personal? (underlying cards are all personal).
– By activating the Personal Card will the Commercial Card stop working?
– Other than the Beta Cashback benefits, do I lose any other legacy benefits?

I’d be interested in this communities thoughts/inputs before I make a decision.

P.S. I recently found out on a Laithwaites transaction that Beta Cashback (5% for Laithwaites) and Curve Rewards (20% for Laithwaites) stack. It also appears that TCB (3%) and Airtime (10%) have also stacked.

[George K]

Here’s what I think is the case:

– Will the underlying cards care whether the Curve Card is Commercial or Personal? (underlying cards are all personal).
– Not really. If anything you’re probably better off with a personal card as some vendors perceive commercial cards as such and try to add a small surcharge. HMRC and Revolut are two that come to mind.

– By activating the Personal Card will the Commercial Card stop working?
– Yes

– Other than the Beta Cashback benefits, do I lose any other legacy benefits?
– The personal card comes with reduced limits compared to the commercial one, but nothing tragic. I should say that when you switch to the Investor product, there may be a fee attached to it, whereas legacy Black/Beta customers still get it for free (it was one of the reasons I didn’t want to switch)

[Supergers49]

George K wrote:

Here’s what I think is the case:

– Will the underlying cards care whether the Curve Card is Commercial or Personal? (underlying cards are all personal).
– Not really. If anything you’re probably better off with a personal card as some vendors perceive commercial cards as such and try to add a small surcharge. HMRC and Revolut are two that come to mind.

– By activating the Personal Card will the Commercial Card stop working?
– Yes

– Other than the Beta Cashback benefits, do I lose any other legacy benefits?
– The personal card comes with reduced limits compared to the commercial one, but nothing tragic. I should say that when you switch to the Investor product, there may be a fee attached to it, whereas legacy Black/Beta customers still get it for free (it was one of the reasons I didn’t want to switch)

Thanks George