Sanity check a Curve noob’s questions

[masaccio]

So the whole Curve thing has passed me by but re-looking I am trying to figure out why as it seems a steal for me at least. Looking ahead to a Central America trip I think all this applies:

* I can charge through to my BAPP at any retailer that accepts Mastercard and get full Avios
* I get decent travel insurance including Covid cover (Cedar Tree costs me £180)
* Car insurance including CDW (seems worth £100) though unclear if this covers the car getting stolen
* Cash withdrawals get me BAPP Avios up to the monthly limit
* No FX fees. Current budget suggests about £5k will be spent during the trip so at 3% that’s £150 in itself
* And completely unrelated to the trip but we spend so much with them, I can get 1% cash back from Amazon

All that more than pays for the most expensive card. £430 minus card fee saved plus extra Avios just on that one (albeit unusually long) trip.

Am I missing something obvious or have I really missed out on a good offer for a long time?

[NorthernLass]

You seem to have missed that you can’t use Amex with Curve!

[masaccio]

NorthernLass wrote:

You seem to have missed that you can’t use Amex with Curve!

Well that’s bloody important then! Maybe that’s what I dismissed it for last time. Ah well.

[jj]

But you can do all of the above while linked to a Barclays Avios card or to a Virgin Mastercard which works pretty well.

Unfortunately, the travel insurance is worthless for me as it has a very unusual exclusion that says sports cover (eg skiing, cycling, sailing, hiking) only applies if the sporting activity isn’t the main reason for travelling. For most people that’s not a problem, but I thought I’d bring it to your attention just in case.

[masaccio]

jj wrote:

Unfortunately, the travel insurance is worthless for me as it has a very unusual exclusion that says sports cover (eg skiing, cycling, sailing, hiking) only applies if the sporting activity isn’t the main reason for travelling. For most people that’s not a problem, but I thought I’d bring it to your attention just in case.

Scuba clauses are often useless in these things. I read one that covered 2 dives to 18m per policy year. Which is why I have DAN instead. I guess that dive restriction is for people with no sense who want to do Discover Scuba a couple of times on holiday without realising just how stupid that programme is.