Let's cut to the chase. Some links on this site pay us referral fees for sending business and sales. We value your time and money and won't waste it. For our complete advertising policy, click here. The content on this page is not provided by any companies mentioned, and has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by these entities. Opinions expressed here are the author's alone.

Update [2019]: Curve and Amex are currently in a spat, which means no Amex for now. Read up here on the latest review of Curve card, in light of this news. And also about the new 1% unlimited cash back, which may make Mastercard or Visa spending more valuable than Amex spending anyway.

Curve card hit one major plot turn this year, when they severed ties with American Express. With so many people eager to use their Amex card in places that don’t “technically” take Amex – it was hard times indeed.

Tease!

Yes, your favourite store that doesn’t take Amex soon will, via your Curve card. Curve took to Twitter today to tease out the news release, highlighting a comical series of user tweets begging for Amex acceptance to come back. The tease follows on to say: it’s coming! If you’re now wondering what all of this news is about, here’s a short synopsis.


Curve!

Curve is a very cool digital debit card available in the UK, which allows you to use credit cards in places that may only take debit. It also allows you to avoid paying forex fees abroad, by charging you in GBP. It’s an amazing trick all by itself.

But Curve’s greatest magic trick was when you could link your American Express card, allowing you to earn Amex Points in places that didn’t actually take Amex! The merchant just saw your card as a Mastercard debit card, which was brilliant, and then Curve converted the transaction internally. There was literally no excuse not to earn points. To say it was popular is to say the Beatles were just a band.

Return!

Curve officially confirmed the return of Amex acceptance, but within days it was gone again. With any hope, you’ll soon again be able to add your American Express cards to the Curve app, and pay for transactions using your Amex, via your Curve Mastercard.

A few details remain to be seen, such as whether or not this will be available with the “free” Curve card, or only on the £50 premium card. For many reasons, there’s no question the new premium Curve card is worth the fee if you travel. And if you do get either, code C5CFD will get you £5 after your first purchase using the card. Download the app here.

Gilbert Ott

Gilbert Ott is an ever curious traveler and one of the world's leading travel experts. His adventures take him all over the globe, often spanning over 200,000 miles a year and his travel exploits are regularly...

Join the Conversation

5 Comments

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *