New user ... have I got this right? UK - USA

[Magpieant]

Hi there.
I’m a relatively new user to Revolut. I’ve got my card and have successfully used it in the UK with my UK British Pound account.

I’m off to the USA in a few weeks and having read the FAQ’s, would like clarification to check I’ve Got this right.

So … firstly I top my card up using my UK bank account. This will then show on my Revolut balance as British Pound.

Whilst in the USA, I use my Revolut card and get the exchange rate stated? (Although I believe I can exchange to US $ earlier if the rate is good??).

Do I pay any fees for this?

I know to use in local currency (US $) but wondered if there are any fees just to use the card, or is it just a simple ‘use at this exchange rate’ calculation?

In the highly unlikely event that I would use my card to withdraw cash from an ATM, am I right in thinking I need to use ‘checking’ or ‘saving’ account and also decline any conversion?

I appreciate I may be staying things that everyone knows, but as a new user I just want to clarify!

Thanks in advance!

[redi]

Whilst in the USA, I use my Revolut card and get the exchange rate stated?

Yes

Although I believe I can exchange to US $ earlier if the rate is good??

Yes

Do I pay any fees for this?

No

Always cancel DCC offer (always choose local currency)

[mirron]

Could be useful to read this blog article too

Always choose to be charged in the local currency!

[dd17]

Just bear in mind:

Most ATM in the US will charge a transaction fee, which if I remember correctly is around $1.00 - 3.00 per withdrawal. Select to withdraw in , not convert to £

If you use the card at the weekend, there is a 0.5% exchange charge. So it might be best to convert to during the week when it is 0% if you are using card at weekend. You can easily change unused back to £.

And be aware that in restaurants, when you add a tip to the receipt this will then often be processed as a second transaction, so it will appear the funds are deducted twice from your account. One of the transactions will then revert back, normally in a day or two and the funds will be available again.

Hope this helps - I’ve had no issues with using Revolut in the US

[moon]

p.s. Coming from country where tipping is not common, this mandatory tipping culture seems weird to me.

[Daidai]

regarding fees:
https://www.revolut.com/fee-schedule

there is a limit of fee-free exchange volume for free users and there is a markup on the weekend (sections “Exchange Rates” and “The Standard Exchange Rates”, for ATM withdrawal: “Revolut Transaction Charges”)

on top something good to know is:
https://www.revolut.com/help/exploring-revolut/spending-and-sending-money/using-my-card/how-will-my-currency-balances-be-deducted-for-spending

[Magpieant]

Wonderful help folks - thank you all so much for your help.

Just one follow up question … What are the hours of the FX Exchange? Is it on US or UK hours?

Thanks again.

[Daidai]

“Forex Trading is available 24 hours a day from 5:00pm ET Sunday through 5:00pm ET on Friday,” (https://www.forex.com/en-us/support/trading-hours/)

conveniently it states the times already in eastern time (GMT -4 hours)

Background information:
As one major forex market closes, another one opens. According to GMT, for instance, forex trading hours move around the world like this: available in New York between 01:00 pm – 10:00 pm GMT; at 10:00 pm GMT Sydney comes online; Tokyo opens at 00:00 am and closes at 9:00 am GMT; and to complete the loop, London opens at 8:00 am and closes at 05:00 pm GMT. This enables traders and brokers worldwide, together with the participation of the central banks from all continents, to trade online 24 hours a day. (https://www.xm.com/trading-hours)

[mirron]

Just a small information here : Forex is open 24h24 and 7d/7 but it’s closed during the week end for Retail traders ( like you and me, …)

So it means that Forex is open during the week end for big players and institutionalized organisation and FX rates can fluctuate over Saturday and Sunday.