Using Revolut abroad

ethicalinvestor

When using a Revolut card in EU , Is it necessary to transfer money into Euros in advance , or can I use my Revolut card like any other bank card and allow them to get the best transaction rate?

daveyjp

Use it as you would a debit card, but choose to pay in local currency.

However be aware Revolut is a poor option for spending abroad, they aren't a registered UK bank so you have very little financial protection if things don't go to plan.  There are better protected options with no forex fees.  Starling, Monzo to name two.

saajan_12

You can do it either way, they'll use the same type of rate whether you convert ahead of time or at the point of transaction. Slight caveat that they charge more for weekend conversions, so if youll have a big spend on a weekend when away, you're ~1% better off exchanging it ahead of time. Still better than the rate / fee you get with most standard bank cards though. 

Newbie_John

Monday - Friday - you don't need to do that, you can pay with your UK money. Weekend is when it flips, as Revolut charges 1% (or more now?) conversion fee, so better to use EUR instead (obvs if you pay in Euro )

But with other options - Chase has no problems with weekends and pays you 1% back on top of that. There's also a card called Curve that you can use with any card that you have (even Revolut :😅).
Both don't charge anything abroad.

heatherw_01

This board is just for posting travel deals, so I have requested it be moved to the main board 

gottfrieden

I've been using Revolut for quite a while now (cheapest card), and basically the way it works is: 

- you add money in your usual currency on your account
- you transfer it into the local currency of the country you're travelling to

This way, you make sure you're enjoying the best rate. It seems that they charge more if they change your currencies into the local one for every transaction.  

Voyager2002

Newbie_John said:

Monday - Friday - you don't need to do that, you can pay with your UK money. Weekend is when it flips, as Revolut charges 1% (or more now?) conversion fee, so better to use EUR instead (obvs if you pay in Euro )

But with other options - Chase has no problems with weekends and pays you 1% back on top of that. There's also a card called Curve that you can use with any card that you have (even Revolut :😅).
Both don't charge anything abroad.

Curve has now started charging: their terms change frequently and are complicated.