How does the Revolut compare with the UK Nationwide FlexPlus Debit card and Select credit cards?
FlexPlus Debit Card does not charge any fees for ATM cash withdrawals abroad. But there is a £10/month account fee which includes EU car breakdown cover and worldwide mobile phone insurance in Europe and a couple of others. Fee also offset by account earning interest.
Select Credit card does not add any fees for purchases abroad.
As I see it, the main advantage of Revolut is to make payments to foreign banks at a very good rate without the usual bank fee, eg Nationwide charges £9 for a SEPA payment. Am I correct on that??
Hi, I have the same accounts. Nationwide use Visa so the exchange rate is slightly lower. Revolut shows pending transactions which annoyingly nationwide do not. If the exchange rates get better you could lock that rate in on revolut.
I too have a FlexPlus account (the packaged benefits are very good value) but I have used it for Spanish ATM withdrawals and there were no unpleasant surprises. For foreign purchases I use a Halifax Clarity credit card which is still an MSE best buy: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/travel-credit-cards
The thing that attracted me to Revolut was the idea of being able to lock-in an exchange rate and hedge against the pound dropping further once Brexit is triggered. I had planned to convert quite a lot to USD but there have been too many stories on here from people who have had money go missing for my liking. I recommend everyone has a good read of the Ts & Cs and understands exactly what liability Revolut has if your money goes missing (absolutely none!).
I’m also looking into an HSBC currency account or Lloyds International account which, for £7.50 a month, lets you hold both Euros and USD.