[Updates] Curve Is Coming: Get On The Waitlist

Update from Nick 8/14/21 - Curve has made interesting changes to the referral promotion as well as the terms and conditions. Referrals will now move you up 100 places, and you can get $1,000 back if your referrals reach the top 100 (i.e. $1K back for every $10K spent, the waitlist promo ends September 6th (indicating that the card will likely launch in the near future), and there will be a cap of $1,000 back if you reach the top 100 (i.e. Below is a summary of the updated key terms section.
Some quarters of the UK are very fond of the Curve card, which allows you to earn extra rewards on your credit cards payments. They are launching the card in the US, and have opened a waiting list for those interested.

The Deal

You will earn 1% cashback on your first six months of Curve cards, in addition to any rewards you earn from credit cards.

Greg's referral link

Nicks referral link

Stephens referral link

Key Terms

Update from Nick 8/14/21 These are the main takeaways:

For every referral, you now move up 100 places

Refer a friend

Cashback of 10% is only available for $1,000

According to the terms, gift card purchases are not eligible for cashback. Surprisingly, cashback will not be earned for large expenses such as insurance premiums or taxes. This part of the terms applies to the 1% cashback that you receive for signing up for the waitlist for six months. It will be interesting how strictly that is enforced.

The terms below state that you must pass credit checks and that there are restrictions on underwriting. Although we expected the Curve card would be a debit card it may turn out to be credit card. Let's see how it turns out. It is probably worth applying for the list assuming that the debit card will add 1% to your credit card earnings for six months. If it turns out that the credit card application was submitted, you can then reevaluate the merits of the 5/24 slot (probably no).

Quick Thoughts

Curve could be a great addition to your wallet, for many reasons. Curve works somewhat in the same way as PayPal Key. It has a single debit number you can use to make transactions. However, you can also link multiple credit cards to it to have payments taken from those cards. This can earn you credit card rewards. Curve is different from PayPal Key in that it provides you with a physical debit card that you can use to make in-store purchases.

Curve will offer 1% cashback within the first six months after you get the card. This is a fantastic bonus as there's no limit on the amount of cashback that you can earn in six months.

Refer a friend and you'll get bumped up 50 spots on the waitlist. You will receive 10% cashback in the first six months if you are among the 100 most eligible people when the card launches. To get this cashback, you would need to refer many people. Curve sent me an email confirmation when I signed up for the waitlist yesterday. It stated that I was in the 13,109th position. To crack the top 100, I would need to refer more people than 250. People above me should not refer anyone. This seems unlikely.

Curve has an interesting feature called "Go Back In Time". This allows you to change your payment method within 30 days of making a purchase with one of our cards. This could be useful for meeting the minimum spend requirement to receive a welcome bonus on new cards if it works as it sounds. Have you ever been faced with an unexpected large expense and not been able to obtain a new card in time? Curve may be able to help you. Curve could help you meet your minimum spend requirements by allowing you to pay with any existing card.

If you don't want to keep track of the bonused spend categories, the Go Back In Time feature might be useful. Instead of labeling the cards to tell them which card should be used for grocery shopping, which one for gas, etc. you can have them use a Curve card to pay for everything. After each purchase, you can switch the backing card. While this can be a hassle, it can maximize your rewards and ensure your partner doesn't get frustrated by having to keep track multiple cards.

Curve may allow you to view the codes of certain purchases depending on how they are reported. This will help maximize your rewards. Although you might not be able to predict when a winery will code for dining, entertainment, or another purpose, it is possible to change your payment card in order to benefit from bonus spend categories.

Curve is a debit-card, which could prove useful in situations when credit card transactions are not possible or preferable to debit card transactions. A debit card can be used to pay taxes. However, the fees are lower than those paid with credit cards. Curve allows you to have the best of both the worlds. You can pay with a credit card, but if Curve is considered a debit card by the tax payment service, you will only be charged a small fee.

Curve will only support Visa, Mastercard, and Discover cards. Amex quickly stopped supporting American Express in the UK when they added that support, much as they did with PayPal Key. Amex is unlikely to be more accommodating to Curve after it launches in the US.

Curve also claims that there are no foreign exchange fees. This could be useful for those who have foreign exchange fees. Curve's debit card will allow you to make overseas purchases and not incur that fee.

The card has not yet been launched in the US, so it is still to be seen how everything goes. It's worth signing up for the waitlist as only those on the list will receive 1% cashback for the first six month and there is no obligation to purchase the card once it launches.