Don’t forget IHG Rewards Club ‘Friends & Family’ rates for cheap hotels

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.

• idrive says:

  17 Feb17 February 14:12

  well, if it is obviously for self employed, I am sure they will block or limit the accounts. Or request documentation or check themselves..
  It seems too risky to apply now if employed..

  • harry says:

    17 Feb17 February 14:19

    You can be both employed & self-employed at the same time

• Sussex Bantam says:

  17 Feb17 February 14:16

  Hi – if anyone needs a referral code mine is 8uWFz. If I get any credits from this I will donate 100% of the credit to Marie Curie Cancer Care. Thanks for using it if you do !

  • sd83 says:

    17 Feb17 February 14:26

    that is a brilliant idea and a fantastic cause!

  • Alan says:

    17 Feb17 February 15:51

    Good cause, have used your code!

• darrenf says:

  17 Feb17 February 14:32

  so Curve is for business expenses only, but allows you to tie to M&S Bank, who don’t offer business accounts?

  • Genghis says:

    17 Feb17 February 15:50

    One can be self-employed and use a personal account for ‘business’ purposes. After all, the person and the ‘business’ are inseparable.

• YL says:

  17 Feb17 February 14:38

  I think some of the earlier referral links were not coded correctly, so they direct you to page not found.
  I think a ? mark was missing?
  I managed to use Roberto’s code above (the only link that works for me).
  If anyone would like to use it, mine referral link is https://www.imaginecurve.com/?r=zooa2
  Thank you.

• harry says:

  17 Feb17 February 14:41

  They state that a typical user will save some £60 a year. They probably know what they’re talking about.

  So when people stick though £10K of HMRC bill, or withdraw £10K of cash over several months, this will cost somebody an extra £100-£200. (Based on 1p/ MR point, with MR points being earned @ 1-2 MR points/ £1.)

  And if 10K were allowed (fair usage etc) – then what about £25K?

  Do you honestly think you’ll end up with a card capable of doing this? I don’t think either Amex or Curve are likely to want to fund it, so it simply won’t happen. Look how easily 3V stopped financial transactions.

  That might be an argument to get in first & thrash the ass off of it while you can – I’m sympathetic to that concept 🙂 – but something tells me it won’t be half as lucrative as people hope. Whereas it looks as if the parameters for foreign spend are quite sustainable, ie bearable in the long term.

  • Rob says:

    17 Feb17 February 14:46

    If HMRC take it, it will be as a credit card and not a debit card. That is profitable for them.

    (Remember, this is not a debit card. It is a prepaid MasterCard.)

    ATM usage is a separate issue but that is already covered in their rules. They would probably cut you off before you’d cost them much more than the £35 fee.

    • mark2 says:

      17 Feb17 February 15:29

      So what exactly is a ‘prepaid MasterCard’ please?
      This usually means a card to replace travellers’ cheques. Does it mean that they debit your other card account before paying the merchant? This would explain why people have been debited on their other card when the transaction failed.
      A crucial question to me is ‘do I have to give this start up the PINs for all of my cards?’
      If so, how good is their security?

      • Callum says:

        17 Feb17 February 15:38

        It’s a Mastercard that you prepay. It doesn’t remotely mean a “card to replace travellers cheques”.

        No you don’t have to give them your PINs.

        • mark2 says:

          17 Feb17 February 15:43

          So you have to pay them before you can use the card?

        • Callum says:

          17 Feb17 February 15:51

          Technically, but not the way you’re thinking (and I can see how what I said was misleading in this context so sorry!).

          Technically you’ll be paying them and THEN they are paying your card provider, but in reality you’ll be using it just like a normal card. It’s apparently registered as a pre-paid card in the Mastercard system however, so merchants won’t necessarily accept it as a Debit card.

        • Rob says:

          17 Feb17 February 20:15

          …. which is why Amex reject it.

        • harry says:

          17 Feb17 February 15:54

          No – if I understood that bit, Curve people simply take payment from the card you have associated (with Curve card) at the exact same time.

          ie 1. pay with Curve card @ 10am
          2. Curve people take payment from your (say) Amex card @ 10am
          3. you pay your Amex card bill @ the end of the month.

          So Curve is functioning ‘just like’ a prepaid MasterCard (ie a MC loaded with credit) but it’s not ‘actually’ a prepaid MC, it’s a card with a MC logo – and which is the interface between the outlet where you are making a purchase and your (say) Amex back home in the sock drawer.

  • Jonathan says:

    17 Feb17 February 14:50

    Did you sign up to it in the end? Agree with you and am still sitting on the fence on this one (would go for it if I was self-employed).

    • Simmo says:

      17 Feb17 February 16:07

      Isn’t it a once off fee?

• OverTheHorizon says:

  17 Feb17 February 15:19

  Amusingly enough, when I use Chrome to look at their website (imaginecurve.com) I get a security error because “the site loaded an insecure script.”

  Not a terribly auspicious start !

• Nuno says:

  17 Feb17 February 15:35

  If anyone would like to use it, mine referral link is https://www.imaginecurve.com/?r=Aoq5k

  Thank You

• Yuff says:

  17 Feb17 February 15:38

  Another code

  http://www.imaginecurve.com/r=xrTV1

  • OverTheHorizon says:

    17 Feb17 February 15:41

    OK, taken the plunge and gone for the £75 card + TUMI wallet.

    Finger crossed !

    Helps that I am genuinely self-employed, with multiple years tax returns to prove it.

    Referral link:

    https://www.imaginecurve.com/?r=qnZrG

    Good luck all !

    • yetyom says:

      17 Feb17 February 16:31

      Fingers crossed.

      Here is my code for anyone who wants.

      Referral code – oznlp

      Referral link – https://www.imaginecurve.com/?r=oznlp

      Good luck to everyone!

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.