Curve Card

TriangularPrism

Good morning everyone, first post so please be kind 

I currently have an account with Halifax and pay for URCA for the insurance (specifically mobile). My main bank is Santander who do not offer packaged bank accounts.

I was looking at the Curve Card metal account (£14.99) which is slightly cheaper. The only thing that puts me off them is refunds - I have read that sometimes they can be slow and appear on the balance in the app rather than being refunded to your actual account.

My first choice would be Nationwide for all my banking, but they will only offer me a FlexBasic. Can anyone share any experiences of using Curve, or can maybe suggest an alternative packaged bank account which offers cheap(er) insurance.

Thank you all and have a great day 

TheMightySwordfish

Curve is not a bank account. It's a pre paid debit card. Hence the money not always going back to where it came from. 

TriangularPrism

TheMightySwordfish said:

Curve is not a bank account. It's a pre paid debit card. Hence the money not always going back to where it came from. 

I presume this money is there to use against other purchases?

Speedbird676

TheMightySwordfish said:

Curve is not a bank account. It's a pre paid debit card. Hence the money not always going back to where it came from. 

It's main function is not really a pre-paid debit card. Although you can add funds to your Curve balance I doubt most people use it that way.

You link your Curve to an underlying credit or debit card and any transactions are debited from that card. I've never had any problem with refunds, they've always been credited back to the card they were charged to and as promptly as the retailer makes the refund.

TriangularPrism

Speedbird676 said:

TheMightySwordfish said:

Curve is not a bank account. It's a pre paid debit card. Hence the money not always going back to where it came from. 

It's main function is not really a pre-paid debit card. Although you can add funds to your Curve balance I doubt most people use it that way.

You link your Curve to an underlying credit or debit card and any transactions are debited from that card. I've never had any problem with refunds, they've always been credited back to the card they were charged to and as promptly as the retailer makes the refund.

Thank you, any experiences with the Insurance?

Speedbird676

TriangularPrism said:

Speedbird676 said:

TheMightySwordfish said:

Curve is not a bank account. It's a pre paid debit card. Hence the money not always going back to where it came from. 

It's main function is not really a pre-paid debit card. Although you can add funds to your Curve balance I doubt most people use it that way.

You link your Curve to an underlying credit or debit card and any transactions are debited from that card. I've never had any problem with refunds, they've always been credited back to the card they were charged to and as promptly as the retailer makes the refund.

Thank you, any experiences with the Insurance?

I only have the basic card, mainly used for foreign purchases, so haven't experienced any of the benefits of their premium cards.

Will you use any of the other benefits? £180 per year for mobile phone insurance sounds a bit expensive?

TriangularPrism

Speedbird676 said:

TriangularPrism said:

Speedbird676 said:

TheMightySwordfish said:

Curve is not a bank account. It's a pre paid debit card. Hence the money not always going back to where it came from. 

It's main function is not really a pre-paid debit card. Although you can add funds to your Curve balance I doubt most people use it that way.

You link your Curve to an underlying credit or debit card and any transactions are debited from that card. I've never had any problem with refunds, they've always been credited back to the card they were charged to and as promptly as the retailer makes the refund.

Thank you, any experiences with the Insurance?

I only have the basic card, mainly used for foreign purchases, so haven't experienced any of the benefits of their premium cards.

Will you use any of the other benefits? £180 per year for mobile phone insurance sounds a bit expensive?

I am currently paying £17 a month through Halifax

Speedbird676

If the only benefit of the account you're using is the mobile phone insurance, would it be cheaper to downgrade to a free bank account and buy a standalone phone insurance policy?

colsten

Mobile phone insurance: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/insurance/cheap-mobile-phone-insurance/

Though Curve include, I believe, a travel insurance, too. I have never looked into their insurance T&Cs, so don't know whether they are any good.

gsmh

TheMightySwordfish said:

Curve is not a bank account. It's a pre paid debit card. Hence the money not always going back to where it came from. 

Not so. I'm not sure if you can 'top up' a Curve Card since there is no account to top up. It is merely a debit card which is linked to one or more bank debit and/or credit cards. Think of it like Apple Pay but in a physical card. You can change the underlying card whenever you want and you can even 'go back in time' where you used the wrong card and correct your mistake. It is very useful where an organisation doesn't have Apple or Google Pay (like Triodos or Capital One). You can still use Apple or Google Pay by adding the Curve Card to your phone and the underlying card is debited immediately when a transaction is made.

pmduk

I have a friend who uses a blue curve card (the gree one) as Co-op won't give him a contactless card.