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Review: Is the new metal Revolut card as good as it looks?

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This article is sponsored by Revolut to promote its special sign-up offer for HfP readers

In May 2018 we ran a series of reviews of travel money cards.  This included a review of the Revolut debit card which you can find here.  Revolut has proved popular with people who do not have, or do not want, a separate ‘0% FX fees’ credit card to use when they are travelling.  There are now over 3 million Revolut cardholders across Europe.

Revolut has not sat still since our May 2018 article.  They have been updating their product and launching two new premium variants.  They asked us to take another look at the three different cards the company is now offering, with the carrot of a special offer for HfP readers who sign up.

Revolut has given us a special deal. If you apply for a standard Revolut card via the links in this article and top up £10, you will receive the card for free.  This saves you the £4.99 delivery fee.  Once you’ve tried it out, you can decide whether to upgrade to one of the new premium options.

Revolut metal card review

What is Revolut?

Revolut was founded three years ago.  In the beginning the company promoted itself on the back of a prepaid card which carried 0% foreign exchange fees and let you move money between currencies without charge.

Not only are there no FX transaction fees when spending abroad, but as Revolut uses the interbank rate, you should be getting slightly finer pricing than using a 0% FX fees Visa or Mastercard credit card.  Other cards use a centralised Visa and Mastercard exchange rate which is slightly worse than the interbank rate.  Do note, however, that Revolut adds a small surcharge for foreign currency spend at the weekend as it cannot access a real-time rate.

‘0% FX’ and fee-free money transfers are still a big part of the Revolut model, but the company has shifted its focus towards everyday banking.  It now offers ‘app only’ current accounts with its cards as well as various saving and spending tools.

How does Revolut work?

Revolut now positions itself as a digital current account provider, competing with Starling, Monzo, Atom, N26 and Monese.

You can sign up for FREE on the Revolut website here. You will need to download the Revolut app and verify the account with your phone number.

As Revolut now operates as a current account, you can transfer money in or out using BACS or IBAN.  It is also possible to have your salary paid onto your Revolut card if you wish.

Alternatively, you can add money using a credit card (Mastercard or Visa).  Most credit card companies treat Revolut top-ups as a purchase, not a cash advance, although you should do a trial to test this.  This means that you earn miles and points on the top-up.  Be aware that Tesco Bank does charge cash advance fees if you load your Revolut card from a Tesco Bank credit card and there may be others too.

What are Revolut’s key features?

As a purely online current account provider, Revolut has started with a clean sheet of paper and introduced some interesting features which many High Street banks do not offer:

You get a current account in £ and €, with an IBAN number for EU payments

You can receive instant spending notifications on your smartphone

The app has various budget controls and analytical tools to help you monitor and analyse your spending

There are advanced security features – you can freeze the card via the app, you can block contactless payments, swipe payments, ATM withdrawals, and/or online payments and optional location-based security can block all transaction from a location which is not near your phone

The “Vaults” feature allows you to round up each purchase to the nearest full £1, moving your spare change to a savings account

You can send and request money from your friends – handy if you want to split rent payments, a bill, etc.

And, of course, you can still spend abroad and send money overseas at the real exchange rate

Revolut now operates with 150 currencies, of which the 24 core ones are fee-free up to a limit of £5,000 per month.   On the standard card, there is a 0.5% fee on FX spend or transfers above this level.  You can also withdrawal up to £200 per month from international ATMs with no fees added (£2 fee thereafter).

There is some small print around the ‘0% FX fees’ options.  There is a 0.5% -1.5% mark up at the weekend depending on the currency, which gives Revolut a buffer against losses whilst the currency markets are closed.

Revolut Premium Card

What do you get with the Revolut Premium card upgrade?

For £6.99 per month you can upgrade your card to the Revolut Premium card.  There are four different Premium card designs which you can choose from when you order your card.  Premium removes some of the limits attached to the free Standard card and adds some new benefits:

There is no value or volume cap to your foreign exchange transactions

The card comes with a free ATM withdrawal allowance of £400 per month

As a Premium customer you also get free overseas medical / delayed flight / delayed baggage insurance, free global express delivery, exclusive priority 24/7 customer support and exclusive Premium promotions in addition to everything included in the Standard Account.

Revolut has also moved into the cryptocurrency market for Premium card holders, allowing you to move money into Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash or XRP directly from the app.

A new feature recently introduced is free disposable virtual cards.  This makes your online shopping more secure by creating a new ‘one use’ card number, linked to your main account, every time you make a purchase.

Recently Revolut has added the option for Premium cardholders to purchase airport lounge access through the LoungeKey network via the Revolut app. Entry for one person costs £25 and the money will be taken off your Revolut account when booking via the app.

Revolut metal card review

And now …. the brand new Revolut Metal card

Metal payment cards are all the rage at the moment as you will have seen on Head for Points in recent weeks.  If you have ever wanted to impress your friends with a metal card, this could be the one for you.

Revolut’s newest product is a contactless metal Mastercard. This card comes with all of the Standard and Premium features plus a free ATM withdrawal allowance of £600 per month.  There is also a 24/7 concierge service to help sort out your social life.

With this card you also earn cashback on your day to day spending.  You will get up to 0.1% within Europe and 1% outside Europe.

Revolut Metal card holders get one complimentary LoungeKey airport lounge visit per membership year.

The metal card costs £12.99 per month.  For regular travellers this might actually be better value than the Premium card, since the 1% cashback earned on non-EU purchases could mount up quickly.  

Remember that the 1% cashback on non-EU transactions is on top of the ‘no FX fees’ benefit.  This means, net, you are 4% better off with the metal Revolut card than you would be paying a non-EU bill with a standard credit card with a 3% FX fee and no cashback.

Revolut metal card review

Which Revolut card is best?

Getting a standard Revolut account is free – and with our link you will also get the physical card for free, saving the £4.99 delivery fee – so signing up and giving it a try does not cost you anything.

If you don’t have a 0% FX fees credit card to use while travelling, it is a handy product to keep with your passport even if you don’t want any of the more advanced features.  It is especially useful for younger members of your family who may not qualify for a credit card.

The question is whether you should pay £6.99 or £12.99 per month for added benefits of the Premium or Metal cards.

Looking at the Premium card, you get medical insurance (although you should look carefully at the limits, excesses and exclusions), no FX limits and a higher ATM withdrawal allowance for £6.99 a month.  If you are making substantial currency transfers via Revolut which break the £5,000 monthly cap on the free card then it will clearly be good value.  For everyone else you need to look at the potential saving from the higher ATM allowance and the travel insurance.

The Metal card has a neat design and comes with an even higher ATM withdrawal allowance.  You can earn cashback on your spending which will probably be the key feature for HfP readers.  To justify the additional £6 monthly fee over the Revolut Premium card, you would need to be spending an average of £600 per month outside Europe or £6,000 within Europe to earn £6 cashback.  You also need to factor in any ‘cool’ factor you place on having a metal card in your wallet, of course …..

You can sign up for the standard Revolut card for FREE on the Revolut website here.  Using our exclusive HfP link will remove the £4.99 delivery fee for your card as long as you top-up with £10.  Once you’ve tried it out, you can decide whether to upgrade to Premium or Metal.

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Comments (241)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Aceman says:
    28 Feb28 February 14:07

    I have Revolut Metal, don’t particularly think it’s worth it over premium. Let’s also be very clear, these are NOT metal cards, there some kind of laminated plastic thing, can’t recal the name of the company knocking them out for banks etc but they’re very proud of their non-metal, “metal” cards.

    I had a few bumps with Revolut initially (where is the source of your funds, etc etc) but now they seem to be a bank it might be resolved. I can say that I’m in Asia right now, and having lost my card they sent me a replacement by dhl to my hotel on Thailand which got to me in 3 days, and for free. -not sure if that was because of metal etc though.

    I also managed to lose my starling card (don’t ask…) when I contacted them for a replacement they said they could do it, but for £60….

    • Alex Sm says:
      28 Feb28 February 17:04

      Oh my, this sounds much better than my friend’s experience (he is a senior banker himself). His Revolut stopped working in Singapore, they first tried to convince him that it’s not their fault, then reluctantly agreed to reissue card for free but still charge him 4.99 for delivery (or 9.99 for premium delivery). He went ballistic and made them cancel his account altogether.

      PS and another point of his complaint was that there is no human to talk on the phone at CS 🙂

    • Mary B says:
      1 Mar1 March 16:25

      they just got dinged for missing a lot of money laundering transactions so expect those questions to come back in spades. You can get pretty much all the same benefits from TransferWise (the charges there are about the same as the Revolut monthly charge for my level of spending) without supporting that toxic a company 😉

  • Sh83 says:
    28 Feb28 February 14:14

    Worked for me via the Virgin CC app!! Appeared on Curve too…

  • Boi says:
    28 Feb28 February 14:58

    OT: just received letter from HH Barclaycard that I will no longer be able to pay with curve. I just tried a payment and it went thru. Does that mean sometime in the near future or does that mean they will charge a cash advance? Also, when do their charges normally appear-at time of transaction or at statement generation?

    • Peter K says:
      28 Feb28 February 15:07

      I read the letter that it means you will not be allowed to pay off your Barclaycard using curve. They will block the transaction. I didn’t read it that you can’t use curve linked to your Barclaycard.

      • Andrew L says:
        28 Feb28 February 15:15

        That’s how I read it too. I clearly states that they will not allow you to pay off your credit card balance with Curve. It says nothing about using Curve for purchases or cash withdrawals etc.

      • ankomonkey says:
        28 Feb28 February 17:17

        Agree with Peter K. I had the letter too. A couple of weeks ago my Barclaycard account had forgotten my Curve card from the saved cards list. I tried to re-add it, but failed. I tried to make a payment, but failed. Having had the letter it now feels like I was a tester for their blocking functionality.

        • Alan says:
          28 Feb28 February 17:19

          No letter for me but noted it was removed from my saved cards. Currently refusing any card due their stupid 2 cards per 30 day rule – except >30 days since last successful payment but they seem to count ones that don’t go through too!

      • Anna says:
        28 Feb28 February 17:28

        Been the case with me for a while.

  • James says:
    28 Feb28 February 18:22

    Having used Revolut extensively over the last year people have to remember they are not a bank, not covered under the FSCS. I would advise people to sway more towards Monzo and other companies like that as Revolut can be quite hostile. I have upset them some how that they have revolkednmy access to the service and have not returned all the funds I held in the account. Once bitten twice shy…

    • Lady London says:
      28 Feb28 February 19:03

      You can complain to the Financial Ombudsman.
      Telling them you’re going to do that may make them see that they’d rather stop being so silly and pay your money back. Because otherwise I think the Ombudsman charges them £600 or so just to look at your complaint.

      i was giving Revolut some consideration before I saw the comments above. Now, I’ll pass.

      • James says:
        28 Feb28 February 20:26

        My complaint is already in motion but the ombudsman need 8 weeks before they intervene. The Revolut service is good, just disappointed that if they deem you not worthy of their service they remove access to the service, to your money, to talking to their customer service team. I even got blocked on twitter as I tweeted a negative tweet about them

  • rams1981 says:
    28 Feb28 February 19:24

    I keep having to re-verify my revolut account every few months. Slightly frustrating as prevents usage of funds other than with card.

  • Grant says:
    28 Feb28 February 20:50

    Signed up for the free Revolut card today – topped up fine with £10 from Apple Pay but now I’m at home I can’t get it to top-up from my IHG card.

    I can see that others are topping up with the IHG card fine so it is a case that it is temperamental where it works some days and not others? Try again tomorrow?

    • Andrew L says:
      28 Feb28 February 21:27

      It will only allow me to do small amounts on IHG card. Anything more the £100 at a time declines. Could be that I only opened my Revolut account a few weeks ago but yes, IHG card can be temperamental at times.

    • Alan says:
      28 Feb28 February 21:32

      IHG are pretty strict on cash-like transactions. I’d give it a few days and try again, max £250 or so.

    • Grant says:
      28 Feb28 February 22:32

      Thanks – the app wouldn’t even let me add the card never mind choose how much to top up from it. I’ve have however done my quota of payments to Brighton via Curve this week so that is probably where the problem lies. I was hoping using both Curve and Revolut would allow me to double up on amount I could put through the IHG card per week, but perhaps not.

      • Alan says:
        28 Feb28 February 22:34

        No, it’s all out the same small quasicash allowance.

      • Grant says:
        28 Feb28 February 22:38

        As an aside, I’m glad Revolut can be added to Curve so I don’t need to take the card out in public – the colour scheme and style of the logo on the free card are hideous

    • The Urbanite says:
      28 Feb28 February 22:49

      Creation top ups with Revolut are limited. £200 a day, £700 per week. I still haven’t worked out if a week is per calendar week or rolling 7 days – I think it is the latter.

  • Cathy says:
    1 Mar1 March 07:49

    Having read that I’m going to cancel my card !
    Can’t stand bullies and exploitation!

    • SCurram says:
      1 Mar1 March 11:14

      Where do you stand on money laundering?

      • Andrew L says:
        1 Mar1 March 11:47

        Unless the money is coming from illegal means such as drugs, theft etc, then it’s not money laundering. What we’re doing is money recycling. Nothing illegal about that.

      • Andrew L says:
        1 Mar1 March 13:33

        Thanks for the link that I’ve already seen, but what’s your point? Money recycling is still not money laundering.

      • SCurram says:
        1 Mar1 March 14:54

        Cathy mentioned she was cancelling due to the reports of the company treating people poorly. I wondered if Revolut’s apparent issues with money laundering were perhaps not an even better reason to question adoption. You’ve conflated that with money recycling, a subject I hadn’t mentioned.

  • Wollhouse says:
    1 Mar1 March 12:35

    Hi all,

    Hoping I can tap the more experienced amongst you to see if I’m maximising my card/point collection?

    I have Natwest Private CC which means I have £0 fees on foreign purchases.
    I have a BAPP. (I have already hit my 241 voucher this year)
    I have IHG, Virgin CC, Curve and just got a Revolut.
    I had an Amex Rewards Gold which I cancelled end Nov. (I’m single so I can’t use supp cardholders)
    I have a property in Malta and a tenant who pays rent in euros.

    So, I get my tenant to pay my rent via revolut meaning I can exchange my Euros to £ without incurring bank fees? I think this is the main benefit I see for my having this card unless I use it as an alternative for top ups from virgin if I maxout top ups to curve?

    I link my IHG and Virgin to both revolut and curve and max the atm withdrawals and accrue points. Note- I used my NatWest Black CC to load Revolut and it appears to have been treated as a purchase 🙂

    I can use curve to pay council tax and hmrc
    I can use Amex in the Co-Op to pay council tax (max £200 so painful!)
    Can I use revolut to pay hmrc?

    TBH, I havent actually used any collected points with IHG yet, and have tended to use only when Amex wasn’t accepted. But I do need to go twice a year to Florida, so I’m guessing now that I have the Virgin CC, I’d be better pushing everything to that.

    Any tips for maximising, or corrections if I’ve got something wrong, would be greatly appreciated!

    • Andrew L says:
      1 Mar1 March 13:31

      If you can use Revolut to pay the HMRC I think you’ll be charged a hefty fee for doing so as it’s classed as a prepaid card rather than a debit card. Use Curve to pay HMRC. It’s classed as a debit card hence attracts no additional charges.

    • Genghis says:
      1 Mar1 March 13:47

      “I can use Amex in the Co-Op to pay council tax (max £200 so painful!)”
      It may be £200 per PayPoint transaction but they can put multiple through then you pay once. Not painful at all really.

      • Wollhouse says:
        1 Mar1 March 14:43

        Thanks all. Great to know. And, Genghis, I’ll try this again. I was told last time they could (would??) only do x1 but maybe a different cashier will let me pay with multiple transactions during the same visit. Thanks again

        • Genghis says:
          1 Mar1 March 14:45

          I do it all the time so it is possible, unless the POSes are different?

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