Curve Review, Again! : MasterCard Debit Upgrade

Curve emailed me to say that they’d soon be replacing my Curve card with a fancy, shiny new Curve card. Big deal right. I like the card. It’s not expiring. So what’s the point. Keep reading my 2018 Curve Review to see what on earth they’re playing at.

Some time ago I caught wind of something that I have been describing as a “Virtual card”. A single card that can virtualise multiple different payment cards from various banking establishments. Instead of carrying your current account card, your joint account card, your credit card and anything else, you just carry your virtual card. There seems to be a few of these virtual cards dotted around the world. The UK friendly one I chose, as you might have guessed is Curve.

After I first got hold of my first Curve card, I was a sceptic. Could I really trust this one card? My wallet didn’t get much of a workout and was still a little bulky. I was still carrying all my original cards, with the added extra of this new card. A bit pointless I suppose. But I can safely say, I haven’t used my current account card since Curve landed in my wallet. See my original Curve Review.

There was one place where Curve lost some marks for me, but the positive outweighed it. It’s all about ease of use. Remembering one PIN is a lot easier than remembering four or more.

Curve MasterCard Debit Card

The shiny new card finally arrived and it’s pretty. I know, marking a card down to it’s aesthetics is borderline weird. Just look at it though. It’s so plain and clean on the front. It oozes class. I think.

I’m not updating my Curve Card review just to tell you how pretty it is though. Or shall I? No, you deserve more…

From my understanding the old card was seen by shops as a pre-pay card. This has caused some problems for some people in certain situations. I have had no issues in this regard and the process has been almost flawless. The slightly embarrassing first use scenario aside (you need to use chip and pin, not contactless first off!), I’ve had no problems except for one notable one.

Even the issue where I struggled with the Curve app slightly to change the card due to a lack of signal was rectified by the brilliant “Go Back In Time” feature sorted me right out to change the card I was paying with. Who knew flux capacitors were real?!

Curve Review – The Problem

I was hoping that the one flaw I’d previously encountered would be resolved now that merchants should see my Curve Card as a debit card.

My Tesco Clubcard MasterCard Credit card is only used for fuel payments and has served me very well to help build up my Clubcard points balance.

I’ve added it to my Curve App, which worked fine, but when I select my Tesco Credit Card and try and use Pay at Pump, it’s declined. Whhhyyyy? It makes me sad a little bit inside. It works fine if I go into the shop to pay for my fuel. Just paying at pump is so much easier when there are kids in the car.

The one saving grace in this one scenario is that I’m unsure if the ClubCard points would be taken into account if they were passing through the Curve card first. So I could end up paying for fuel and not getting the points benefits there. For now I’ll make do.

I will say however, because I only pay for fuel on the one card, I haven’t tested to see if it’s just an issue with the Curve Card MasterCard Debit to Tesco MasterCard Credit setup. Maybe I’ll brave it and test with one of my other Curve App cards to see if you can pay-at-pump with Curve.

Have you got curve yet? If so, what do you think? Let me know in the comments.

If you haven’t got yourself a Curve card, you’re missing out! Get one now and get a free £5 bonus for signing up using this invitation code

Read the Curve Review, want £5 free?

1. Visit the Curve Website and enter your phone number or download the Curve app from your respective app store.
2. Follow the sign up process using the app (Use code VV1NJ where prompted if you want £5 free Curve Rewards after your first transaction – if you don’t use the code, you can still get the card, but no £5 bonus).
3. Once the signup is completed, wait a few days for your card to be delivered.
4. While you’re waiting for your new card, register your existing cards in the app – this takes a small payment (~£1) to allow them to validate the card. This is refunded pretty quickly.
5. When it’s delivered, verify your card in the app.
6. Replace your default cards with your shiny new Curve card.
7. The £5 here is added to your Curve Rewards virtual card that you can spend anywhere. I don’t believe you can withdraw this from a cashpoint though. (This money sits pending until you make your first purchase in the Curve card)