Revolut, Wise, and Curve all promise to make spending and moving money across currencies cheaper and easier, but they are built around genuinely different priorities. Revolut is a broad financial app with a loyalty programme layered on top. Wise is built almost entirely around low, transparent currency conversion. Curve sits on top of your existing bank cards rather than replacing them. None of them is "the best" outright — the right one depends on what you actually do with your money.
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At a glance
| Card | Core idea | Fees | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revolut | All in one app: multicurrency account, card, RevPoints loyalty programme, savings, trading | Free Standard plan; Premium from US$9.99/month, rising through Metal and Ultra (Revolut plans) | People who want one app for everyday spending, FX, and a rewards programme they will actively use |
| Wise | Currency conversion at the midmarket rate with a transparent, itemised fee | No monthly or annual account fee; conversion fee typically 0.33–1.75% depending on currency pair; free ATM withdrawals up to about £250/month, then roughly 2.69% from May 2026 (Wise card fees, Wise Help Centre) | Frequent international spenders and travellers who want the lowest, most predictable FX cost with no subscription |
| Curve | A single card that connects to your existing bank cards, letting you switch which one is charged after the fact | Pay (free) through Pay Pro+ (roughly £17.99/month) tiers; FX limits from €250 to €100,000/month by tier; weekend FX surcharge of roughly 0.5–1.5% (Curve plans, Curve fees) | People who want to consolidate several bank cards into one physical card and retroactively move transactions between accounts |
Revolut: the all in one app with a loyalty programme attached
Revolut's real differentiator against the other two cards on this page is RevPoints — neither Wise nor Curve has an equivalent loyalty programme that converts into airline miles. If you already use Revolut for everyday spending and travel regularly enough to redeem Flying Blue miles well, the RevPoints layer can add genuine value on top of a card you would likely hold anyway. Where Revolut is weaker is pure FX cost predictability: fee free FX allowances are capped by plan and can run into a fair use surcharge once you exceed them, and the free Standard plan earns no RevPoints at all. Use the calculator above to see whether your specific spend and plan combination pushes RevPoints into genuinely worthwhile territory.
Consider Revolut
If Revolut looks like the right fit after running the numbers, you can apply through Revolut's official affiliate programme referral path below.
Wise: the transparent FX specialist
Wise does not try to be an everything app. It focuses on one job — converting and spending money across currencies at rates close to the real midmarket exchange rate, with every fee itemised before you confirm a transaction. There is no monthly or annual fee for the core account or card, which makes Wise a strong default for anyone whose main frustration with other providers is opaque markup on currency conversion. The tradeoff is that Wise has no loyalty or rewards programme in the RevPoints sense, and ATM withdrawals beyond the free monthly allowance carry a real fee.
Consider Wise
Wise runs a confirmed public affiliate programme through Partnerize, open to bloggers, comparison sites, and publishers.
Curve: one card for all your other cards
Curve's pitch is different again: instead of replacing your bank cards, it sits on top of them. You link your existing debit and credit cards to one Curve card, and can switch which underlying card gets charged even after a purchase has gone through ("Go Back in Time"), within Curve's rules. Curve's paid tiers unlock higher FX allowances and features like cashback, but its free Pay tier is comparatively limited on FX perks, and Curve applies a weekend FX surcharge that Wise and Revolut generally do not on top of their base plan allowances.
A note on Curve affiliate links: unlike Revolut and Wise, we could not confirm an open, publicly documented affiliate programme for Curve at the time of writing — only personal refer a friend and temporary promotional terms were found (Curve referral promo terms). If you are considering monetising Curve traffic, contact Curve directly to ask about a formal partner or affiliate arrangement rather than assuming one exists.
So which one should you actually pick?
If you travel often enough to make good use of airline miles and want everyday banking, FX, and a loyalty programme in one app, Revolut is the natural fit — provided your plan and spend combination clears the bar the calculator sets. If your priority is simply the cheapest, most transparent way to convert and spend foreign currency with no subscription commitment, Wise is hard to beat on pure FX cost. If you want to keep your existing bank cards and consolidate them into one physical card with more flexible tiered features, Curve is worth a look, with the caveat that its rewards are less generous than Revolut's and its affiliate/referral landscape is less clear.
None of these cards are mutually exclusive — many frequent travellers carry two, using Wise for day to day FX and Revolut (or Curve) for its specific perks.