Revolut - Ultracheap FX (prepaid Mastercard)

Wheety

Is there no free card at the moment? Reckon that offer will come back?

Charging €5.99 for delivery.

This is a first card, on my wife's Revolut account.

tylercheribini

Wheety wrote: »

Is there no free card at the moment? Reckon that offer will come back?

Charging €5.99 for delivery.

This is a first card, on my wife's Revolut account.

It'll pay for itself very quickly.

igCorcaigh

Wheety wrote: »

Is there no free card at the moment? Reckon that offer will come back?

Charging €5.99 for delivery.

This is a first card, on my wife's Revolut account.

They repeat the offer every few months. Just keep an eye on your email.

long_b

Has anyone raised the "incorrect payee details" bug with Revolut support?

Grassey

Wheety wrote: »

Is there no free card at the moment? Reckon that offer will come back?

I signed up in May/June used it a few times, got an in app offer for a card after 4 weeks, card arrived the next week in the post.

Wheety

Grassey wrote: »

I signed up in May/June used it a few times, got an in app offer for a card after 4 weeks, card arrived the next week in the post.

You used the virtual card for a while and were then offered the physical?

Gooser14

I have transferred a Stg amount to my Revolut account & will be spending the money in Ireland (Euro). Should I now exchange the Stg to Euro or leave it in Stg? If the advice is to leave it in Stg what is the logic for doing so?

CelticRambler

TheBody wrote: »

Leave it as euro's. That's the whole point of the card. It will convert it for you regardless of where you are in the world. (The only exception to this is at the weekends when the exchange rate is a bit worse.)

If you know you're travelling, it can make sense to buy in advance. I'm heading to the states in the autumn, but swapped sterling for USD back in the spring at a rate of 1.41 GBP-USD compared to the current 1.31


Obviously this is only a significant advantage if you're spending quite a bit, but what I've saved on USD-reservations has more or less paid for my (Norwegian) flight. :cool:

Grassey

Wheety wrote:

You used the virtual card for a while and were then offered the physical?

Yup, used virtual for amazon etc and figured I'd wait for the physical as I didn't need it... Now that I have it I'm using it almost exclusively for in shop purchases.

Wheety

Grassey wrote: »

Yup, used virtual for amazon etc and figured I'd wait for the physical as I didn't need it... Now that I have it I'm using it almost exclusively for in shop purchases.

Yeah I use my own every day, in conjunction with the vault. The wife is in no hurry to use this and I pushed her to get at. She'll be in the UK in October so would be handy if she had it by then.

I'll tell her to stick with the virtual for now.

Thephantomsmask

I really like the vault feature. I have an 4x accumulator set up so that I can use the savings for my holiday spending money next month without any transfer before going. It builds up nicely from all the small in store transactions.

troyzer

correct horse battery staple wrote: »

Seems Ulster Bank app doesn't like their iban? Keeps saying invalid iban, anyone faced this issue

A British IBAN doesn't have the same number of digits. Some Irish banks don't accept non-Irish IBANs because they were cheap when it came to the SEPA swapover and decided to just convert IBANs into traditional account and sort code for their own IT back end.

Just give them a ring and they can often do it manually for you.

frozenfrozen

I've just been given access to cryptocurrencies on there must be part of a beta, anyway the options are very low. I have a small holding of stellar lumens and they don't have that option. they say your crypto holdings won't be secured.

Quackster

correct horse battery staple wrote: »

I have to say the app and whole setup/verification process is very nifty, well done to them, ordered my physical card, so questions to heavy users:

1. I pretty much want this card for security features after being scimmed, how quickly does the freeze/unfreeze functionality work in practice as in of i tap unfreeze on my phone (4g connected) and in next minute go to pay for something it would accept the now unfrozen card?

2. When travelling to US is there any point in converting to USD balance? just leave in euro and let them convert on spot? any issues using in hotels, restaurants etc there?

3. Is the cryptocurrency functionality any good? Ive some coins on my secure hardware wallet, can i load my card with coins? this is secondary however to 1 and 2 above, i rather not trust a 3rd party with any of my coins, sorta defies the purpose of them

1: The freeze/unfreeze is absolutely instantaneous. I have unfreezed and put a transaction through a matter of seconds later.

2: Convert in advance if you want to beat the slightly poorer exchange rates at the weekend. Otherwise, it makes no odds.

3: It's not really a proper cryptocurrency wallet as you can't transfer crypto in and out or directly spend it. You can only buy and sell crypto within the app.

msmx5

correct horse battery staple wrote: »

.
2. When travelling to US is there any point in converting to USD balance? just leave in euro and let them convert on spot? any issues using in hotels, restaurants etc there?
.

Generally no issue using in restaurants, bars and hotels. I've saved a fortune on exchange fees using revolut on trips to the US.

In addition to Quackster's comments:-
Beware (or rather be aware!) of adding tips onto a bill by writing it onto the printed receipt after presenting your card as this often this leads to two transactions 1st one to secure the initial bill amount (This normally remains "pending" in the app for up to 10 days before disappearing) and a second transaction for the full amount including tip. You'll need double the available credit + tip on your account to facilitate the final amount [incidentally this behaviour is not unique to revolut, its the same with all cards but as a regular credit card will probably have sufficient credit limit to cover both transactions you never notice it]

Same goes for hotels, when you check in your card is often swiped to cover an amount for the accommodation and potential extras then a final settlement is made on checkout. Depending on how the hotel processes the second transaction you can end up with a pending transaction for 10 days also which ties up funds on your account until it disappears. A tip for hotels is to present a different/regular credit card for the authorisation then insist on using the Revolut card to settle the bill on checkout. This approach can also be used for car hire, where most will not accept prepaid cards when reserving/collecting the car so present a regular credit card then use the Revolut card to pay the final amount when returning the car.

Other notes for the US,
Petrol/Gas stations: many require you to swipe the card at the pump before starting to fill up. Generally prepaid cards are not accepted for this either so you will need to go inside and authorise a certain amount eg $30 (gas is cheap over there). Then return after filling up and finalise the amount. Its a good bit of hassle!
Lots of stores don't use chip-and-pin so make sure you have not disabled mag strip payments in the security part of the app. Also be prepared to sign for transactions.

ZIP code: Some machines (NY Metrocard vending machines for example) request a ZIP code, try 00000 or 99999. These aren't always successful though.

igCorcaigh

Is there any advantage in using revolut when purchasing from Amazon UK over my bank debit card? I'm thinking in terms of €/£ conversion.

TIA!

Dardania

igCorcaigh wrote: »

Is there any advantage in using revolut when purchasing from Amazon UK over my bank debit card? I'm thinking in terms of €/£ conversion.

TIA!

Yes - that exact reason.
However, be careful - further up the thread you will see report about people having temporary blocks on their Revolut until whatever they're buying ships (as far as I remember), and the temporary block expiring, with new transaction occurring. In a normal credit card this isn't a problem, nor is it a problem if you regularly have a decent high balance on your revolut, but it may cause issues if you only have the precise amount for the transaction on your revolut.
Solution: Keep a buffer on your revolut (so double what you need to spend) or buy amazon gift card.
Personally, I've never experienced this problem, but I have auto top up to my revolut so possibly it does occur and I just don't see it.

igCorcaigh

Dardania wrote: »

Yes - that exact reason.
However, be careful - further up the thread you will see report about people having temporary blocks on their Revolut until whatever they're buying ships (as far as I remember), and the temporary block expiring, with new transaction occurring. In a normal credit card this isn't a problem, nor is it a problem if you regularly have a decent high balance on your revolut, but it may cause issues if you only have the precise amount for the transaction on your revolut.
Solution: Keep a buffer on your revolut (so double what you need to spend) or buy amazon gift card.
Personally, I've never experienced this problem, but I have auto top up to my revolut so possibly it does occur and I just don't see it.

Good info.
Thanks for that.

Spocker

Dardania wrote: »

Yes - that exact reason.
However, be careful - further up the thread you will see report about people having temporary blocks on their Revolut until whatever they're buying ships (as far as I remember), and the temporary block expiring, with new transaction occurring. In a normal credit card this isn't a problem, nor is it a problem if you regularly have a decent high balance on your revolut, but it may cause issues if you only have the precise amount for the transaction on your revolut.
Solution: Keep a buffer on your revolut (so double what you need to spend) or buy amazon gift card.
Personally, I've never experienced this problem, but I have auto top up to my revolut so possibly it does occur and I just don't see it.

This happened to me a couple of times, so I've adjusted my buying process on Amazon to be this:

• add what you want to your basket, and go all the way through the checkout process to the last page to get the final price (remembering Amazon only adjust the VAT on the last page)
• open a new tab, go to your Amazon account, and buy a gift card/top-up for the required amount. It can take a minute or two to go through.
• wait for the gift card amount to be debited from your Revolut
• on the second tab (because the first one doesn't automatically update) go through the checkout process again, and this time you'll have an option to pay with your gift card balance, and you're done

*Caveat - if you wait too long, theres a *very slight* possibility the price of what you're buying might change, either up or down, but I've never seen it happen TBH

msmx5

Spocker wrote: »

-- Recommendation to use Amazon gift card purchased with Revolut to avoid complications with holds and Amazon's habit of charging per item when shipping

I second this approach!

MarkY91

Dardania wrote: »

Yes - that exact reason.
However, be careful - further up the thread you will see report about people having temporary blocks on their Revolut until whatever they're buying ships (as far as I remember), and the temporary block expiring, with new transaction occurring. In a normal credit card this isn't a problem, nor is it a problem if you regularly have a decent high balance on your revolut, but it may cause issues if you only have the precise amount for the transaction on your revolut.
Solution: Keep a buffer on your revolut (so double what you need to spend) or buy amazon gift card.
Personally, I've never experienced this problem, but I have auto top up to my revolut so possibly it does occur and I just don't see it.

How much would you Isabel though? I don't know how to make it out.

I have laptop coking from Amazon that cost about £450. I paid in pounds using my revolut. I don't know how much I saved as opposed to using my AIB visa debit.

Dardania

MarkY91 wrote: »

Dardania wrote: »

Yes - that exact reason.
However, be careful - further up the thread you will see report about people having temporary blocks on their Revolut until whatever they're buying ships (as far as I remember), and the temporary block expiring, with new transaction occurring. In a normal credit card this isn't a problem, nor is it a problem if you regularly have a decent high balance on your revolut, but it may cause issues if you only have the precise amount for the transaction on your revolut.
Solution: Keep a buffer on your revolut (so double what you need to spend) or buy amazon gift card.
Personally, I've never experienced this problem, but I have auto top up to my revolut so possibly it does occur and I just don't see it.

How much would you Isabel though? I don't know how to make it out.

I have laptop coking from Amazon that cost about £450. I paid in pounds using my revolut. I don't know how much I saved as opposed to using my AIB visa debit.

that's part of the problem. it's not the easiest to understand with AIB, however let's try.

From: https://aib.ie/fxrates-calculator If I enter E520, I see they will give me GBP449.80. I also see they'll charge me E5.20 commission (although that figure might be different for a card transaction compared to the branch transaction)
From: https://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/convert/?Amount=520&From=EUR&To=GBP (using xe.com as Revolut seem to use the same FX rates or close enough) I see that E520 will buy me GBP463
So using revolut could leave you better off by GBP13 + whatever the foreign currency transaction cost on your card is (E2 or E3?)

Edit: it seems from here: https://aib.ie/content/dam/aib/personal/docs/fees-and-charges/schedule-of-international-transaction-charges.pdf that it's 1.75% for the card charge, minimum E0.75, max E11

msmx5

MarkY91 wrote: »

How much would you Isabel though? I don't know how to make it out.

I have laptop coking from Amazon that cost about £450. I paid in pounds using my revolut. I don't know how much I saved as opposed to using my AIB visa debit.

From AIB [URL="From https://aib.ie/content/dam/aib/personal/docs/fees-and-charges/schedule-of-international-transaction-charges.pdf Page 4 Currency Conversion Fee 1.75% of euro value From £450"]schedule-of-international-transaction-charges.pdf[/URL] Page 4, Debit Card Currency Conversion Fee is 1.75% of euro value

So based on yesterdays rates for £450 you'd have saved around a tenner.


£ FX € Saving 02/08/2018
450 1.1246 506.07 Revolut Rate
- - - - -
450 1.129091 €508.09 Mastercard
1.75% €8.89 (with 1.75% fee)
€516.98 €10.91
- - - - -
450 1.125796 €506.61 Visa
1.75% €8.87 (with 1.75% fee)
€515.47 €9.40


FX rated from:- Visa and Mastercard websites, Revolut rate was a mean rate for yesterday (you could have got 1.121 which would have give an even better saving).

MarkY91

Thanks alot guys for the in depth replies. I went onto AIB website but couldn't really understand it all. I'll definitely be using revolut as my main card slot of the time from now on. I'll be in Belfast on Sunday for the night. I already have some sterling on my card ready to use

Kitty6277

Would the Revolut card be better to get than the An Post fx card? I'll be living in the UK for a few months and I don't want to end up paying banking charges for using my debit card over there. Does anyone have an opinion on which of these would be better?

Lucas Hood

Kitty6277 wrote: »

Would the Revolut card be better to get than the An Post fx card? I'll be living in the UK for a few months and I don't want to end up paying banking charges for using my debit card over there. Does anyone have an opinion on which of these would be better?

Revolut without doubt. That is really what it is intended for.

Top up using your debit card and it won't cost you anything unless you take out cash at ATM and it's a 2% charge then I think.

Kitty6277

Lucas Hood wrote: »

Revolut without doubt. That is really what it is intended for.

Top up using your debit card and it won't cost you anything unless you take out cash at ATM and it's a 2% charge then I think.

I couldn't manage to find an answer to this on the app, but I'd top up in euro, and then spend in the UK in pounds, yeah? It'll just convert the same way your regular bank card would? (Only without the fees)

Fingers Mcginty

Yoiu are allowed to withdraw 200 Euros without charge. Every other transaction is charged at 2% of the ammount you withdraw. That's the way it was for me in China.

J_A_F_A

Fingers Mcginty wrote: »

Yoiu are allowed to withdraw 200 Euros without charge. Every other transaction is charged at 2% of the ammount you withdraw. That's the way it was for me in China.

You forgot to mention that that's per month.

Fingers Mcginty

J_A_F_A wrote: »

You forgot to mention that that's per month.

oh yes per month