So you've booked your holiday...mission completed!
Next step, how do you make your hard-earned cash go that further mile whilst on holiday? Here at BM Travel, we have always been asked what is the best way to take money abroad for holidays and business.
In the last few years, we’ve seen numerous Fintech companies emerging and giving traditional banks a run for their money. We now have a good variety of options readily available to us which helps save on our holiday buck and make it last a bit longer!
My personal favorite for several years has been Revolut. I love this card!
The main reason is, you get great exchanges rates without paying a single dime in fees. They use the interbank exchange rate for your foreign currency, so you will always get the best rate going.
What I also like about Revolut is that you can buy currency when you think rates are high. For example, the current rate (28-Dec-19) for the Euro is €1.17 on Revolut, which is pretty good. It had spiked to €1.20 just before Christmas! This way you can slowly buy currency as and when you want or buy a lump sum if you wish. What makes this even better is the fact that there are no fees and the rates are substantially better than the high streets. You have 150 currencies to choose from, the world is your oyster and Revolut is by your side!
Once you have your money loaded and in the currency you require, you just use the card like any other card. Revolut either comes as a MasterCard or Visa, so wherever they take those cards, you should be good to go. Also, on the basic Revolut card you can withdraw up to £200 per month via ATM. You can withdraw more but that requires you to upgrade your account for a monthly fee (more on that later).
The benefits don’t just stop there...using the card gives you the flexibility to have several different sub-accounts for foreign currency. For example, when you buy Euros, they go into your Euro account. Then if you wish to purchase US Dollars they would then go into another account for all your US Dollars. Each with its own account number and IBAN/SWIFT details meaning you can send and receive money into these accounts specifically. Another perk is that you can purchase travel insurance from £1.00 a day.
Revolut is an app-based card (don’t worry, you don’t need to be tech-savvy to be able to use it) so it sends you instant notifications each time you use the card. The security features are pretty nifty too, giving you the ability to lock/unlock the card via the app if you were to lose it, lock the card for contactless payments, swipe payments, ATM withdrawals, and online transactions.
Topping up your account is easy. You can top the account up from your debit card. They have four different account types at the time of writing this article, Free, Plus £2.99p/m Premium £6.99p/m, and Metal £12.99p/m. Each has its advantages. The metal card gives you back up to 1% cashback on all card payments dependent on the country of use.
All in all a great card to use abroad as well as here in the UK in our opinion.
With great exchange rates and excellent security features, I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.
*All pricing is given as guidance and is subject to change please see relevant website/app for current up-to-date conditions and benefits.