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Curve is the solution to a wallet packed full of debit and credit cards. It's a payment card and app, only it allows you to add all your other cards to your Curve wallet. Then, you can choose which of those cards you want to pay with every time you use your Curve card.
Already available in Ireland and the United Kingdom, this all-in-one payment card is now arriving in the United States. Here's a first look at Curve and how you can join the waitlist.
How Curve works
The idea behind Curve is simple, but it makes managing payment methods much easier. When you set up your Curve account, you can add your debit and credit cards to it as payment methods. It supports:
- Visa
- Mastercard
- Discover
- Diners Club
The one notable omission is American Express cards, which can't be added to Curve. American Express has blocked Curve from supporting its cards twice, so we probably won't see this option available anytime soon.
Your Curve card can then be used to pay with any of those cards you've added. For example, you could pay with Curve and have it charge your Chase or Discover card for the purchase. Instead of carrying around every payment card you have, you just need to carry one.
Now, that alone is helpful, but it's not exactly groundbreaking. Payment apps also give you a way to pay by card without actually having that card on you (to be fair, not all merchants accept app payments). It's Curve's additional benefits that make it far more interesting.
Special features with Curve
Here are the extra features you get with Curve:
- Cash back: Through an introductory offer, you earn 1% cash back on eligible purchases for the first six months of card ownership. That's in addition to anything you're already earning with rewards credit cards on those transactions.
- Go Back in Time®: You can switch payments from one card to another up to 30 days after the transaction was made. A transaction can be moved this way a maximum of one time.
- No foreign transaction fee: There's no foreign transaction fee when paying with Curve, even if the underlying card you're using would otherwise charge this type of fee.
- Smart rules: You can automate which cards are used for which purchases by setting up smart rules. Options include telling Curve which card to use for a specific expense category and which cards to use for transactions greater than or less than certain amounts.
- Anti-embarrassment protection: If your selected payment card doesn't go through, Curve will cover it with your Curve credit. Restrictions apply. According to early reports by users, the credit limit is $500, these transactions don't earn rewards, and they aren't eligible for the Go Back in Time® feature.
Based on those features, Curve should be extremely useful for anyone who's big on earning cash back or travel rewards.
Just by using Curve, you can get an extra 1% cash back on eligible purchases for six months. If you use Curve with a credit card that earns an unlimited 2% back, you're effectively earning 3% during that first six months.
For those with several credit cards, smart rules are a great way to maximize credit card rewards. For example, you could tell Curve to pay with your grocery rewards card at the supermarket, your dining rewards card when you go out to eat, and a card that earns an unlimited 2% back for your other purchases.
If a transaction ends up on the wrong card, like a groceries purchase on your dining card, it's no problem. Use the Go Back in Time® feature to move that transaction where it will earn you the most rewards.
Joining the waitlist
If you're interested in getting the Curve card, visit the Curve website. Click "Join Waitlist" and enter the following information:
- Name
- Email address
- Phone number
Curve will send you a confirmation email with a link you need to click to confirm your spot on the list. Mine went to the spam folder, so check there if you haven't received it within a few minutes.
While Curve is only in the early stages of its U.S. card launch, it's worth checking out if you have multiple credit cards or if you're a rewards enthusiast. Some of the features are definitely more useful than others (the anti-embarrassment protection seems to have more restrictions than benefits). As a whole, it could be a big help for managing payment methods and earning more purchase rewards.
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