Revolut Card

The Revolut Card is available to holders of a Revolut account and comes in both physical and virtual form. The physical card is issued on Visa in the UK and most markets. The underlying exchange rate is the interbank rate (not mid-market, but close to it) sourced from global FX markets during weekday trading hours. On weekends (Friday 23:00 to Sunday 23:00 UTC), when interbank FX markets are closed, Revolut applies a surcharge of 0.5% on Standard plan and 1% on some currencies to compensate for its hedging costs. Premium and Metal plan holders have this weekend surcharge removed.

The plan tier structure is central to understanding Revolut's travel card value. Standard (free): £200/month free ATM, mid-market rate on weekdays with weekend surcharge, 1% fair usage fee above £1,000/month exchange. Plus (£3.99/month): £200 ATM allowance, lower fair usage thresholds. Premium (£7.99/month): £400 ATM free, no weekend surcharge, travel insurance included. Metal (£14.99/month): £800 ATM free, cashback on spending, concierge service. Ultra (£55/month): Unlimited ATM, airport lounge access, extensive travel perks.

For Standard plan holders who travel occasionally and keep FX spending below £1,000/month, the weekday rate is genuinely competitive — often matching or beating Wise for straightforward currency pairs. The weekend surcharge is the main practical limitation: if you check into a hotel on Friday night and the conversion happens after midnight, you're on the weekend rate. This is not always visible in real time in the app.

The Revolut card works as a spending card only — it cannot be used to transfer money internationally in the same way as a bank card. But the linked Revolut account's multi-currency capability and international transfer features (via Wise infrastructure for external bank transfers) make the overall ecosystem one of the most complete in travel finance.

A distinctive practical feature: the virtual card is available immediately upon account creation, meaning you can add it to Apple Pay or Google Pay and start using it internationally before the physical card arrives. For digital payments and contactless tap, this is an immediate convenience.

Revolut's growing breadth of non-financial travel features — hotel and flight booking within the app, travel insurance coverage (on Premium+), and airport lounge access (on Metal/Ultra) — creates a travel-companion app rather than just a payment card. Whether these bundled services justify the plan cost depends on how frequently they would otherwise be purchased separately.