Curve Card & foreign travel experience

Minxy

Minxy

LIFE MEMBER
Joined
Aug 22, 2007
Posts
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Location
E Yorks
Funster No
149
MH
Carthago Compactline
Exp
Since 1996, had Elddis/Swift/Rapido/Rimor/Chausson MHs. Autocruise/Globecar PVCs/Compactline i-138
Just thought I'd give some info for those who want another or alternative card for use abroad. We have several cards which we can use when on our MH travels abroad which include:

ATM & purchases (cash & debit cards)
Revolut
Starling
Chase
Virgin

Purchases only (credit cards)
Virgin
Nationwide

However I have a Curve Card which allows me to use other cards linked to it which would normally charge fees when used abroad without incurring them. I wasn't sure how well this would work but having used it a couple of times now linked with my Tesco credit card it has worked exactly as it should, so I am able to collect Tesco points whilst away and as my card has a long 0% interest I don't have to pay it off immediately.

The Curve Card (standard one) has a €500 limit on spending pcm and a €200 limit on ATM withdrawals before a 2% fee is levied so plenty for us however the one thing you have to watch for is weekend transactions as there is a small charge for currency exchanges then.

You can link loads of other cards to Curve and choose which one to use or just leave it as the same one (plus a backup one to save 'embarrassment' if your preferred card is declined) so no need to carry them all around with you and if your original card craps up for some reason (eg Nationwide) you can still use it via Curve.
 
We have a nationwide flexiplus account an a Revolut card. Revolut bang on about good currency rates but we were in NYC this week and when I used Revolut my wife used Nationwide cards on the subway, same place same time, Nationwide rates were better. The only real advantage is pre loading an amount gives some security in overspending.
Phil
 
Gaston aires said:
We have a nationwide flexiplus account an a Revolut card. Revolut bang on about good currency rates but we were in NYC this week and when I used Revolut my wife used Nationwide cards on the subway, same place same time, Nationwide rates were better. The only real advantage is pre loading an amount gives some security in overspending.
Phil
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I'm no expert, it would have been better to load the Revolut with USD before you went and got better exchange rate, then use the Revolut which would have come out of your USD pot. hope that is right and makes sense
 
Minxy said:
I wasn't sure how well this would work but having used it a couple of times now linked with my Tesco credit card it has worked exactly as it should, so I am able to collect Tesco points whilst away
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What is the exchange rate like as Tesco card normally has a lousy rate.

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Fontie said:
I'm no expert, it would have been better to load the Revolut with USD before you went and got better exchange rate, then use the Revolut which would have come out of your USD pot. hope that is right and makes sense
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I did and it doesn’t make a big difference. The Nationwide’s rates are slightly better like for like.
 
Just to add we were very pleased to have a Curve Card the other day as the automatic fuel station refused our Virgin and Nationwide CCs, I tried Curve and it worked no problem.
 
I think I may apply for one, with all these extra fraud checks you really do need a few cards abroad especially for fuel. We’ve got Revolut, Monzo, Starling and Santander Zero as our free cards for overseas but have our normal ones for emergencies , obviously there’d be a charge on them though thanks Minxy

Today at home my Tescos card let me down paying for my insurance online, the Tescos app took a few goes to open up and then rejected the payment. In the end I had to do it on my phone with Applepay, still with my Tescos card but it was a nuisance. Obviously all these fraud protection measures are a good idea I hasten to add.
 
Minxy said:
Just to add we were very pleased to have a Curve Card the other day as the automatic fuel station refused our Virgin and Nationwide CCs, I tried Curve and it worked no problem.
Click to expand...

Under the curve terms your not eligible for Curve customer protection For "Transactions made at automated fuel dispensers"

https://www.curve.com/legal/curve-customer-protection/

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According to Martin Lewis it invalidates your own Card’s section 75 protection although it does have its own slightly different one. Haven’t read all the Ts & Cs yet! Won’t put me off for overseas use but I doubt I’d use it at home.
 
Fontie said:
Blyme that was a quick reply I only got up to get a sweet lol
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:giggle:

snooze and you loose ... or more appropriately. ... go and suck and you're out of luck! 😄
 
I ordered a curve card for use during this trip to France. I also have a Clarity card which was my go to foreign card of choice. I have done a few days of comparison and curve and clarity were the same exchange rate for that day. By mistake I used my bank card on curve and it again was the same rate.
Curve is associated with my Tesco credit card, so thanks to Minxy i will continue with curve and gain Tesco points at the same time. I only have standard account so if I reach a limit, the clarity comes back out. 👍🏻👍🏻

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Zigisla said:
I ordered a curve card for use during this trip to France. I also have a Clarity card which was my go to foreign card of choice. I have done a few days of comparison and curve and clarity were the same exchange rate for that day. By mistake I used my bank card on curve and it again was the same rate.
Curve is associated with my Tesco credit card, so thanks to Minxy i will continue with curve and gain Tesco points at the same time. I only have standard account so if I reach a limit, the clarity comes back out. 👍🏻👍🏻
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Do they or even Tesco credit cards charge a fee for foreign transactions.
I've always used the Halifax Clarity card because they have never charged a fee in Europe
 
Stealaway said:
Do they or even Tesco credit cards charge a fee for foreign transactions.
I've always used the Halifax Clarity card because they have never charged a fee in Europe
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No charges from curve and Tesco think it is a sterling transaction so no charge there either.
 
Stealaway said:
Do they or even Tesco credit cards charge a fee for foreign transactions.
I've always used the Halifax Clarity card because they have never charged a fee in Europe
Click to expand...
Curve don't make a charge except if you use it at a weekend but it's not a lot - have a look on their website for full details of any fees and spending limits. As for Tesco, if you use their card abroad normally you'd pay a fee but as it is done via the Curve card Tesco just see it in sterling so no fees for using it abroad and you get points too. :giggle:
 
Lenny HB said:
What is the exchange rate like as Tesco card normally has a lousy rate.
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Not sure on their exchange rate but they 'only' charge 2.75% to use the card outside UK! So on top of probably a lousy ex rate you have to add 2.75%. I use Tesco CC for everything in UK, for the points. They had an offer this summer of triple points when using the card outside UK until 22nd September. I didn't take the bait.
 
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Check wallet before travelling !!! I ordered new Revolut card and pulled it out of my wallet in Mehring and found the nectar card instead !!!!!! Schoolboy error . Then fuel station rejected Halifax card so had to resort to expensive NatWest ….. doh …

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We use Wise and Easy FX pre-payed. With both I take a gamble and buy EU currency in advance, I'd rather know how much I'm spending than be at the whim of the market. No fees for transactions, but usual £200 cash withdrawal on both. I prefer the Wise as it lets you hold in loads of currencies. It also gives you an actual Euro bank account which is useful if you need to do larger transfers. I use Currency No1 to buy cash before we go and tend to stock up whenever rate is reasonable. Same thing with the cards.
 
sueandjohn said:
Check wallet before travelling !!! I ordered new Revolut card and pulled it out of my wallet in Mehring and found the nectar card instead !!!!!! Schoolboy error . Then fuel station rejected Halifax card so had to resort to expensive NatWest ….. doh …
Click to expand...
Yes, I've found many places in EU were reluctant to accept my B&Q Trade Point card. Picky, picky, picky.
 
Stealaway said:
Do they or even Tesco credit cards charge a fee for foreign transactions.
I've always used the Halifax Clarity card because they have never charged a fee in Europe
Click to expand...
Your statement looks like this for Tesco card app
E944EEE4-C59E-415E-8B28-42382D2DB812.jpeg
 
Soycd said:
Not sure on their exchange rate but they 'only' charge 2.75% to use the card outside UK! So on top of probably a lousy ex rate you have to add 2.75%. I use Tesco CC for everything in UK, for the points. They had an offer this summer of triple points when using the card outside UK until 22nd September. I didn't take the bait.
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If there is any charges at all then I will stick with my Halifax Clarity fee free credit card.
Its hardly ever been refused so its never been an issue.

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Stealaway said:
If there is any charges at all then I will stick with my Halifax Clarity fee free credit card.
Its hardly ever been refused so its never been an issue.
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I reckon its swings and roundabouts. Halifax Clarity uses Mastercard exchange rates, so Euro 1.1324 today, with Wise I could buy Euro at 1.1548 today. So on on £1000 You'd get an extra Euro 22 with Wise, but would have to factor in the pro rata £3.55 fee so in reality about Euro 18 better off. But it cuts both ways, if the rate suddenly increases to say 1.17 my Wise Euros are worth less. Folk have just go to go with what they are comfortable with I suppose.
 
We bank with Barclays and have a ‘Travel Wallet’ set up on one of our current accounts. You can preload it with euros and then use your debit card as normal with no transaction fees.
 
philann said:
We bank with Barclays and have a ‘Travel Wallet’ set up on one of our current accounts. You can preload it with euros and then use your debit card as normal with no transaction fees.
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I don't know why I would bother. At what rate do you preload your euros and when?

The tourist cash exchange rate today is 1.14e /GBP
I know if I buy anything on my Halifax card today it will be bank rate at £1.15e/GBP with no extra charges.
Hardly any difference but I am still simply on the winning side with no extra effort.

We both use a Tesco card exclusively at home - just to gather points for the tunnel.
This is the only reason I wanted to use it in Europe --- but not if there is a charge
 
In 1 week of using curve / Tesco, there haven’t been any charges. Exchange has been 1.14*. On a comparison clarity that day was the same. Revolut were converting at 1.15* so a slightly better rate. But so far, no charges.
 
Wife has a Nationwide current account with a debit card and a Nationwide credit card. Strangely the credit card is cheaper than the debit card to use for purchases abroad. About 2.5% cheaper.

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