Is Revolut Metal A Subscription Trap?

Revolut Metal promises premium banking for about £15 a month - with travel insurance, trading perks and a stainless-steel card to prove it.

But how much of that value actually comes from banking… and how much from a pile of third-party subscriptions you might never use?

In this episode of Banking Without Borders, Jonny and Jan break down everything inside Revolut Metal:

• What you really get for your money - from ATM limits to RevPoints
• The fine print on its insurance and cancellation rules
• Which perks actually save you money (and which are just noise)

By the end, you’ll know whether Revolut Metal is a smart financial upgrade - or just another subscription trap.

Revolut Metal cancellation policies 👉 https://www.revolut.com/legal/paid-plans/

Connect with us (via LinkedIn)

Jan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jan-watermann/

Jonny: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jonny-pease

Got a question or topic you want us to cover? Drop us a message at jonny@technicallymoney.com

Transcript

00:00:00:00 - 00:00:01:22
Unknown
Is Revolut Metal actually worth it?

00:00:01:22 - 00:00:10:02
Unknown
Because on paper it looks pretty decent. A single subscription that blends banking, travel and lifestyle perks for about £15 a month.

00:00:10:02 - 00:00:14:04
Unknown
in terms of raw value, it might just be the best paid account on the planet.

00:00:14:04 - 00:00:20:03
Unknown
But there's a problem. When you look closer at where the value really comes from, the plan starts to lose its shine.

00:00:20:03 - 00:00:24:03
Unknown
The travel insurance is hardly compelling, and we'll talk about why shortly.

00:00:24:03 - 00:00:27:16
Unknown
The ATM perks and other banking benefits just aren't that impressive.

00:00:27:16 - 00:00:34:19
Unknown
And when you find out that most of the value comes from third party subscriptions, you're left with a bigger question.

00:00:34:19 - 00:00:38:11
Unknown
Is metal a financial upgrade or just another subscription trap?

00:00:38:11 - 00:00:40:15
Unknown
But first, Yann, good to see you, buddy.

00:00:40:15 - 00:00:44:10
Unknown
I want to know because I know that you've had Revolut metal for a while

00:00:44:10 - 00:00:47:04
Unknown
and you used it as your main banking product.

00:00:47:04 - 00:00:52:17
Unknown
So what got you in the first place to sign up?

00:00:52:17 - 00:01:07:06
Unknown
I first signed up, I think it was about three years ago. The conditions were slightly different, so metal used to offer a cash back, that I took full advantage on. I think back then, it was about a percent, per per euro that you spend abroad.

00:01:07:06 - 00:01:11:09
Unknown
And point 1% for, for €1 that you spend within the European Union.

00:01:11:09 - 00:01:13:06
Unknown
Luckily I was traveling quite a bit, so

00:01:13:06 - 00:01:19:14
Unknown
took full advantage of that percent of cash back that I was going to get. And, that made the plan worth it for

00:01:19:19 - 00:01:26:05
Unknown
Of course, the cashback is no longer available and Revolut have introduced rev points. We've talked about that quite a lot and

00:01:26:05 - 00:01:35:19
Unknown
with the Revolut Metal plan you do get more rev points. I don't think they're going to be as lucrative as 1% cashback though. Buddy, that is pretty nice.

00:01:35:19 - 00:01:53:04
Unknown
Yeah, it really depends on on how you redeem them. So the rest points. I think the wish point ratio that deal you're getting is two, you know, one point per every every €2 or pounds that you spent. And it doesn't matter whether you spend it within your within your country of residence or abroad.

00:01:53:04 - 00:02:00:19
Unknown
Rev points are definitely one of the core banking I guess benefits if we want to call it banking spending, but it kind of goes under the

00:02:00:19 - 00:02:05:11
Unknown
kind of umbrella of personal finance. We have some other benefits though that you get with metal.

00:02:05:11 - 00:02:09:06
Unknown
So ATM withdrawals is one of their kind of flagship benefits here.

00:02:09:06 - 00:02:23:20
Unknown
And you get 800 pounds or €800 of fee free ATM withdrawals per month. That could be quite nice for someone who's frequently traveling, perhaps to areas in the world that still are a little bit more cash dependent than others, but there aren't that many of those left nowadays.

00:02:23:20 - 00:02:29:12
Unknown
There are also some benefits, like international transfers. Those get a 40% discount.

00:02:29:18 - 00:02:32:16
Unknown
Now that's a discount on Revolut. It's typical fees.

00:02:32:16 - 00:02:41:09
Unknown
Does that make international transactions with Revolut any more competitive than let's say remotely wise? Transfer go whoever.

00:02:41:09 - 00:02:52:09
Unknown
I don't know, Yann. I'm not sure. We discuss Revolut exchange rates previously. They do have a slight markup. They aren't the mid-market rate. But with this 40% discount, you are getting a little bit closer to that.

00:02:52:09 - 00:02:54:16
Unknown
And they will certainly be more competitive.

00:02:54:16 - 00:02:56:15
Unknown
There's also fee free currency exchange

00:02:56:15 - 00:03:08:01
Unknown
I don't know, Yann, in 2025, that doesn't really feel like a major benefit if I'm being honest. As someone from the UK, at least there are plenty of fee free cards that just use like Mastercard's exchange rates.

00:03:08:01 - 00:03:10:11
Unknown
You don't pay fees on spending abroad,

00:03:10:11 - 00:03:19:07
Unknown
especially not over the weekend, right? Revolut is still charging customers a fee for exchanging on the weekend, not with metal. That is one of the other benefits.

00:03:19:07 - 00:03:23:09
Unknown
But even that. Yeah, that doesn't even that doesn't even feel that compelling to me.

00:03:23:09 - 00:03:30:23
Unknown
No, not really. Johnny. As you mentioned, there are many other alternatives on the market, some of them even free. We don't have to pay a monthly fee.

00:03:30:23 - 00:03:42:04
Unknown
And then one thing to consider as well. If Revolut said this, it's a fee free currency exchange. They still use their own currency exchange rate, so there's a markup included in that as well.

00:03:42:06 - 00:03:51:12
Unknown
It's not free, you know, it's just that they don't charge an additional fee. Doesn't really. Yeah, it's not really that attractive. And to be honest, looking at these core financial benefits,

00:03:51:12 - 00:03:59:16
Unknown
but one thing that you forgot to mention, you're also getting a slightly increased, interest rate in case you decide to, to save, save money through Revolut.

00:03:59:17 - 00:04:02:23
Unknown
It's 4% in the UK. Varies in the European Union.

00:04:02:23 - 00:04:06:03
Unknown
It's not that compelling, to be honest. Like reading that,

00:04:06:03 - 00:04:09:16
Unknown
I would, probably assume it's a mid-tier bank account

00:04:09:19 - 00:04:10:11
Unknown
Oh,

00:04:11:03 - 00:04:12:23
Unknown
definitely not a premium metal account.

00:04:12:23 - 00:04:21:13
Unknown
Not a premium product. Looking at the core benefits, core financial benefits alone. Yeah, that's. I would not conclude. It's a it's a premium bank account.

00:04:21:13 - 00:04:33:13
Unknown
depending on when you're watching this video or listening to this episode, savings rates may change. But right now in the UK like 4% isn't that competitive. You can get a free account which pays 4.5%

00:04:33:13 - 00:04:34:14
Unknown
and the European Union rate.

00:04:34:14 - 00:04:39:07
Unknown
If we have a quick look at deposit scout, we can see that there are plenty of competitive rates in the EU,

00:04:40:10 - 00:04:42:08
Unknown
that you don't have to pay for.

00:04:42:13 - 00:04:44:23
Unknown
So what is compelling

00:04:44:23 - 00:04:46:04
Unknown
is that the subscriptions.

00:04:46:04 - 00:04:53:23
Unknown
Yeah, it's probably the the lifestyle and travel perks. Descriptions probably be being one of the main, arguments for Revolut metal.

00:04:53:23 - 00:05:01:16
Unknown
you're getting a bunch of the options. I'm going to list a few, in case you're listening to this, we're also also going to show them on the screen if you're watching the video.

00:05:01:18 - 00:05:18:05
Unknown
Financial times standard digital. We work, you get a credit per month. You get Ubo on Masterclass, NordVPN plus, headspace, sleep cycle, premium free latex. The Athletic, ClassPass, Perplexity Pro, Tinder Gold, and Picsart gold.

00:05:18:05 - 00:05:24:18
Unknown
These are the subscriptions that I included in in Germany and in other markets, and very slightly. Make sure to check your list.

00:05:24:18 - 00:05:32:01
Unknown
You can see that within the Revolut, the app. But the subscriptions, if you're not taking advantage of any subscriptions, in my opinion, it's probably

00:05:32:14 - 00:05:41:23
Unknown
You just said that they vary slightly in Germany. What always confuses me with these two plans is that it's 1499 in the UK, and it's cheaper in the European Union.

00:05:41:23 - 00:05:49:11
Unknown
we know that the pound is stronger than the euro. So technically it should be more in the European Union.

00:05:49:11 - 00:05:54:10
Unknown
Yeah, 15, 15 pounds. What's that in euros? Probably. Probably 1650 or something. Yeah.

00:05:54:10 - 00:06:00:13
Unknown
Okay. Well, we know Revolut are suggesting that these subscriptions are worth roughly 2,100 pounds in annual value.

00:06:00:13 - 00:06:09:04
Unknown
I did my own calculations. I went through them one by one just to see how much they would cost individually. I calculated about 1600 to 1700 pounds. Yeah,

00:06:09:04 - 00:06:10:15
Unknown
so slightly lower than

00:06:10:15 - 00:06:12:03
Unknown
what Revolut are suggesting,

00:06:12:03 - 00:06:16:02
Unknown
but still, that's obviously a lot higher than what this account will cost you annually.

00:06:16:02 - 00:06:21:10
Unknown
So if you're able to use all of these subscriptions, you're going to easily get your money back in value.

00:06:21:10 - 00:06:27:21
Unknown
big ones like we work for NordVPN, they hold a lot of the value here.

00:06:27:21 - 00:06:35:11
Unknown
you know, realistically right now, no one's going to be able to utilize them all. But I think you've got to at least be able to use a couple of these big ones.

00:06:35:14 - 00:06:36:06
Unknown
Yeah, exactly.

00:06:36:08 - 00:06:49:22
Unknown
The Athletic doesn't hold a huge amount of value. So if you're looking at metal because you love football and you think maybe some of the core banking features will be useful to you, that's still not really powerful enough reason to go for this account.

00:06:49:22 - 00:07:06:02
Unknown
But it's strange at this stage even to to look at Revolut and think, well, the core banking features of metal really aren't that compelling. Even though I kind of consider Revolut a bank and I'm actually being more drawn to it by the fact that I can essentially get half price for subscriptions.

00:07:06:02 - 00:07:08:13
Unknown
The Athletic and my my VPN.

00:07:08:13 - 00:07:29:03
Unknown
Yeah. Looking at these benefits, it's clear that it's more of a lifestyle product than an actual extra bank account, in my opinion. And maybe that's that's what it takes nowadays. You mentioned that, there are plenty of free bank accounts as well that are, that are offering. Yeah, great financial core benefits. Maybe in order to, to charge a premium, you just got to make your bank account a lifestyle

00:07:29:03 - 00:07:34:23
Unknown
But if we look again at some of these other financial benefits. Yeah. And there are a few more like trading and investment perks.

00:07:35:01 - 00:07:57:11
Unknown
absolutely. So you get ten commission free trades per month afterwards. It's 0.25%, portrayed. You're also getting a slightly better commodities trading for fee. And then also you have better, better fees if you decide to invest into cryptocurrencies. Not a convincing to me. But if you use Revolut anyways for trading, could be quite compelling.

00:07:57:11 - 00:08:12:13
Unknown
I would probably, yeah, I'd probably recommend other trading apps. Just due to the fact that Revolut offers, a percentage based fee and not a, not a, you know, not a flat fee. So in case you invest large sums of money, could get

00:08:12:17 - 00:08:28:14
Unknown
Yeah, I don't I don't think everyone's really aware of that. I think people look and use Revolut for trading because it's super easy, and that they don't necessarily look that deep into what it would cost you. And you see ten fee free trades each month and think, well, that sounds pretty good,

00:08:28:14 - 00:08:34:01
Unknown
but if you exceed that, you've got to pay 0.25% per trade and that could begin to really mount up.

00:08:34:01 - 00:09:02:03
Unknown
I don't know a huge amount about crypto trading. Yeah, but I've also read like headlines and comments on Reddit and just discussions about how Revolut eats. Crypto fees are quite expensive, and it can be particularly difficult to withdraw your crypto at times, which can be quite costly and just not that intuitive. So there are a few things to potentially look out for, and I really don't think a premium experienced trader is looking at Revolut Metal and thinking, this is why I'm going to sign up for metal again.

00:09:02:03 - 00:09:12:09
Unknown
It's a bit like the core banking features that might be 1 or 2 things in it for you, but really, just individually, these aren't enough to justify the cost of metal alone.

00:09:12:09 - 00:09:14:08
Unknown
Johnny Delta two insurance is included.

00:09:14:08 - 00:09:16:11
Unknown
Those might be worth it for some some people.

00:09:16:11 - 00:09:25:10
Unknown
travel insurance. It covers trips up to up to 30 days. That includes medical insurance, cancellation, loss baggage, flight delay insurance.

00:09:25:10 - 00:09:30:12
Unknown
The provide us and the exact benefits slightly differ by country. So whether you're in the UK or the EU.

00:09:30:12 - 00:09:37:15
Unknown
But yeah that could be could be quite compelling set. So a reason to, to solely justify the price tag. Yeah. Absolutely not.

00:09:37:15 - 00:09:38:15
Unknown
It's very clear.

00:09:38:15 - 00:09:47:02
Unknown
Again, everything is a little bit tempting, but also not that compelling. The insurances have a couple of red flags as well to look out for.

00:09:47:02 - 00:09:56:08
Unknown
If you want to qualify, you have to spend 75% of the trip using your Revolut card or using your Revolut account, so it has to be paid for 75%.

00:09:56:08 - 00:09:57:19
Unknown
It's strange that it's that number.

00:09:57:19 - 00:10:05:14
Unknown
I don't know why. Why isn't it just all in or not at all? Because I think most people are going to be using their Revolut card to buy their flights, to buy their hotels.

00:10:05:14 - 00:10:12:01
Unknown
Not I need to qualify for the insurance, but also to qualify for the red points. That's certainly a reason to use your your card.

00:10:12:01 - 00:10:13:00
Unknown
The 30 day limit.

00:10:13:00 - 00:10:17:17
Unknown
Yann. That's a bit tight. I know ultra has 90 days.

00:10:17:17 - 00:10:29:03
Unknown
I think for an esteemed traveler, someone who's getting out and about, it's probably going to want more than 30 days. And I just don't think this is the type of insurance for that person either.

00:10:29:03 - 00:10:31:07
Unknown
And I also believe that you have to start a new

00:10:32:15 - 00:10:38:01
Unknown
and then return to it. So you can't sign up for Revolut Metal while abroad? Yeah.

00:10:38:01 - 00:10:44:18
Unknown
The 30 days limit. That's that's quite average, to be honest. Especially among the cheaper travel insurances. But

00:10:44:18 - 00:10:48:14
Unknown
as you mentioned, it's it's nothing for digital nomads or frequent travelers, in my opinion.

00:10:48:14 - 00:10:53:20
Unknown
But if you do decide that you want to give Revolut Metal a go, there are a couple of things to consider.

00:10:53:20 - 00:11:02:02
Unknown
The cancellation policy is definitely worth looking closely at. I can give you the high level rundown, but it's always worth checking out. I'll put a link in the description box for you

00:11:02:02 - 00:11:07:20
Unknown
ultimately, if you do decide to sign up, this is known as a 12 month plan, so it's not a rolling plan.

00:11:07:20 - 00:11:09:17
Unknown
There is essentially a contract in place.

00:11:09:17 - 00:11:15:19
Unknown
So with most contracts, you'll have two weeks or 14 days to change your mind and you'll get a full refund.

00:11:15:19 - 00:11:17:15
Unknown
if you sign up to pay monthly,

00:11:17:15 - 00:11:24:14
Unknown
then you will be charged a fee of two months. If you attempt to cancel after those 14 days,

00:11:24:14 - 00:11:30:05
Unknown
After ten months, you can cancel. There's no break fee and you just have the remainder of that month to use the plan

00:11:30:05 - 00:11:31:18
Unknown
Pretty strict if you ask me.

00:11:31:18 - 00:11:39:03
Unknown
I'm surprised that it's a 12 month plan and they don't allow you to have a rolling contract. Even if they say increase the price by a couple of quid,

00:11:39:03 - 00:11:45:21
Unknown
It doesn't get any better if you sign up annually either. It gets worse, in fact, because if you sign up annually and change your mind, there are no refunds.

00:11:45:21 - 00:11:49:20
Unknown
There's no break fees, obviously, because they've already got your money, but there are no refunds.

00:11:49:20 - 00:11:53:17
Unknown
I guess you do have a 14 day chance to test the account.

00:11:53:19 - 00:12:01:07
Unknown
If, though during that period you were to get the mental card and still cancel, you'd have to pay 40 pounds or the euro equivalent,

00:12:01:07 - 00:12:03:12
Unknown
plus delivery for the card. So

00:12:03:12 - 00:12:24:23
Unknown
I have the black card here. I have the gold card and the I think silver. There's also a bronze one that I don't have. Now Yan can show you what happens if you use your card as frequently as he does.

00:12:24:23 - 00:12:40:15
Unknown
Yeah. Look at this. So I'm not sure if you said that that frequently, to be honest. I typically pay with my phone. Yeah. I don't know what what caused the pain to peel off, but it must have been. Yeah, maybe the friction inside the wallet. I think I mentioned it on a on the previous episode.

00:12:43:01 - 00:12:45:22
Unknown
How tight are your jeans, mate?

00:12:45:22 - 00:12:48:13
Unknown
I feel embarrassed taking that thing out of my pocket.

00:12:48:13 - 00:12:50:03
Unknown
It's, it's a little sad.

00:12:50:03 - 00:12:53:09
Unknown
What about the friction inside the ATMs? Do you think that could have caused it?

00:12:53:09 - 00:12:59:01
Unknown
Potentially, because I think it's. It's slightly thicker than a normal ATM card. At least that's my

00:12:59:19 - 00:13:14:07
Unknown
assumption just by holding them to. Yeah, next to each other. It could be. Could absolutely be. And I've used quite a bit to to withdraw money from ATMs. Never had it get stuck. But I heard that happened to some people.

00:13:14:09 - 00:13:18:16
Unknown
Yeah. I don't know, Johnny, to be honest, but, it doesn't look premium.

00:13:18:16 - 00:13:25:12
Unknown
No, no not when it's that worn away. But you can't argue that this doesn't look premium. The gold card does look really nice.

00:13:25:12 - 00:13:29:06
Unknown
And look if you're in it for this reason and this reason alone

00:13:29:06 - 00:13:34:13
Unknown
just don't. I'm pretty sure you can order the metal card as a Revolut standard account holder and just pay for it.

00:13:34:16 - 00:13:35:02
Unknown
I think you

00:13:35:02 - 00:13:37:16
Unknown
So that's no reason then to just get the metal plan.

00:13:37:16 - 00:13:48:12
Unknown
But there are some reasons, I think. Look, if you're someone who's traveling frequently enough and could potentially make use of discounted lounge access, could make use of the fee free currency exchange,

00:13:48:12 - 00:13:49:08
Unknown
the subscriptions

00:13:49:08 - 00:13:57:00
Unknown
big thing, like if you're traveling and you can access we work if you're traveling and you want to use class pass if you're traveling and you'll probably want to use NordVPN,

00:13:57:00 - 00:14:01:00
Unknown
you know, catch up with the FTP while you're waiting for your flight or waiting for your train.

00:14:01:02 - 00:14:08:05
Unknown
Like that is fantastic. You just smashed the value of this plan. You're just deriving so much value.

00:14:08:05 - 00:14:25:07
Unknown
if you're going to look at this thing, oh wow, 4% on an easy access savings account, that looks compelling. Oh, and I get some ATM. I get 800 pounds of fee free ATM withdrawals that seems good. And oh, I can see myself using some of the subscription perks, but then you entirely forget about them and use none of them.

00:14:25:09 - 00:14:26:22
Unknown
That's that's bad.

00:14:26:22 - 00:14:36:06
Unknown
It's a subscription bundle. These other benefits aren't really worth it at all, at least to me. But if I was if I was a subscriber of the Financial Times, for example. I mean,

00:14:36:14 - 00:14:39:17
Unknown
No brainer. Yeah,

00:14:39:17 - 00:14:39:21
Unknown
it?

00:14:39:21 - 00:14:49:15
Unknown
yeah. I think at the end of the day Revolut metal, it's not bad value as long as you'll use the perks, particularly those subscriptions.

00:14:49:17 - 00:14:59:17
Unknown
And if you don't, don't even think about it. Not at all. It's not a banking product is also not a lifestyle product. Right. It's, it's, it's a commodity, essentially. It's, it's sort of purpose

00:14:59:17 - 00:15:06:13
Unknown
If you do currently have Revolut Metal, please just comment if you're watching us on YouTube and let us know what value you're deriving from this.

00:15:06:13 - 00:15:13:04
Unknown
Like where are you getting the value? Like, are you using those subscription perks? Are you finding a way to make use of the ATM withdrawals?

00:15:13:04 - 00:15:18:19
Unknown
I don't know how to be honest. But I'm sure there's someone out there that's withdrawing a lot of cash to make use of it.

00:15:18:19 - 00:15:26:17
Unknown
be also curious if you subscribe to any other Revolut plan. Which one is it and why did you choose it in the first place? And, do you think it's worth it?

00:15:26:17 - 00:15:32:07
Unknown
Just write it into the comments. Let's have a conversation. Do I always find this quite insightful?

00:15:32:09 - 00:15:33:23
Unknown
And yeah, that's

00:15:34:03 - 00:15:36:00
Unknown
That's it. Goodbye.