Anyone Used the Revolut app/bank for holidays

jbrassy

Revolut used to be good, but the monthly restrictions on the free account mean it's no longer worth it in my opinion. As others have said as well, the customer service is not great. I stopped using it a few years ago and advise others to avoid. 

I would recommend Barclaycard Rewards credit card for spending and Starling Bank debit card for ATM withdrawals (and as a backup). Both have worked well for me over several foreign trips. First Direct and Chase are also excellent choices. 

Bizzywizard

I used my Halifax Clarity credit card abroad. Its great, used it since 2019.
Just pay it off once back in the UK the following month, so no fees are incurred.

prettyandfluffy

We found that because it isn't a true bank card it can be declined because it's treated more as as prepayment card; it wasn't accepted for paying for fuel at an unmanned service station in France - on multiple occasions - so we used a normal credit card which was fine.  If you decide to use it, make sure you understand all the fee structures and have a suitable credit card as backup.

friolento

Bizzywizard said:

I used my Halifax Clarity credit card abroad. Its great, used it since 2019.
Just pay it off once back in the UK the following month, so no fees are incurred.

I believe they charge for cash withdrawals, whether at home or abroad

[Deleted User]

flaneurs_lobster said:

400ixl said:

My advice would be don't. They are not a bank, have a poor reputation and poor ethics.

Beware of their fees to load money at certain times etc.

You can achieve far more reliable services with Credit and debit cards with no fees and spot rate exchange rates.

All that is true, however....

My partner has a Revolut card/account just for use while travelling/holidaying abroad. They have an everyday current account that does not offer a fee-free card for overseas transactions, and have no desire or intention to open/apply for any more accounts or credit cards that might.

It does the job.

Good luck if you have any issues on your vacation month away with Rita chatbot. I never had any major issues with the cards to be fair but asked Rita chatbot to do a basic admin function and it took circa 5 attempts. I can only imagine what would happen if I had a real problem.

I would take (at least) a fee free debit card (e.g. Chase, Starling) and credit card (e.g. Barclaycard Rewards, The NatWest Credit Card. Keeping Revolut for emergency usage only.

flaneurs_lobster

[Deleted User] said:

I would take (at least) a fee free debit card (e.g. Chase, Starling) and credit card (e.g. Barclaycard Rewards, The NatWest Credit Card. Keeping Revolut for emergency usage only.

Your (and others) advice to have more than one payment method when abroad is well made. My partner uses the Revolut card for daily spends and ATM if required. It's backed up by a (non fee free) debit card and a Platinum Amex charge (gave us 6 airport lounge entries in 3 weeks this month when travelling Economy).

These days we usually travel together so my cards (Chase, Kroo, Amex credit & charge, RBS credit & debit) covers other spend.

Sadly the old traveller's advice of always having a $100 bill tucked down (or, indeed, up) somewhere secret since this would be enough to get you out of most places in an emergency has been rather eroded by inflation. Still do it though, its become a bit if a talisman.

Doshwaster

friolento said:

Bizzywizard said:

I used my Halifax Clarity credit card abroad. Its great, used it since 2019.
Just pay it off once back in the UK the following month, so no fees are incurred.

I believe they charge for cash withdrawals, whether at home or abroad

That's right but if you pay off the balance quickly- don't wait for the monthly statement -  then the interest will be minimal, it's something like a few pence per £100 per day. I use Starling as my main travel card but Clarity is a useful backup for emergencies - just don't keep all of your cards in the same purse/wallet in case it goes missing.

liamster

flaneurs_lobster said:

[Deleted User] said:

I would take (at least) a fee free debit card (e.g. Chase, Starling) and credit card (e.g. Barclaycard Rewards, The NatWest Credit Card. Keeping Revolut for emergency usage only.

Your (and others) advice to have more than one payment method when abroad is well made. My partner uses the Revolut card for daily spends and ATM if required. It's backed up by a (non fee free) debit card and a Platinum Amex charge (gave us 6 airport lounge entries in 3 weeks this month when travelling Economy).

These days we usually travel together so my cards (Chase, Kroo, Amex credit & charge, RBS credit & debit) covers other spend.

Sadly the old traveller's advice of always having a $100 bill tucked down (or, indeed, up) somewhere secret since this would be enough to get you out of most places in an emergency has been rather eroded by inflation. Still do it though, its become a bit if a talisman.

Thanks for all the replys, very helpful indeed. I do use the Halifax Clarity card  when away but like the option of using a debit card or cash to keep the credit card bill down a bit I also find if  purchasing a few items when away I can still get a decent discount when using cash and the revolut card only allowing £200 a month without paying a monthly fee for the account along with the reasons given by some of the answers on this thread have convinced me to look at other options. I did like the Idea of buying and loading sterling onto the debit card if the exchange rate was good but it seems the card then may be refused or frozen when away from home so I think I'll move on.
Thanks for the advise
L

bioboybill

I've just been away in Spain for 30 days. I mostly used my Chase card and got 1% cashback on transactions, but I also had my Halifax Clarity, Monzo and Revolut card and used all of those to pay in Euros with no problems. It's always a good idea to have a few choices in case of problems or if a card gets declined for whatever reason.All of those card have great exchange rates. The £200 limit with Revolut only applies to ATM withdrawals. It's actually £200 or 5 withdrawals, whichever comes first.

I also have all of those added to my Yougov Finance account, so good to have a few transactions on each for that. If you have a Halifax Reward account Revolut allows you to add £500 to your account through your Halifax Reward debit card to qualify for £5 cashback from Halifax each month in true MSE style.😉

Chris_in_Ashtead

friolento said:

Bizzywizard said:

I used my Halifax Clarity credit card abroad. Its great, used it since 2019.
Just pay it off once back in the UK the following month, so no fees are incurred.

I believe they charge for cash withdrawals, whether at home or abroad

I've been using the Halifax Clarity card for many years now, and although it's good for purchases overseas they do charge interest on cash withdrawals from the day you take it until it's fully repaid.

I've just applied for the Barclaycard Reward card, which does everything the Clarity card does but you have until the next payment due date to pay off cash withdrawals before interest is charged.