Revolut card

adonis10

https://revolut.com/


As I interpret it, it works as follows:

Load with, say, £500. Convert that to € all at once at, say, 1.15 so the card now holds €575. Withdraw €200 at no charge so now have €375. Use it in a restaurant for €40, now have €335 and so on. So it's basically like using my debit card here, simply taking out what you have in with no charges or % fees.

If that is what it is, I can't see why anyone would go with any competitor.


Any experiences with this card?

Marcio45

Yes. Exactly as you say. Although for cash withdrawals there is a limit of £500 with no fee, every month. After that they charge a small fee (think its 2%) but it is still cheaper than a normal debit card.
As you say, it is a really good deal, but i struggle to imagine how they make any money. But fine for me.

adonis10

Marcio45 wrote: »

Yes. Exactly as you say. Although for cash withdrawals there is a limit of £500 with no fee, every month. After that they charge a small fee (think its 2%) but it is still cheaper than a normal debit card.
As you say, it is a really good deal, but i struggle to imagine how they make any money. But fine for me.

Exactly, but who are we to moan.


As I read it, the limit before the 2% is cash only, right? Say I do 100euro on card I can still take 500 cash before any charge? It's pretty handy that my couple of weeks away straddles July and August so should be able to avoid this charge!

DesG

You also don't need to pre-convert all at once, it will convert on the fly for each transaction at the prevailing rate on the day.

adonis10

DesG wrote: »

You also don't need to pre-convert all at once, it will convert on the fly for each transaction at the prevailing rate on the day.

So, effectively, you don't need to convert anything unless, of course, you feel the rate is going to deteriorate? I can just leave £500 in there and let it do its thing when I withdraw from cashpoints, pay on card etc.?


By the time we've withdrawn cash, paid for hotels etc. etc. this may end up saving us a decent amount. Literally no need for debit or credit card use, apart from any places that do not accept MasterCard which I assume is very few in this day and age.

Anthorn

Revolut is currently attempting to raise more money for expansion through crowd funding. If it's so successful where are the profits?

https://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2016/07/87777-revolut-will-offer-shares-on-crowdcube-investors-rush-to-sign-up/

Personally, no I'm not tempted to go back.

fruitisbad

adonis10 wrote: »

So, effectively, you don't need to convert anything unless, of course, you feel the rate is going to deteriorate? I can just leave £500 in there and let it do its thing when I withdraw from cashpoints, pay on card etc.?


By the time we've withdrawn cash, paid for hotels etc. etc. this may end up saving us a decent amount. Literally no need for debit or credit card use, apart from any places that do not accept MasterCard which I assume is very few in this day and age.

If I'm going somewhere with Euros or Dollars I transfer just as it's a bit more obvious how much money you have left to spend. If it's neither of those currencies I leave it in £.

There is a limit, maybe £1000 or just over, at which point you have to send a pic of your passport or drivers licence. Just to be aware of if you're at your limit jsut before you go away!

Other than that seems to work really well, no major issues. Some cash points abroad it asks if you want to use the machines rate (usually crap) but at least diplayed or risk it on the open rate. Due to the no fees and the interbank rate Revolut gives the best deal but it doesn't phrase it very well on the cash points.

Joey_Soap

For me, the only downside is that I first got the card because I thought I could load it up with foreign currency via a debit card on a foreign bank account (out side EU) and then spend in another currency. But it seems you can't top it up like that.

B0B

Used this on holiday and it was perfect for the job.

Loaded cash into it and converted from £ to € on the fly. Although I converted my £ to€ before I fly as the rate was dropping steadily.

The cash withdrawal limit is only downside but for a normal holiday it's not an issue as you can pay by card for most things these days.

[Deleted User]

Shame you can't link a credit card to it, but their model must already be extremely tight profit wise.

With Curve for example you can load a credit card so it's good for business trips - but it charges 1% Forex. I've got Curve & Revolut - I imagine I'd always use Revolut abroad, but depending on value etc of things bought, there may be a time it's worth paying 1% to use a credit card so I'll take them both with me!

A_T

Marcio45 wrote: »

Yes. Exactly as you say. Although for cash withdrawals there is a limit of £500 with no fee, every month. After that they charge a small fee (think its 2%) but it is still cheaper than a normal debit card.
As you say, it is a really good deal, but i struggle to imagine how they make any money. But fine for me.

Maybe they're trying to build a base of users - then end the card and change it to an inferior product. Like Supercard.