Tag: extra cash

Review: Curve Card

paidincrowns2 Comments

Here I’ve talked a bit about finding the cheapest way to travel, and recently I’ve found another, and so far the cheapest and the best, way to travel; using a Curve card.

Curve Card

Essentially, Curve card is a Mastercard issued by a UK based fintech, that is basically combining all your cards into one. This alone should be beneficial already, especially for people like me who have more than 1 bank cards used for different purposes. Now instead of carrying 3 or 4 cards or more, just carry 1 Curve card and you can choose in their app which card you want to use for a purchase. Another cool thing from them is they offer a ‘Go Back in Time’ feature, which means if you’ve used one card for one purchase and decided to use another card instead, you can just activate this feature and voila, your purchase will be transfered to the other card you wish. This is extremely useful when for instance, you want to charge your work card instead of your personal card.

Is that it? Absolutely not. Curve card is also great for traveling since you only need to carry 1 card instead of all your cards, and, it comes with a killer exchange rate! Recently I went on a holiday and I used my Curve card and my normal credit card from my bank and the difference on the exchange rate alone was enough to get me 2 meals in a restaurant. The exchange rate was only slightly worse than Transferwise but with a much simpler way (you don’t need to top up anything, Curve card will charge your cards directly), I’d pick Curve card any day.

An extra benefit for me is how my credit card gives 1% cashback for every time I spend abroad and online. Every purchase through Curve card is considered an online transaction, since Curve is charging your bank instead of the original merchant. This makes all my purchases, even if it’s not online/abroad, eligible for the 1% cashback program.

Curve card comes with different packages and pricing options. I’m using the free one since I don’t travel that often, and even using the free option, you get £200 free withdrawals monthly (even when you’re charging your credit cards!). There’s also a promotional 1% cashback from 3 merchants of your choice (only for 3 months for the free option).

I had an issue with withdrawal when I was abroad and their support was extremely responsive and helpful. I’ve been using this card for 2 months now and I could only give good reviews. But also pay attention to their terms & conditions as they charge extra on weekends.

If you want to use a Curve card as well, you can download the app and use this promo code DP9K349N where we will both receive £5.

Credit Cards in Czech Republic

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For years I’ve lived here in Czech Republic, I noticed that Czech people are generally against using credit cards. I understand, credit cards aren’t for everyone, especially those who have a hard time controlling their spendings. But if used correctly and wisely, credit cards can actually bring you some extra money.

One thing to keep in mind before using a credit card is to understand that credit cards aren’t an extra income. It is a form of loans, which means if you don’t pay off everything you owe, there will be interests you need to pay. I would only recommend using credit cards if you can pay off everything every month, so you won’t stock up some debts.

For me personally, I started using credit cards because I wanted to manage my cashflow. There are times when I need to make big purchases, be it for work or personal use, and I want to ‘spread’ out my spendings as to not have spikes in my monthly cashflows. However, if you’re an expat here and don’t have permanent residency, finding the right bank that would issue you a credit card is another tricky part. Most banks require you to at least have a PR first. Luckily for me, I’ve been banking with Česká spořitelna and they had no problem issuing one to foreigners.

Using the card is free as long as you spend minimum 3,000Kc monthly, which isn’t all that difficult to do. You get a card for free and could also get an extra one if you want. An extra benefit for me was that Česká spořitelna was charging 100Kc monthly, and this was reduced by 50Kc if you receive 7,000Kc in your account (I got my salary to this account so this wasn’t a problem), and further 50Kc if you use another product from them, so using their credit card brought my banking expenses with them to 0.

A standard credit card from Česká spořitelna is a Mastercard World credit card, which is considered a ‘premium’ credit card. This means, there are some perks you could enjoy just by owning this card, one of which is free entry to airport lounges in Vienna Airport and reduced price to Mastercard airport lounge in Prague airport (350Kc per entry, or 100Kc if you’re registered to the Priceless Specials program).

Another thing I like from using this card is the 1% cashback program if you spend online or abroad (max. 350Kc). Buying airline tickets, booking hotels, or even paying Netflix or Spotify subscriptions then entitle me to get 1% cashback. I have another trick to maximize this 1% cashback program, but I will write it in a separate article.

Again, I pay off all my credit card debts every month, so credit cards for me has only brought benefits so far. It might not seem like much, but using credit cards, especially one from CS, has been bringing me some extra cash at the end of the month, and also I could enjoy some free snacks/drinks whilst waiting at airports.

Disclaimer: Things I write here are coming from personal experiences. I am not a professional financial advisor and I am not paid to promote any products by any banks.