I’ve been using the Revolut currency card pretty much since it first started in 2015. Since then, the product has changed a lot. Revolut works entirely through a mobile app, and allows you to open an account and receive a pre-paid card. This can be used globally. The main benefit is the ability to exchange up to 30 currencies at interbank rates (i.e you won’t pay any bank exchange fees). Overall I think it’s a useful product, which is great if you’re a frequent traveller. I’ll explore the pros and cons more below. You can apply to Revolut if you’re a resident of any EU country (or the UK).

The Basics

There are three Revolut currency card product levels – Standard, Premium and Metal. I have previously been a Premium member, but am now a standard member. Standard membership is free. This gives you a free UK Bank Account, a European IBAN and the ability to exchange up to 30 currencies at interbank rates up to an amount of €6,000. You can also withdraw up to €200 without paying any ATM fees (more on this later). At the standard level, it’s a basic product which can be very advantageous if you plan carefully. This Revolut review analyses the membership levels, and to what extent (if at all, they can be advantageous).

Premium offers some additional benefits at a cost of €7.99 a month.  These include overseas medical insurance, delayed baggage and flight insurance, no limit on currency exchanges without a fee, cryptocurrency access and disposable virtual cards. You also obtain LoungeKey Pass access. This benefit, however, is questionable. It’s also possible to withdraw up to €400 without additional ATM fees.

Metal  costs €13.99 a month and will give you all of these benefits plus an ‘exclusive metal card’. In addition you’ll be able to withdraw up to €600 without extra ATM fees. Cashback is also offered on card payments at 0.1% within Europe and 1% outside of Europe.

It’s worth noting that although you will be charged any membership fees on a monthly basis, you do enter into an annual contract. It’s not possible to cancel half way through and receive a refund for any unused months.

The App

You can download the Revolut currency card app through the iphone App Store or the Google Play store for Android. Signing up is fairly easy, and involves submitting identification, but it’s a fairly quick and intuitive process.  Once you’ve signed up, you can manage everything through the App. You can convert currency straight away into EUR, GBP, or USD at interbank rates. You’re able to top up Revolut from your bank account using either a Visa or Mastercard debit or credit card. You can also request a Revolut pre-paid card (the first card is currently free for new members) and send money either to another bank account, or to another user of the app.

The app also allows you to contact customer support through text chat. This can be a fairly slow process if you’re a standard member, but if you’re premium or above, Revolut promise priority support. There are also some nice added features, including budgeting tools, and the ability to open a ‘vault’ which is essentially a savings account (but without interest).

Are the benefits good value?

Metal Level

I personally would not rate the Metal product as particularly good value. I am not particularly fussed about whether or not my cards are plastic or metal. As a result I wouldn’t attach any added value to an ‘exclusive metal card’, but your mileage may vary. I also don’t think that the cashback would equate to an attractive amount. Let’s suppose you are spending €1,000 a month using Revolut. If you spent entirely within Europe that’d equate to €1 of cashback per month. Outside of Europe it’d mean €10 per month.

Assuming you’re only using Revolut when travelling and not on a day-to-day basis, it’d be very hard to get back the monthly fee. This said, if you were planning an extended period outside of Europe and planned to use Revolut as your primary source of spending it could be advantageous. You’d need to make an individual judgement on it.

Premium Level

In terms of the Premium level, I can potentially see the value depending on circumstance. Depending on how you prefer to spend when abroad, the €400 worth of ATM withdrawals without added fees is a potential advantage. The medical cover is also worth having. You should be aware, however, that as a standard member you can also buy insurance through Revolut for €30 per year.  This works out at €2.50 per month if you pay the entire amount upfront (if you want to pay monthly it’s €3 per month).

This essentially means that the monthly cost is reduced to €5.49 so you’d need to decide whether the additional €200 of ATM withdrawals, priority customer support, cryptocurrency access and express card delivery is worth it.

There is of course also the previously mentioned LoungeKey pass. It is true you will receive LoungeKey membership. This does not mean you will be able to visit an airport lounge free of cost though. Essentially it means you will get a discount on any airport lounge entry, but you’ll still need to pay €25 per visit. I do not see this as any sort of benefit. You’d be far better investing in a product like Priority Pass or DragonPass. With a free DragonPass membership, you’d pay less per visit than the LoungeKey fee. DragonPass also have a larger network.

Standard Level

Finally there is the standard product, which I think can definitely be worth considering. Revolut is currently offering new members a free card (link is at the end of this review) instead of the standard €5.99 fee. This essentially means you’re free to try out the product without committing to any fees.

When travelling abroad, I tend to try and use card over cash. In most places, this is easy to do, but in others not so much (looking at you, Argentina). Therefore it is very rare that I’d need to withdraw more than €200. Free still gives you the ability to exchange currency up to €6,000 per month – which again, I’d very rarely need to exceed.

Security

When travelling abroad, everyone knows it’s important to be careful with money and security. I definitely find Revolut helps enable this. The app notifies you when any transactions or withdrawals are made, which means it is super easy to stay on track of things. You’re also able to disable your pre-paid card (and re-enable it, if you want) at any point. This again gives an added element of security and control.

I have only had one occasion when something went wrong, and Revolut handled it well. My card was cloned during a trip, and a couple of weeks after arriving back someone attempted to make a transaction from my account. Revolut instantly flagged it and declined the charge. After a quick chat with their customer support team, it was established that the attempted payment was indeed fraudulent. Subsequently the card was permanently blocked. A free card was sent out to me which arrived within a few days – top marks here.

Final Thoughts

As mentioned above, I am not entirely convinced about the Premium and Metal products. For me they certainly wouldn’t be good value, but you’d need to decide whether in your circumstances they could be.

The free Revolut currency card ‘Standard’ product on the other hand can be incredibly useful when travelling abroad and an excellent way of avoiding expensive bank fees and being in control of your money. The app is easy to use, intuitive and there are lots of features which can be useful. For me €200 of ATM withdrawals without added fees is more than enough. One final note on this topic, the Revolut currency card will not charge you any fees for ATM withdrawals if you are within your limit. You do still have to pay any fees imposed by the ATM itself. If you’re travelling to places like Argentina or Thailand, all ATM’s charge a withdrawal fee, so just be aware of this.

To sign up to Revolut, click through to their website here for a free card. It’s a good deal if you want to try out the product.