Revolut Travel Card Review [2024]

The Standard plan

Revolut is one of the best travel cards available for Australians. So what makes it so good? For a start, the Revolut Standard plan is entirely free with no monthly subscription costs or hidden fees.

You’ll get great value when converting your money since Revolut, like the Wise card, uses one of the best exchange rates globally: the interbank rate.

Unlike Wise, Revolut doesn’t charge conversion fees for weekday exchanges (except for Thai baht and Ukrainian hryvnia), making Revolut the best card option for midweek currency exchanges.

This affordability makes the Revolut card worth having if you’re likely to make most of your purchases with the card. However, if you rely on ATM withdrawals, it may not be your best choice. Revolut limits free ATM withdrawals to just A$350, or 5 ATM withdrawals per monthly billing cycle, whichever happens first, before imposing a 2% markup(minimum charge of A$1.50).

The average Trustpilot review for Revolut is 4.3 stars with many users saying they love the easy-to-use app and the ability to track their spending. However the most common complaints centre around limited customer support.

Treat your Revolut card as a prepaid travel card. As long as you have money in your Revolut account, you can use the card to make payments and withdraw cash almost anywhere in the world. You can also use it to shop online.

Revolut allows you to store 25+ currencies (although the list is continuing to grow) and you can transfer between them to lock in a favourable exchange rate before you travel.

While it doesn’t cost anything to open an account and there is no subscription fee for a Standard plan, there are still certain charges to look out for, especially when you go over your spending limits.

• Opening an account: Free
• Getting your Revolut card: Get your first card with your Standard account ($4.99 standard delivery fee). Additional cards are A$8.99 + delivery fee
• Replacing a lost or stolen Revolut card
  • A$8.99 + A$4.99 per card for standard delivery
  • A$33.99 per card for express delivery
• Adding money:
  • From Australian-issued debit cards and Australian bank accounts: Free
  • From Australian-issued credit cards: Up to 1% of the transaction amount
  • From debit and credit cards issued outside of Australia: Up to 2% of the transaction amount
• Spending money: Free but on weekends there is a 1% markup on transactions that require a currency exchange (see currency conversion fee below)
• Currency Conversion: For all currencies excluding THB and UAH:
  • Free for up to A$2,000 per month during exchange market hours
  • 0.5% of the value of the exchange for any amount over A$2,000 per month
  • 1% of the value of the exchange for exchanges made outside exchange market hours
  • For THB and UAH: 1% of the value of the exchange
• Withdrawing from an ATM (Not including any fees the ATM provider may charge)
  • 5 withdrawals or a total of A$350 (whatever comes first) in a rolling month: Free
  • Any amount over A$350/month, or 5 ATM withdrawals per month, whichever comes first: 2% of the value of the withdrawal(minimum charge of A$1.50)

While spending limits can feel like a hassle, they exist to prevent fraud and provide additional security should you lose your card. You can change your spending limits within the app.

There are just two limits to watch out for in the Revolut Standard plan. The first is a A$2,000 currency exchange limit per month

The second — the ATM withdrawal limit — is restrictive, even by prepaid travel card standards. You can only withdraw up to A$350, or 5 ATM withdrawals, whichever comes first in any rolling 30 days without charge. After that, there’s a 2% markup(minimum charge of A$1.50) on all withdrawals.

When it comes to exchange rates, few travel cards surpass Revolut. It can hold 25+ currencies, there are no conversion fees for most weekday exchanges, and Revolut uses the interbank exchange rate, which is one of the best rates globally.

The flip side is that there is a fee of 1% for foreign currency conversions on the weekend when the markets are closed (Friday 5pm to Sunday 6pm New York Time).

Revolut has 3 account plans, ranging from free to paid accounts but to give you the best travel card comparison, we’ll focus on the Revolut Standard plan.

Revolut Australia offers 3 account plans to cater to different budgets and needs. Revolut Standard is a free account that covers the basics but it also imposes tighter spending and exchange limits.

Revolut Premium and Metal are paid plans with more features and greater flexibility but you may be charged a fee if you choose to downgrade your account more than 14 days after signing up and within 10 months.

Because of this, we recommend starting with the Standard plan and upgrading if you decide the additional features are worth it.

According to the Revolut website, you can use your Revolut card in more than 200 countries worldwide. Card payments and ATM withdrawals are accepted in more than 130 currencies.

Despite this, you can actually only hold 25+ currencies in your account. Once you’ve loaded Australian Dollars into your account, you can exchange them for any of the following currencies:

AED, AUD, BGN, CAD, CHF, CZK, DKK, EUR, GBP, HKD, HUF, ILS, JPY, MXN, NOK, NZD, PLN, QAR, RON, SAR, SEK, SGD, THB, TRY, USD, ZAR.

Can Revolut be used in Australia?

Your Revolut card works just like a bank card in Australia. With it, you can make payments in local stores, withdraw from local ATMs, and send money to local banks.

But it’s worth keeping in mind that the same spending limits apply whether you’re using your card in Australia or overseas. You may prefer to use a debit card from your Australian bank for purchases and withdrawals in Australia.

The Revolut app is a godsend when it comes to tracking your daily expenses overseas and managing payments in different currencies. It’s the perfect modern travel payment solution for the 21st century.

Revolut has refined its app, making it easy to create an account, load money, and view your account activities. You can exchange currency within the app and transfer money to Australian and international bank accounts.

Revolut embraces digital payment technology. While Revolut cards are compatible with digital wallets like Apple and Google Pay, the app also enables disposable virtual card technology for online payments.

This means that you can add single-use virtual cards to your account to use in addition to your physical card. Once you’ve made a payment online, the card will be destroyed and the number replaced, making it impossible to use them more than once.