The HfP chat thread – Tuesday 9th March

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• KBuffett says:

  9 Mar9 March 04:49

  Curve failed when trying to pay for my car parking using Ringo.

  • DarrenS says:

    9 Mar9 March 08:37

    Worked for me yesterday.

  • vol says:

    9 Mar9 March 10:34

    Hmm. Curve failed for me too when trying to pay someone yesterday – have messaged them to see what’s up. No response as of yet – they will probably respond in a few months time.

• Paul465 says:

  9 Mar9 March 05:45

  Has anyone else had issues paying their Amex bill with Curve? On mine the payment goes through but gives an error message advising the payment hasn’t been applied. I’ve tried 3 different underlying cards that show they are charged as if it had gone through and then refunded by Curve?

  • The Streets says:

    9 Mar9 March 05:47

    Something is clearly up as this function should be allowed for Curve Metal users

  • Chrisasaurus says:

    9 Mar9 March 05:48

    Yep and not just Amex – several other places too

    Range of places affected makes it feel like it’s at the Curve end but obviously not about to ask them directly

    • Paul465 says:

      9 Mar9 March 06:48

      Curve is starting to become more hassle than it’s worth. I have Curve Metal for the ability to pay without attracting the extra fees if I chose to pay with a credit rather debit card but its becoming harder and harder to justify the monthly fee as the insurance policies it comes with aren’t that great either.

      • James. says:

        9 Mar9 March 08:11

        Curve Metal renewal in April. Seriously thinking of downgrading as its evident Curve are struggling over the last month+

  • Crafty says:

    9 Mar9 March 06:46

    Having this issue too, as of the last few days.

    As this is an advertised feature of Metal, surely we should not have qualms about asking them directly?

  • DRJR says:

    9 Mar9 March 07:21

    Spoke to curve via in app chat about this issue a few times over the weekend, they repeatedly claimed it was an issue with the merchant (it wasn’t) or that my underlying card had reached its spending limit (it hadn’t).

    I finally spoke to someone yesterday who stated this was part of a wider ongoing issue, escalated to the “payments team” to investigate and mentioned they need multiple examples of this issue reported to them so aid their investigation.

    So if you like you could report these issues to them and make sure not to take any nonsense from them about your card limits or merchant issues as this seems to be a script they use until you ask them to look in more detail at what’s actually going on!

    • Anna says:

      9 Mar9 March 07:59

      I’ve reported it now. The card is no use to me as it is so it’s worth a gamble. It won’t even let me pay for a £35 Iceland shop!

• Gothbe says:

  9 Mar9 March 06:45

  Curve metal just failed with income tax payment to hmrc. Tried with small payment of under £400. Opted to type in the sms code which I’ve always found more reliable. I use the card regularly for normal transactions as well as tax payments. No failures for over 6 months. Transaction appears in curve and as pending on underlying beardy and my balance has increased.

  • Rob says:

    9 Mar9 March 08:50

    I’m not sure I’ve seen it mentioned on here before, but I actually got an Email from curve not too long ago encouraging me to pay tax bills using Curve.

    Did anyone else get one?

    Presumably this isn’t seen as abusive use of the card, even if it isn’t currently working for people

    • Wollhouse says:

      9 Mar9 March 10:03

      Yes, I got the same email about paying tax bills. My curve metal is currently declining every transaction, not of which are MS:(

      • Simon says:

        9 Mar9 March 15:42

        Same here – Regretfully I’ve just ‘lost’ my metal card. I recall that was issued by wirecard. I wonder if that might be part of the issue.

        • Jonathan says:

          10 Mar10 March 10:15

          Just spoke with Curve. Something to do with incompatible 3DS versions between merchants. They are looking into it

• pauldb says:

  9 Mar9 March 06:57

  I’m repeating myself from last week but there are some Feb half term bargains to be had next year, for a decent proportion of parents who have the holiday from Feb 19th-27th instead of the “normal” 12th-20th.
  Today you can book the Saturday return. Grenoble is £70 return, Marrakech £60 return (compared to £600 the week before).

  • mradey says:

    9 Mar9 March 07:03

    Thanks for the heads up Paul!

  • Jane says:

    9 Mar9 March 07:15

    Thanks for the reminder – I had forgotten I needed to book my returns today – Grenoble for half term all sorted for around £100 return – excellent for half term. Any recommendations for nearby ski accommodation most welcomed – not been skiing for 8 years since the kids arrived.

  • Harry T says:

    9 Mar9 March 07:27

    Originating from where? London?

    • pauldb says:

      9 Mar9 March 09:03

      Yes London, and specifically Gatwick where I presume there are typically more cheap seats loaded a year out than Heathrow (for dates which haven’t been blocked as peak). I’m afraid I haven’t checked if connecting fares are favourable.

      Incidentally my outbound to ACE booked a week ago is showing a POUG to CE for £89, in case you’re weighing up booking CE. Not guaranteed of course; nothing yet on this morning’s inbound booking unsurprisingly. Not sure it’s worth it with young kids.

  • Anna says:

    9 Mar9 March 07:43

    Lucky you! Though next year is our last of secondary school so there’s light at the end of the tunnel. I’m hoping easyJet will cancel my £40 flights to Bilbao so I can move them to somewhere sunny next Feb.

  • Scottydogg says:

    9 Mar9 March 08:52

    Sorry , but who is this with ? we get the 19th – 27th holiday , so wouldnt mind looking for a cheap get away

    • Jane says:

      9 Mar9 March 09:00

      British Airways – hopefully since it’s not the core half term dates there will be some good deals on accommodation too. Mine are from London so I don’t know if the deals will be similarly good from elsewhere

  • Tyler Durden says:

    9 Mar9 March 08:57

    your posting in the wrong chat, this is the curve/ms forum… but in all seriousness, thanks for your headsup last time, i secured LCY-CMF at unheard of halfterm prices. Thanks PaulDB.

    • kitten says:

      9 Mar9 March 14:25

      🙂 @Tyler

  • Wally1976 says:

    9 Mar9 March 17:50

    Yes our inbound flights from Gibraltar came in at a nice 17 quid each so less than the standard RFS fee 😀.

• Michael C says:

  9 Mar9 March 06:58

  Any home insurance recommendations?!
  Feel I’ve been paying way over top with Lloyd’s and renewal is coming up.
  A comparison website brought up some names that look dodgy on TrustPilot: Intelligent Insurance looked about the best re. price/recommenations. LV not bad – bit more expensive though far cheaper than mine (we live in a general flood warning area if that changes things – Santander refused to insure us the first time, despite sending an email every 10 days to add home insurance to our account…!).

  • The Streets says:

    9 Mar9 March 07:16

    Just doing mine via Alan Boswell which features on here every now and then.. 10,000 avios sign up too

    • Michael C says:

      9 Mar9 March 07:43

      Cheers – even if you Never Went to Church! ;o)

      • The Streets says:

        9 Mar9 March 11:34

        brilliant!

  • Sarah says:

    9 Mar9 March 07:33

    I got mine through Halifax last time – very comprehensive coverage and a really competitive price

    • Michael C says:

      9 Mar9 March 07:44

      Hadn’t checked them, Sarah, but will do!

  • Chris P says:

    9 Mar9 March 08:29

    Not really a recommendation but a quick story – my cousin is with LV and was burgled between Christmas and New Year plus her 70th Birthday presents were stolen. LV were very efficient and settled promptly but in addition, quite out of the blue, sent her a luxury food hamper in the circumstances. I always thought I must pass this tale of good customer service on at every opportunity.

    • Michael C says:

      9 Mar9 March 11:07

      Def. always good to hear, when most stories are about disastrous outcomes!

  • Rob says:

    9 Mar9 March 09:01

    Boswell is very good and you get Avios – https://hfp2022.headforpoints.blog/2020/07/24/get-up-to-10000-avios-with-your-household-business-or-landlord-insurance/

    • C says:

      9 Mar9 March 10:06

      I second Alan Boswell, particularly if you have more complex variables that aren’t handled well by the comparison sites.

  • Aston100 says:

    9 Mar9 March 09:44

    Aviva.
    I have had positive experience of making claims with them – both buildings and contents.
    Things rectified very quickly.
    May not be the cheapest but (if you end up having a call out) worth more than some points.

• DT says:

  9 Mar9 March 06:58

  Also having problems with metal curve paying off Amex, multiple underlying cards tried and none go through, tried as low as £10 and nothing goes through

  • DarrenS says:

    9 Mar9 March 08:42

    Same for me since Saturday.

• Louise K says:

  9 Mar9 March 07:00

  We have a new car purchase coming up. 50% deposit and 50% financed. Dealer says they can only take £3K on a credit card.

  Would Curve help us out here to generate some extra points? It’s going to be our biggest purchase this year and I don’t want to miss out!

  • Anna says:

    9 Mar9 March 07:45

    If they will accept the rest on a debit card there shouldn’t be a problem in theory, however see above for a lot of issues people are having with Curve at the moment. In person might be ok though.

• Phil says:

  9 Mar9 March 07:04

  I booked a flight with Vueling from Barcelona to LGW yesterday and it said my British passport isn’t valid for online check-in whereas my partner’s Irish passport is.

  Is this a Brex(sh)it thing?

  I was expecting different security/customs channels but not this!!

  Will all foreign airlines do this or just a weird thing with Vueling?

  • ChrisC says:

    9 Mar9 March 07:34

    When does it expire?

    Before your flight?

    Or possibly it’s not valid for long enough to meet Schengen entry rules such as not having 6 month validity or not meeting the under 10 year rule because you had an extension soon from a previous passport in your current one,

  • Harry T says:

    9 Mar9 March 07:45

    Probably expires before your flight or within six months of it.

    • Phil says:

      9 Mar9 March 08:56

      My passport expires in 2027.

  • AJA says:

    9 Mar9 March 09:53

    Are you sure your partner’s Irish passport is valid for online check-in.? If you search on Vueling’s website for online check-in for BCN to LGW it says

    Sorry, but you cannot check in for this route.

    You cannot check in for flight Barcelona – London (Gatwick)

    The online check-in service is not available for Barcelona airport.

    Please remember that you must fill in the Advanced Passenger Information (API) for this destination. Then, on the day of departure, just go to the Vueling check-in desks in sufficient time to get your boarding pass.

    I think it’s more to do with the API requirements for arrival at LGW and seems to apply to all passengers.

    • Phil says:

      9 Mar9 March 10:21

      Thanks for the info but there was a check box for my partner to check in but not me!

  • The real John says:

    9 Mar9 March 10:22

    I believe airlines flying to the UK now need to verify that you’ve bought the covid tests, so won’t let you check in online at all?

    • kitten says:

      9 Mar9 March 14:29

      ???
      What if someone is only visiting the UK for a one-day business trip?

      • Chrisasaurus says:

        9 Mar9 March 16:45

        They can discuss that at checkin, presumably?

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