What’s a travel money card?
A travel money card is a specific type of payment card designed to make spending in foreign countries easier and more cost-effective. Unlike a standard debit card, which is usually tied to a single currency, a Revolut currency card allows you to hold and spend multiple currencies. With us, you can hold more than 35 currencies in-app and pay in more than 150 currencies using your card.
Our travel card functions like a digital wallet. You can use it to pay for a coffee in Paris, a train ticket in Tokyo, or to withdraw cash in New York. Because our cards are built for international spending, they offer competitive exchange rates, allowing you to relax and focus on what matters most when you travel.
You might have heard these being called travel cards, prepaid travel cards, or forex cards. No matter the name, the goal’s the same: to provide a cost-effective way to manage your money while you’re away from home.
How do travel money cards work?
Travel money cards work by allowing you to add money in your home currency and then convert it into the local currency of your destination. When you tap your card abroad, we’ll check if you’ve got enough of the local currency in your account. If you do, we’ll deduct the amount right away. If you don’t or if the currency isn’t supported in-app, we’ll handle the conversion for you using your GBP balance.
Multi-currency vs sterling cards
There are 2 main ways these cards handle your money:
- Multi-currency cards like ours: these let you hold balances in various currencies at once. For example, you could have $500, €200, and £100 all on the same card. This is useful for locking in a rate if the pound is strong before you travel.
- Prepaid sterling cards: these only hold pounds. While simple and easy to use, they mean you’re dependent on the exchange rate at the time you top them up.
We offer a hybrid approach. You can exchange and hold over 36 currencies in-app whenever you like, or just spend and let our system handle the conversion automatically.
Currency card exchange rates and fees
The exchange rate is an important factor in determining your holiday costs.
The way we handle rates
We use competitive Revolut exchange rates. If you’re on a Standard plan, you can exchange up to £1,000 per rolling month with our competitive rates on weekdays. If you exceed this, a 1% fair usage fee applies. For Plus customers, the fair usage fee is 0.5%. Premium, Metal, and Ultra customers don’t have these monthly exchange limits.
Depending on your plan, we may apply weekend rates when the exchange market is closed (between 5pm Friday and 6pm Sunday). If the currency you need is among the 36 we support in-app, you can convert your GBP before the weekend arrives to avoid the possible weekend fee.
Fair usage limits and weekend fees may apply, depending on your plan.
Fees to keep in mind
While travel cards may be cost-effective, you should always check the T&Cs for clarity:
- ATM withdrawals: we offer ATM withdrawals without Revolut fees up to a certain limit per month, depending on your plan. Check your limit in-app. Third-party ATMs may charge fees, so check in-app for our in-network ATMs.
- Delivery fees: these may apply when we send your physical card by post. Virtual cards are free.
- Inactivity fees: some prepaid card providers may charge a fee if the card isn’t used for a certain period, though this is rare with modern services. We don’t charge inactivity fees.