Is Revolut Premium Actually Worth £80 a Year?

In this episode, we dig into Revolut Premium - what you really get for £80 a year, who it makes sense for, and where the value genuinely comes from. We break down the banking perks, partner subscriptions, insurance fine print, and that harsh cancellation policy so you know exactly what you’re signing up for.

Show Notes:

• Core banking perks (FX, ATM limits, savings rates)
• Partner subscriptions: what’s actually valuable
• Everyday protection insurance explained
• The confusing exclusions & limitations
• The cancellation rules nobody talks about
• How Premium compares to free alternatives in the UK & EU
• Who Revolut Premium really makes sense for

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

00:00:00:01 - 00:00:08:21
Unknown
Okay. So Revolut Premium is Revolut mid tier subscription plan in the UK and in Europe it costs roughly 7 to 8 pounds or euros.

00:00:08:23 - 00:00:13:03
Unknown
And it is packed with value considering it's well it's less than a tenner.

00:00:13:03 - 00:00:22:21
Unknown
You get a ton of different subscriptions, you get some interesting insurance perks and some banking features or services that we're going to talk about shortly.

00:00:22:21 - 00:00:33:03
Unknown
Arguably, they're a bit questionable. Arguably they're a bit of a drawback, but for the right person, the banking features, those subscriptions and the purchase protection could be very beneficial.

00:00:33:03 - 00:00:46:11
Unknown
as always, there are some drawbacks, particularly the cancellation policy that comes with this subscription program. And we're going to talk about that shortly. And that's there's definitely a few things within the fine print that you need to keep an eye on.

00:00:46:11 - 00:00:49:00
Unknown
So first, Yann, can we talk about these core banking features?

00:00:49:00 - 00:00:54:15
Unknown
I'm a bit unsure about them to be honest, especially when you look at how they compare to other banking products on the market.

00:00:54:17 - 00:01:07:04
Unknown
Yeah. John, you're looking at the core financial benefits. I must say, they do seem a little bit underwhelming, in my opinion. So you get 400 pounds of, fee free ATM withdrawals every month after that. It's it's a 2%, fair user fee.

00:01:07:04 - 00:01:08:04
Unknown
You get unlimited

00:01:08:05 - 00:01:11:23
Unknown
fixed exchange. Using Revolut exchange rate.

00:01:12:01 - 00:01:20:02
Unknown
And there's no fair use of cap. They'll be in place with standard, for example, I believe it's a 1,000 pounds per month that you can convert free of charge.

00:01:20:02 - 00:01:22:01
Unknown
They also waive the weakened ethics markup.

00:01:22:01 - 00:01:26:03
Unknown
That's either 1%, on standard or 0.5 percent, plus, I believe,

00:01:26:03 - 00:01:35:07
Unknown
get 220% discounts on international transfers and you get, a slightly increased savings rate of 3.75% in the UK right now.

00:01:35:07 - 00:01:37:04
Unknown
You also get priority in app support,

00:01:37:07 - 00:01:41:23
Unknown
you can contact via chat and also, via call if you're interested in that.

00:01:42:01 - 00:01:47:05
Unknown
Then you get an increased rest points earnings rate of one point for every four points that you spend

00:01:47:05 - 00:02:01:07
Unknown
looking at this right now. To be honest, I would I would really ask myself if I was lacking the context, if this was a paid bank account, because I do know several free bank accounts that have better conditions in the UK.

00:02:01:09 - 00:02:02:09
Unknown
What do you think about that?

00:02:02:12 - 00:02:04:09
Unknown
I thought I couldn't agree more. They're definitely,

00:02:04:09 - 00:02:13:23
Unknown
arguably for the right person, better products available that are free. But again like I said at the beginning that for the right person these core banking features could be quite beneficial.

00:02:13:23 - 00:02:20:06
Unknown
talk about like the increase fee free ATM withdrawals, the exchange like the unlimited currency exchange,

00:02:20:06 - 00:02:25:19
Unknown
the removal of the weakened surcharge, these are all things that are arguably better elsewhere.

00:02:25:20 - 00:02:37:18
Unknown
Yeah. But still, when bundled with what Revolut have to offer with, for example, the subscriptions, which we'll talk about shortly, those are compelling enough to go, well, now, this is good enough because I think most people are withdrawing,

00:02:37:18 - 00:02:44:10
Unknown
well, smaller sums of money internationally. So do you need more than 400 pounds of fee free ATM withdrawals? Possibly not.

00:02:44:12 - 00:02:49:01
Unknown
When it comes to spending internationally. Just using this card, you are going to get a pretty good right?

00:02:49:01 - 00:02:58:09
Unknown
The Revolut rate isn't the mid-market rate, but it's probably closer to Mastercard's rate, which is what you could expect, or Visa's rate, which is what you'd expect with most high street banks or digital banks.

00:02:58:09 - 00:03:03:14
Unknown
So generally speaking, the core banking features aren't that compelling compared to a free account.

00:03:03:16 - 00:03:08:02
Unknown
But if you are interested in the other benefits of Revolut Premium,

00:03:08:03 - 00:03:11:03
Unknown
I don't think I would be put off by these banking features.

00:03:11:05 - 00:03:26:17
Unknown
Makes makes total sense. Looking at the big picture, I get what you mean. But, yeah, if they were, you know, these, these benefits on their benefits on their own. Yeah. Not that convincing. So let's talk about the lifestyle and and partner perks. You just teaser that, their food subscriptions included.

00:03:26:19 - 00:03:39:10
Unknown
got headspace, NordVPN, standard, Perplexity Pro, Sleep Cycle Premium, Picsart gold, Uber One free LaTeX and Tinder Plus, and all of these combined have a total value of 670 pounds per year.

00:03:39:10 - 00:03:50:22
Unknown
That's not what Revolut claims. That's what we we figured out, visiting each of these providers websites and, looking at the yearly pricing.

00:03:51:00 - 00:03:54:09
Unknown
It's a very good question. NordVPN one.

00:03:54:14 - 00:04:15:11
Unknown
That's it. I have a subscription. I see I have a subscription to Perplexity Pro, but that was a result of a freebie the PayPal were giving away and I don't even use it. So that's it. NordVPN, which to be fair, does hold a bit of the value. I mean, three, we calculated that it costs 3.79 pounds per month or 45 pounds per year.

00:04:15:13 - 00:04:33:09
Unknown
Now, this premium subscription costs roughly 80 pounds or euros per year. So if, like me, you're someone who already uses NordVPN, premium could be a good way to offset that cost, but not enough of a reason just to go with it alone. What about you, Yad? Well, what have.

00:04:33:11 - 00:04:49:05
Unknown
Edgar. Good question. I use NordVPN standard and Uber one as well. But these others I mean some of these I haven't even heard of it. Space. I would not know what that is to be honest. Sleep cycle premium I actually have no idea. We've discussed it with other revolute plans in the past.

00:04:49:07 - 00:04:49:21
Unknown
But I,

00:04:49:23 - 00:04:50:08
Unknown
Yeah.

00:04:50:13 - 00:05:05:10
Unknown
without revolute, I would have never heard of these subscriptions to be 100% honest pixel art gold. I also don't know it. A free latex. I've heard about it, but I don't use it because I have a gym membership. And Tinder plus not need it because I'm in, in a relationship.

00:05:05:12 - 00:05:19:01
Unknown
you you have already basically got the the cost of the the premium plan annually by using NordVPN and by using Uber one. Yeah. So you could technically justify this plan.

00:05:19:03 - 00:05:21:14
Unknown
could yeah, I could know for sure. For me,

00:05:21:17 - 00:05:22:11
Unknown
it could make sense.

00:05:22:14 - 00:05:29:02
Unknown
And the core banking features, do you think they would be justified if you were compelled to use this because of those subscriptions?

00:05:29:03 - 00:05:32:14
Unknown
mean, I tolerate them,

00:05:32:16 - 00:05:38:23
Unknown
not. They're definitely not, nothing that would stand out to me and nothing that would justify a purchase,

00:05:39:01 - 00:05:39:18
Unknown
Yeah.

00:05:39:20 - 00:05:42:15
Unknown
But, you know, I could live with them. Would I use my

00:05:42:17 - 00:05:43:09
Unknown
Yeah.

00:05:43:11 - 00:05:51:16
Unknown
on a daily basis? While traveling, for example? I mean, I probably not, because you mentioned it.

00:05:51:16 - 00:05:56:13
Unknown
Revolute rate is closer to Mastercard's rate and, than to others. But,

00:05:56:13 - 00:06:13:18
Unknown
I've made slightly different experiences. So, I think it's, it's it's more often than I would, I would wish it to be, to be honest. And that's why I don't I don't use it. I also have my, my Revolut card here. I just I just try to avoid it, to be honest, because, because of the exchange rate margin.

00:06:13:20 - 00:06:37:13
Unknown
This is a difficult thing, isn't it, to discuss because it can vary so greatly. And without trying both cards or a Mastercard and visa card against a Revolut card, you'll never truly know. But it is safe to say the revolut on using the mid market rate. And there will be some exchange rate, margin fee or spread that you'll incur when transacting with the card.

00:06:37:14 - 00:06:51:04
Unknown
But you know, if you're in a position and you've got a couple of subscriptions already, then and those core banking features could be compelling. I think there's one feature that we slightly overlooked at the beginning, and that's that savings rate. Yann,

00:06:51:04 - 00:07:14:10
Unknown
100% agree with that. Looking at deposits gold right now, I see monument Bank with the number one spot at 4.51% Chase UK on the second spot with 4.5%, Kahoot on the third place with 4.4% and Chip on the fourth place with 4.37%. And all of these are free accounts, right? You don't have to pay a base fee in order to sign up.

00:07:14:12 - 00:07:34:09
Unknown
Let's have a look at the everyday protection insurance that you get with this Revolut Premium account. Yann, because it could arguably be quite confusing. I mean, it certainly confused us in that.

00:07:34:11 - 00:07:38:12
Unknown
What does premium cover? Can you can you tell us a little bit about that?

00:07:38:15 - 00:07:53:16
Unknown
Okay. So you get purchase protection up to 2,500 pounds or euros. And this basically enables you to receive a refund if something you bought with your Revolut account is accidentally damaged or stolen, and it covers both offline and online purchases.

00:07:53:16 - 00:08:13:21
Unknown
But it's really important that you use your Revolut card in full to pay for that. And that could include laptops and phones, but it wouldn't cover you for phone. Say that you have, like a 12 month contract or something that you get with a lot of phone networks where you pay monthly, even if you're paying monthly for the phone with your Revolut, a card wouldn't be covered.

00:08:13:22 - 00:08:28:23
Unknown
So that's purchase protection. You also get refund protection so you can get refunded up to 600 pounds or euros if a if something goes wrong with the product and a vendor just refuses to accept your return again, that doesn't cover business purchases. You must use your Revolut card to be covered

00:08:28:23 - 00:08:32:11
Unknown
and that is available. It's a bit like section 75 protection in the UK.

00:08:32:11 - 00:08:43:13
Unknown
When you purchase something with a credit card, but it's certainly not as robust or I think that covers the up to 30 grand. With Revolut Premium, you're only covered up to 600 pounds. And then finally there's event ticket cancellation.

00:08:43:13 - 00:08:55:08
Unknown
This one's quite interesting. You can get covered up to 1,000 pounds or euros when something happens and you're unable to attend an event like a theater, like a theater show or concert or a sports, sports game or something.

00:08:55:08 - 00:08:59:12
Unknown
this is an interesting one. If you look at the exclusions, one thing I noted was that it says that

00:08:59:14 - 00:09:18:12
Unknown
you aren't covered if whatever's wrong with you. So it's a medical problem. That medical problem has to basically to be covered, require a practitioner or a medical practitioners attention or treatment. This is a bit ambiguous. And, you know, I'll share we'll share this on the screen what it says, the wording exactly.

00:09:18:14 - 00:09:38:05
Unknown
But it seems to me like unless you need to go and see a doctor for whatever's wrong with you, whatever reason you had to cancel and you might not be able to get that cover. So I covered for example, that, you know, like flu, that you don't necessarily need your doctor's attention. You just sit at home. You might not be covered for things like that.

00:09:38:05 - 00:09:41:00
Unknown
Yeah, that's a little bit concerning. Body.

00:09:41:02 - 00:09:44:14
Unknown
understand it as well, to be honest. But, yeah, might be worth clarifying with them.

00:09:44:16 - 00:09:50:07
Unknown
I wish they had a more precise wording here in place. Something that could be easily understood, to be

00:09:50:08 - 00:09:51:19
Unknown
Yeah.

00:09:51:21 - 00:10:00:21
Unknown
surprising. Something that we, we know from, from insurances and, what they love to do, just keep it as, as least precise as possible.

00:10:00:23 - 00:10:03:18
Unknown
I want it to have the most wiggle room in case things go wrong.

00:10:03:19 - 00:10:17:19
Unknown
It's a bit difficult to access the policy documents as well because I believe you have to have subscribed to the plan in order to receive the documents themselves. I suppose there is some, there's some wiggle room there though.

00:10:17:21 - 00:10:25:17
Unknown
because you get a 14 day window plan to cancel free of charge with no problems, no questions, you could always subscribe to premium,

00:10:25:17 - 00:10:29:16
Unknown
check those policy documents and make sure that you feel comfortable with the insurance.

00:10:29:22 - 00:10:32:03
Unknown
If you don't, then you could cancel.

00:10:32:05 - 00:10:40:07
Unknown
Fair enough. Just make sure that your your card wasn't sent right. Revolute. May charge a delivery fee and, deactivate to kind of afterwards.

00:10:40:07 - 00:10:43:10
Unknown
should we just have a quick look at any other benefits or features that are available,

00:10:43:10 - 00:10:45:05
Unknown
or should I say not available?

00:10:45:10 - 00:10:57:16
Unknown
so you don't get any travel insurance, which is set that's only included with Metal and Ultra. You don't get any, any lounge key. Neither, you know, neither cheaper access nor, a free allowance

00:10:57:21 - 00:11:06:11
Unknown
looking at the subscriptions, they are obviously no high value subscriptions included, like, we work passes or the Financial Times premium digital.

00:11:06:11 - 00:11:09:15
Unknown
But yeah, high value subscriptions are clearly are clearly missing here.

00:11:09:17 - 00:11:21:06
Unknown
Although to be fair, if you can make use of Perplexity Pro, you are covering a significant amount of value. Total value. That's available on those subscriptions. I mean that can cost almost 150 pounds per year.

00:11:21:08 - 00:11:26:02
Unknown
of the times it doesn't. Right. I I've seen that, being a freebie with,

00:11:26:02 - 00:11:26:15
Unknown
Yeah.

00:11:26:20 - 00:11:28:19
Unknown
several products already. As

00:11:28:21 - 00:11:29:22
Unknown
Yeah.

00:11:30:00 - 00:11:35:17
Unknown
PayPal debit card, which you can just go ahead and sign up to, and you get Perplexity Pro

00:11:35:19 - 00:11:38:21
Unknown
Yeah, there's. Yeah.

00:11:38:23 - 00:11:39:08
Unknown
future.

00:11:39:08 - 00:11:44:18
Unknown
So if you're listening to this in a in a few months, you know, make sure to check.

00:11:44:20 - 00:12:02:14
Unknown
Yeah. Yan Yan makes a very good point in there because none of these subscriptions on their own are hard to come by for cheap or in some cases, free. And that's why they're bundled. That's why they're available at 8 pounds or euros a month. And again, that reinforces the point

00:12:02:14 - 00:12:06:12
Unknown
of not signing up purely to get hold of the subscriptions.

00:12:06:15 - 00:12:10:08
Unknown
Should we talk about the cancellation policy?

00:12:10:10 - 00:12:12:04
Unknown
And then and then?

00:12:12:06 - 00:12:15:05
Unknown
looking at the way this is advertised, within the app as well.

00:12:15:08 - 00:12:22:09
Unknown
Yeah, I would assume this is, a month to month plan. Right? But it seems that it isn't. It seems there's a rolling contract in place.

00:12:22:11 - 00:12:28:15
Unknown
As we just mentioned, within 14 days, there's a cooling off period. You get a full refund of your subscription.

00:12:28:15 - 00:12:31:14
Unknown
doesn't matter whether you decide to pay on a monthly or an annual basis.

00:12:31:14 - 00:12:32:23
Unknown
If that premium card was sent,

00:12:33:01 - 00:12:34:07
Unknown
might be a fee attached to it.

00:12:34:07 - 00:12:40:21
Unknown
But if it wasn't sent yet, you know, because you didn't order it, for example, you can cancel free of charge, no questions asked

00:12:40:21 - 00:12:43:17
Unknown
afterwards is when when it becomes a little difficult.

00:12:43:21 - 00:12:53:15
Unknown
See if you can say after 14 days, but within ten month, you don't get any refund. You pay the current month plus a break fee equal to two months of the subscription.

00:12:53:15 - 00:13:15:13
Unknown
That break fee does not give additional usage. You only keep the benefits until the end of the current paid month. Wow. That's, that's honestly, that's a bit harsh. If you ask me, if you can say after ten months there isn't any refund, you pay the current month only, there's no break fee. And the benefits continue until the end of the current paid month.

00:13:15:14 - 00:13:17:03
Unknown
Yeah.

00:13:17:05 - 00:13:26:11
Unknown
go for the annual billing, you essentially get, Yeah. No refund at all, no break fee. You keep premium until the end of the annual billing cycle. That's it.

00:13:26:13 - 00:13:26:20
Unknown
Yeah,

00:13:26:23 - 00:13:28:19
Unknown
14 days of cost. So that's.

00:13:28:21 - 00:13:29:05
Unknown
yeah.

00:13:29:05 - 00:13:31:22
Unknown
Johnny. This is really harsh. If you

00:13:32:00 - 00:13:33:10
Unknown
yearly subscription.

00:13:33:12 - 00:13:36:08
Unknown
People need to need to be informed about that.

00:13:36:08 - 00:13:37:15
Unknown
Yeah. Not idea.

00:13:37:17 - 00:13:46:15
Unknown
Yeah. No I, I agree it's pretty harsh if you're sort of after the 14 days and within the ten months it's going to cost you money to cancel. That's essentially what you need to know.

00:13:46:15 - 00:13:56:09
Unknown
Don't sign up for the annual billing. If you're a little bit on the fence about the plan. If you're not sure if you're going to make use of those subscriptions in the long term, definitely don't go annual.

00:13:56:10 - 00:14:02:23
Unknown
Well, sorry.

00:14:03:01 - 00:14:13:20
Unknown
Yeah. No no no no. But if you if you're not. No, but if you're not sure about those subscriptions and you might actually want to cancel premium, then you should not go for the annual plan even if it's going to, because it's only going to cost you a two month break fee.

00:14:13:20 - 00:14:15:11
Unknown
But if you sign up for the annual plan.

00:14:15:13 - 00:14:19:03
Unknown
break fee. Okay. Fair enough. Enough. Two months break fee. Okay. It's

00:14:19:03 - 00:14:23:01
Unknown
Yeah.

00:14:23:03 - 00:14:24:02
Unknown
I agree,

00:14:24:04 - 00:14:30:22
Unknown
just an idea. So ideally, figure out within 14 days whether this is something you really need or not. And if it's not, then just just go ahead and cancel it.

00:14:30:22 - 00:14:35:08
Unknown
And if you need it, if you like to make use of these subscriptions going forward and just keep it.

00:14:35:10 - 00:14:35:22
Unknown
And that

00:14:36:00 - 00:14:59:18
Unknown
is exactly who this plan is ultimately for someone who's going to really make use of those plans and someone who's already making use of the subscription, someone who's already benefiting from them. Now, prior to signing up for premium, and sees this as an opportunity to save a little bit of money, I don't think it's necessarily for someone who's interested in the the benefits of the fee free currency exchange or the discounted international transfers, or the savings rates, which we've seen are

00:14:59:18 - 00:15:03:02
Unknown
not that competitive, at least not right now.

00:15:03:02 - 00:15:06:15
Unknown
Ultimately, yeah, this feels like a subscription plan,

00:15:06:19 - 00:15:28:18
Unknown
and for someone who can make use of them is pretty difficult, isn't it, to draw a picture of someone, someone else that could really make use of premium, that doesn't really care too much about subscriptions just quickly. And because we know in the UK and we've talked about that a lot, that there are better core banking products available from the likes of Chase, Zopa, Firstdirect, who do really good international banking.

00:15:29:00 - 00:15:36:11
Unknown
What about the European Union? There'll be lots of people watching this right now from the EU or from from from outside the EU. But but we'll have Revolut available.

00:15:36:11 - 00:15:41:12
Unknown
Could this be compelling, generally speaking, for them, in terms of the banking, the international banking?

00:15:41:14 - 00:15:44:10
Unknown
products available obviously depends, on the market.

00:15:44:12 - 00:15:52:05
Unknown
just recommend to go ahead and research what's available within, within your market. But as an example, bank I think has good conditions.

00:15:52:05 - 00:15:56:00
Unknown
In several markets, N26 is available as well in several markets.

00:15:56:00 - 00:16:02:08
Unknown
And now probably the best solution out there. Trade Republic, that

00:16:02:10 - 00:16:17:01
Unknown
which looks really tempting. It's essentially, yeah, fee free to use. You can you can use it all over the world without paying any fee, without having to worry about any limits. And includes ATM withdrawals and, also just card spending, and that's great.

00:16:17:02 - 00:16:17:12
Unknown
Plus,

00:16:17:15 - 00:16:23:01
Unknown
it looks excellent. As I just mentioned. It's really tempting. I think it's probably the best looking debit card out there right now.

00:16:23:01 - 00:16:25:00
Unknown
So if that's available in your market, go for it.

00:16:25:03 - 00:16:30:04
Unknown
That's not to say that this still doesn't hold up as an ethics card. I mean, for an occasional traveler. Yann,

00:16:30:07 - 00:16:36:02
Unknown
know, this isn't terrible for someone that uses foreign exchange, use changing currencies, changing currencies. Right. These is not awful.

00:16:36:02 - 00:16:43:10
Unknown
Because ultimately, you're not going to see much of a difference in how much money you save on those exchanges, because if it's only minimal amounts.

00:16:43:10 - 00:16:55:15
Unknown
And again, like we said, if you're someone that values those partner apps or subscriptions or you might want improved savings rates, but that's still a bit of a stretch. But for 799 a month or €99, whatever it is in your market,

00:16:55:17 - 00:16:58:18
Unknown
it is a good fit for a few people. Yeah, it is.

00:16:58:20 - 00:17:04:04
Unknown
feel bad mentioning the monthly rate. Honestly, I'll just mention that yearly rate,

00:17:04:07 - 00:17:05:02
Unknown
Okay.

00:17:05:03 - 00:17:08:00
Unknown
the right thing to do as it is a yearly contract.

00:17:08:03 - 00:17:11:17
Unknown
So it's it's 80 pounds a year, right? It's it's it's not nice.

00:17:11:17 - 00:17:15:18
Unknown
I mean, it's kind of still 7.99 the month, but, it's a yearly contract.

00:17:15:18 - 00:17:16:08
Unknown
you're right.

00:17:16:10 - 00:17:19:00
Unknown
To be fair, it is a little bit weak on paper

00:17:19:00 - 00:17:27:22
Unknown
particularly. I mean, obviously when you look at Metal and ultra which has so packed and we've talked about them frequently. And if you want to learn more about metal or if you want to learn more about ultra,

00:17:27:22 - 00:17:30:20
Unknown
we'll put some links on the screen that you can click in and have a look.

00:17:30:20 - 00:17:31:09
Unknown
But those

00:17:31:09 - 00:17:38:14
Unknown
plans, I mean, if you need lounges or if you want to maximize those subscriptions, those plans are available. And definitely take a look at those videos if you want to learn more.

00:17:38:14 - 00:17:43:05
Unknown
And let us know in the comments. If you have any thoughts on premium. If you're using it now, how do you use it?

00:17:43:05 - 00:17:44:09
Unknown
We'd love to hear from you.

00:17:44:09 - 00:17:53:05
Unknown
And as always, if you want to support the channel, if you're watching us on YouTube, please like the video, subscribe. And if you're listening to us, then please do rate us five stars. That be nice.

00:17:53:05 - 00:17:55:07
Unknown
Thanks for watching, everybody. We'll see you in the next episode.