Curve and cash withdrawals

blue.peter

I've had a Curve card for a few weeks, and am still getting used to it. I do like it, though, and the Go Back in Time feature is a great idea. I've used it a couple of times to switch purchases from one credit card to another.

By default, my Curve card fronts for one of my credit cards (I have four of these, and two debit cards, linked to Curve).

I still occasionally need a bit of cash (if only because my barber doesn't accept card payments). Ordinarily, if I withdraw cash from an ATM using a credit card, I'll get stiffed for a cash advance fee (3%, minimum £3, I think). But if I withdraw cash using a debit card, the money just comes straight out of my current account with no fee being added. Presumably the cash advance fee will also apply if I use my Curve card as a front for a credit card.

But what happens if I use Go Back in Time to switch a cash withdrawal from the credit card to a debit card? Will the cash advance fee levied by the credit card also get wiped out, or will I still have to pay it? I'd like to think that it would be wiped, but want to be sure.

colsten

This is a very 'curvey' question - you might get a better response on https://community.curve.com/. Or just try it out if you need to know.

My suggestion would be to make your cash withdrawals on a debit card in the first instance - after all, it takes just a few seconds to change the card Curve uses.

blue.peter

colsten said:

This is a very 'curvey' question - you might get a better response on https://community.curve.com/. Or just try it out if you need to know.

My suggestion would be to make your cash withdrawals on a debit card in the first instance - after all, it takes just a few seconds to change the card Curve uses.

Thanks. I wasn't aware of the Curve Community site.

Yes, obviously it's better to change the card for which the Curve card fronts. That's what I'd normally expect to do. However, (a) I might not have a phone signal where I am at the relevant time, or (b) mistakes do happen. I don't want to find out the hard way if I can possibly avoid it.

colsten

Not sure, but I don't think you need a phone signal to change the card Curve uses? How likely is it that there's no phone signal in an area where you can find an ATM?

I do appreciate, mistakes happen, I have at times forgotten to use the right card, and the go-back-in-time feature is really useful then. If you do withdraw your money on the wrong card, it would be max £200, and the fee on this would be just pennies, as surely you would notice that you used the wrong card well before your 30 day go-back-in-time period expires?

blue.peter

colsten said:

Not sure, but I don't think you need a phone signal to change the card Curve uses? How likely is it that there's no phone signal in an area where you can find an ATM?

Yes, it does need a phone signal. I tried to change the credit card used yesterday before I got to the checkout in M&S, and found that I was unable to do so because there was no signal in that shop. (I'm guessing that it was built of reinforced concrete and the steel reinforcement acted as a Faraday cage.) I used GBiT after I got outside.

ATMs are sometimes found inside large shopping centres, where I suspect that the same problem could arise. Of course I could walk out if I had to, but it'd be good not to have to do so.

No, the cash advance fee wouldn't just be pennies. It's a minimum £3. Still not huge, and wouldn't break the bank, but I'd rather avoid it if I can. And £3 against a withdrawal of £30 (the sort of amount I'd want) is a high proportion. I'd resent paying that.

Anyway, I've raised the original question on the Curve Community board now. Thanks again for the pointer.

blue.peter

For anyone reading this who cares, I received the following response, apparently from a member of the Curve team:

If you move a transaction to a debit card from a credit card then the full amount, including any fees, will be refunded once the debit card has been successfully charged!

It sounds as if GBiT should work without getting me caught for a cash advance fee. That's nice to know. But I do hope that I never have to take advantage of it!

born_again

blue.peter said:

For anyone reading this who cares, I received the following response, apparently from a member of the Curve team:

If you move a transaction to a debit card from a credit card then the full amount, including any fees, will be refunded once the debit card has been successfully charged!

It sounds as if GBiT should work without getting me caught for a cash advance fee. That's nice to know. But I do hope that I never have to take advantage of it!

If the transaction has already debited the credit card (shown on statement) then are they also going to refund the interest on the cash advance?

blue.peter

born_again said:

If the transaction has already debited the credit card (shown on statement) then are they also going to refund the interest on the cash advance?

Pass. 'Fraid I'm not bothered enough to worry about that point. If I want to use GBiT, I'll be doing it within an hour or so of the original transaction.

If you want to pursue it, I suggest that you join the Curve Community forum (if you aren't already a member) and either raise that as a new question or append it to the thread that I started yesterday. It can be found here.

[Deleted User]

If it gets charged as a cash advance, then refund wouldn't necessarily refund the cash advance fee nor interest - these are charged by the issuer not the merchant.

blue.peter

Deleted User said:

If it gets charged as a cash advance, then refund wouldn't necessarily refund the cash advance fee nor interest - these are charged by the issuer not the merchant.

And yet Curve have told me that this is exactly what would happen - see above.

colsten

blue.peter said:

Deleted User said:

If it gets charged as a cash advance, then refund wouldn't necessarily refund the cash advance fee nor interest - these are charged by the issuer not the merchant.

And yet Curve have told me that this is exactly what would happen - see above.

Curve are not in charge of the card provider's T&Cs.