Thinking about the best credit cards to use when travelling abroad? Read our review of Curve.
Lots of people ask me what I think are the best credit or debit cards to use for travel. There are certainly a lot of options out there, and it can be confusing. That’s why I wanted to write this article about the Curve card, which might be unfamiliar to many people. Please note that this is not financial advice, but merely my personal perspective on what I view as a very handy, and at this point almost indispensable travel tool.
Personally, I always tend to travel with quite a few different credit cards. This is partly because some cards are better to use in some circumstances than others, but also because I like the security of having multiple cards (aged 21 I ended up stranded with no money in Mexico when both of my cards were erroneously cancelled) for emergency purposes if nothing else.
At home in London, I always seek to use my American Express credit card, and in those places (and there are quite a few in the UK), that don’t accept AmEx, a Virgin Atlantic Premium Credit Card. This is due to the points/miles earning strategy that I use them for, which I will deal with in more detail in a separate article.
Whilst I still do take those cards with me, in recent years though, I have never travelled abroad without my Curve card.
Firstly though, what is Curve? In short, it is not an account in and of itself, but rather a payment system that you can link other cards to. In other words, think of something similar to PayPal, but with a physical Mastercard and some additional benefits attached to it.
But, why do you need this? From my perspective, there are two key benefits. Firstly, by linking multiple cards to a single Curve card, you can carry fewer cards with you (and memorise fewer pin numbers) and then allocate particular bills to different credit cards subsequently via the Curve app or website.
Whilst this is a handy little benefit, the main plus from my point of view is that I can use my Curve card to avoid the typical transaction fees incurred from using my normal credit cards abroad, whilst still accumulating points in the same way as I normally do.
For example, when I use my UK-issued American Express card abroad, I am charged a 2.99% transaction fee every time I use it. I also have a Virgin Atlantic Premium Credit Card that I use to accumulate Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Points. I feel that this is generally a very good card as when I use it abroad to pay in either US Dollars or Euros, there are no foreign exchange fees. If, however I use it in other countries (I have recently visited Brazil and Croatia for example), I will incur a 2.99% charge for each payment.
So, what are the options of getting around these annoying transaction fees? Well, you can get travel charge cards and also travel-orientated credit cards. Prior to discovering Curve for example, I took out a Barclaycard Rewards Credit Card, which in general is a great travel credit card on account of it charging nothing in the way of overseas transaction fees. The drawbacks of this are that a) you have more accounts to track; and b) it means the benefits I accrue from my spending abroad are then tied up in the Barclaycard Rewards scheme, rather than adding to the balances that I already have with American Express or Virgin Atlantic. This would be the case with most products, and some may not even provide you with any points / cashback benefits at all.
By linking my Virgin Atlantic card to my Curve account however, I can avoid the transaction fees whilst still accumulating points to add to my Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles balance.
The only major downside is that you cannot currently link American Express cards to your Curve account.
It should be noted also that Curve has different tiers of card membership subscription. In addition to the free basic Curve card (which I have), there is also currently the Curve X (£4.99 per month), Curve Black (£9.99) and Curve Metal (£14.99 per month). The free card option has some limits in terms of the number of cards that can be linked and the amount of money that can be spent with no transaction fees. The full details of these plans can be found on the Curve website, and the option that makes most sense for you will likely depend on the general length and frequency of your trips and therefore how much you are likely to spend.
Whilst there are therefore instances where I still might use another card instead, I use my Curve card every day when I am abroad outside the EU or USA.
The Considered Journey is a travel blog focused on travel reviews, travel tips and travel guides, all focused on travel inspiration with a view to helping you make the most of your trip and maximise your travel time.
Having travelled across Europe, Asia, South America, North America, and parts of Africa, we have a host of experiences to share with you. As our focus is on helping you make the most of your trip and maximise your travel time, we highlight the best things to eat, best things to drink, best places to go, and best things to do. In addition, we have written a range of airline reviews, hotel reviews, airport lounge reviews and credit card reviews, and also cover topics such as travelling as a couple, career break travel and sabbatical travel.
We understand that circumstances vary from trip to trip, so we cover everything from luxury travel to some more budget travel options, and the traditional to the modern.
Comments