Revolut card in Costa Rica

Debsrob

I am going to Costa Rica in a few weeks and have just ordered a Revolut card. Whilst I understand that I cannot convert cash on my card into Colons I was wondering if I will be able to use the card in ATMs and take out dollars? Also will I be able to pay for goods and services using the card (even if it has to be in dollars?)

grumbler

Don't know about USD from their ATMs, but that's what MSE say:

all exchanges are done at the interbank rate

• Revolut – perfect rates & no fees, plus £5 bonus

And that's what Revolut say themselves:

When you spend or use an ATM the card automatically converts your money into local currencies at perfect interbank rates.

If you want USD see this thread: Getting USD/Euro fee free without a loaded exchange rate

m4rc

Lots of people using this card it seems, is it a card you pre-load with cash so you don't have to pay exchange rates? I realise I could go to the site and read it but I get very easily distracted and would end up booking a holiday to try it out! Asking here is safer

grumbler

m4rc wrote: »

...is it a card you pre-load with cash so you don't have to pay exchange rates?

I don't understand this 'so'.
All prepaid cards have to be pre-loaded, but most do charge for currency exchange.

DCFC79

m4rc wrote: »

Lots of people using this card it seems, is it a card you pre-load with cash so you don't have to pay exchange rates? I realise I could go to the site and read it but I get very easily distracted and would end up booking a holiday to try it out! Asking here is safer

Yes you add an amount to the card and within the phone app you choose a currency eg dollars or euros.

m4rc

DCFC79 wrote: »

Yes you add an amount to the card and within the phone app you choose a currency eg dollars or euros.

Cheers, that's all I wanted to know

eDicky

Debsrob wrote: »

I am going to Costa Rica in a few weeks and have just ordered a Revolut card. Whilst I understand that I cannot convert cash on my card into Colons I was wondering if I will be able to use the card in ATMs and take out dollars? Also will I be able to pay for goods and services using the card (even if it has to be in dollars?)

I think you are mistaken, the Costa Rican colon (CRC) is one of the ninety currencies supported by Revolut, so you should be able withdraw cash from ATMs and make purchases using their prepaid MasterCard in Costa Rica with no problem.

I doubt there would be any advantage in using USD there, unless some high-end retailers or restaurants insist on dollar payment, in which case they can debit your RevolutCard in dollars. If any ATMs dispense dollars instead of colones, that should also work. You could contact Revolut to confrm any of this, but they may be even less familiar with the use of US currency in Costa Rica than I am..!

bigadaj

We were in costa Rica in 2013, you can use colon or dollars interchangeably, no one is really bothered which currency you pay in. One exception was the posh hotel we stayed in on our last two nights, everything went on my clarity card but it was listed in dollars, not colon.

Just to be clear, it's not really a hard or soft currency issue, it's primarily that the economy is so reliant on the us that dollars are accepted as well as colon, but it's not like there is a premium for using dollars.

eDicky

DCFC79 wrote: »

Yes you add an amount to the card and within the phone app you choose a currency eg dollars or euros.

m4rc wrote: »

Cheers, that's all I wanted to know

There's actually a lot more to it than that:

https://revolut.com/faq

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5282794
(20 pages!)