Revolut
Revolut is an account and card you open from your phone in minutes. For us it has become our default travel card: pay in any currency, without the absurd fees of old-school banks.
Why we like it
- Real exchange rate. When you pay in another currency, Revolut applies the interbank rate (the real one), not the inflated one your bank charges. In London, paying in pounds with euros in the account was transparent and free of surprises on the statement.
- Low or no fees. The free plan already covers the essentials; the monthly fee-free exchange allowance is more than enough for a normal trip. No fees for paying abroad.
- Contactless everywhere. We added it to the phone and paid for the London Tube, buses and trains just by tapping — the contactless system worked first time.
- Multi-currency in a single app. You hold balances in several currencies, swap between them when the rate suits you, and see every expense instantly with a notification.
- Security. Freeze and unfreeze the card from the app, create single-use virtual cards and control limits. Lose the physical one and you block it in two taps.
How we use it
We don’t convert our money into the local currency: we use the cards linked directly to our euro accounts and let places charge us in the local currency — Revolut takes care of the conversion. We’ve checked it many times and both the exchange rate and the fees work really well, so we use the card for almost everything. For cash, be sensible: there’s a free monthly ATM allowance.
If you open your account with our link, we both get a small reward once Revolut’s conditions are met.