Jasmine Birtles
Your money-making expert. Financial journalist, TV and radio personality.
How to Make Money Shopping
Reading Time: 4 minutesWant to make money shopping?
Yes, you read that right, make money shopping. It’s possible!
Curve, the wallet app, partners with a bunch of selected retailers to give cashback, so you can get paid while placing an Amazon Fresh order or tucking into a Chinese takeaway.
Cashback schemes have helped people make several hundred pounds a year in the past – Curve goes a step further by offering new customers 1% cashback on every eligible purchase for 30 days. Sign up on their site to cash in on cashback!
Plus, if you sign up by clicking any of the links to Curve within this article, you get a £5 welcome bonus to kickstart your Curve journey!
- Getting Cashback on Shopping
- Rules for Maximizing Money
- Types of Cashback Scheme
- Tracking Spends and Protecting Money
Getting Cashback on Shopping
Many cashback schemes only operate via apps or websites but Curve offers an all-in-one physical smart card that combines your credit and debit cards. It’s super convenient as you can head out for a shopping spree with just one card. Follow these steps to get cashback:
- Download the Curve app and order a card – there are several to choose from (more on this later).
- Scan your credit and debit cards using the Curve app to add them to your account.
- Activate your Curve card and select the credit or debit card you want to pay with.
- Shop away! You can link your Curve card with Apple Pay, Google Pay or Samsung Pay.
As a new customer, you’ll get 1% cashback when you shop at selected retailers for 30 days. The cashback comes in the form of Curve cash points (one point is worth one penny). The points are stored on your digital Curve cash card ready for spending. Keep in mind that you won’t be able to withdraw the points as cash.
If you really want to make the most of Curve, you can get another 30 days of 1% cashback by referring a new customer! The 30 day period starts once your referral makes their first purchase with their Curve card.
Rules for Maximizing Money
As with all cashback schemes, there are a few rules to bear in mind to make sure you’re saving while spending and not spending to save:
- Don’t buy things just to get cashback! Use Curve on shopping that you would’ve done anyway.
- Shop around for the best deal on an item first instead of heading straight to a Curve retailer.
- Clear your cookies before making online orders to make sure you get all the cashback you should.
- Curve cash points expire after six months so be sure to spend them within this timeframe.
As for where to shop, Curve’s retail partners range from high street to high end and include big names in supermarkets, fashion and entertainment. Here are just a handful of businesses that give cashback through Curve:
Side note: don’t worry if you accidentally pay with the wrong card – you can switch payment cards up to 90 days after a purchase using the app’s nifty ‘Go Back in Time’ feature.
Types of Cashback Scheme
You can choose from one of three Curve cards, all of which boast the same core benefits:
- Combining your current credit and debit cards into one handy smart card.
- The ‘Go Back in Time’ feature which lets you switch between cards for past purchases.
- Curve Customer Protection for unauthorised transactions on payments of up to £100,000.
One of the key differences between the cards is the kind of cashback they offer.
‘Curve Blue’ or ‘The Classic’ is free. You’ll benefit from 1% cashback for 30 days and when time’s up, retailers will send you personalised one-off cashback offers of up to 20% on a regular basis. You’ll also get access to fair FX rates of up to £500 a month and fee-free foreign ATM withdrawals of up to £200 a month.
Next up is ‘Curve Black’ or ‘The Premium’. For £9.99 a month, you’ll benefit from unlimited 1% cashback on purchases at three eligible shops of your choice. You’ll also get access to unlimited fair FX rates and fee-free foreign ATM withdrawals of up to £400 a month.
‘Curve Metal’ or ‘The Ultimate’ is the priciest card at £14.99 a month, but the cashback is worth it if you’re an avid spender at Curve’s retail partners. You’ll get your pick of six eligible shops for unlimited 1% cashback. In addition to unlimited fair FX rates, you’ll also get access to fee-free foreign ATM withdrawals of up to £600 a month (very handy if you’re a keen traveller!)
Tracking Spends and Protecting Money
While cashback is the main pro of Curve, there are a range of other perks that come with the smart card. The Curve timeline helps you keep track of the date, amount and location of your spends. You can also opt into notifications that pop up every time you spend and get a detailed analysis of your spending history using the ‘Insights’ feature.
If you lose your Curve card, no need to fret! You can protect your money by simply clicking the ‘Lock Card’ toggle on the app. There’s also an ‘Anti-Embarrassment’ feature which means that if your selected card doesn’t go through, Curve will automatically try a backup card of your choice (saving you from an awkward conversation with the cashier!)
If you’re a big cashback fanatic, check out our article on how to make money shopping with our favourite cashback websites.
Please note this is a paid partnership between Curve and MoneyMagpie.
Disclaimer: MoneyMagpie is not a licensed financial advisor and therefore information found here including opinions, commentary, suggestions or strategies are for informational, entertainment or educational purposes only. This should not be considered as financial advice. Anyone thinking of investing should conduct their own due diligence.
Interesting article.