Hi,
I’ve looked at the FAQ and am still unclear as to whether there is an advantage in respect to fees in using a Revolut card in a country (specifically Croatia in this case) where the local currency is not supported by Revolut.
So the questions are:
If I load the Revolut card with GBP, am I likely to get a better rate than my UK Visa Debit card when withdrawing Kuna in Croatia?
If I load the Revolut card with GBP, convert to EUR, am I likely to get a better rate than my UK Visa Debit card when withdrawing Kuna in Croatia?
(I know to not allow the cash machine to to the conversion for me)
I know the answer will probably be “it depends”, but looking for general guidance eg. whether it’s usually better, or mostly just the same as a UK debit card in terms of charges.
My assumption was that there’s probably no reason to use Revolut in this case - if someone could confirm that would be great.
So the answer is yes - its going to be better to use your Rev card - certainly in the week anyway. At weekends when the rate is poorer its debatable.
You will still get the benefit of interbank exchange rates - all you will lose is the ability to buy and hold local currency during the weekend to avoid the weekend markup.
And also depends on the exchange rate used by your UK Visa card - does it use the official Visa exchange rate or your bank’s special exchange rate (like my bank have their own exchange rates) also does your bank charges a conversion fee (2 years ago my bank was charging 2% on each currency exchange). If your card is using the Visa official exchange rates and no additional fees then you are good with it except probably for withdrawals which in Revolut is free for the first 200pounds or euro (need to check) per month. But if your bank as mine charges you something different then Revolut will save you some money. As was mentioned above - avoid exchanging at weekends as at that time there is additional 0.5-1% charge due to the fact that the market is closed.
So just topup your base account and use card within work days, and withdraw HRK before weekend then pay by cash😉 (please remember to avoid Euronet if you have only MasterCard)
I don’t see any value in using Revolut for spending in currencies in which you can’t hold a balance. GBP-based users would be better off with Tandem, which uses MasterCard’s rates and gives 0.5% cashback. With Revolut, not only do you lose the possibility to earn 0.5% cashback, but you also have to pay a 0.5% surcharge at weekends.
But for balance currencies, Revolut is a winner. If you understand the FX markets and get it right, then you can buy your destination’s currency at an optimal rate, which can save you far more than 0.5%. For this reason, I hope that Revolut continues to expand its impressive list of balance currencies.
Of course is not worth it, that is why I use only then traveling.
As my cards are in BGN and I’m spending locally in BGN all transaction have to pass via double conversation BGN-EUR-BGN so I will lose a bit every time. Not to mention on weekends when it will be worse! So there is no reason using on daily basis, over my bank card if it does not support my currency!
It is not looking good when have other priorities than at least give support for all currencies accounts in EU/EEA as it is an official provider in the same!
If you get paid in EUR to your REV account and then pay in BGN during working hours I’ve noticed that they actually give better rate EUR>BGN than my Bulgarian bank. Which is kinda awesome.
In this case it’s worth it.
Also looking forward to BGN balances though so I can pay at the good rate even after working hours.
only then traveling.