NEW: Revolut launches Avios for debit card spending in five countries – coming to the UK?

Here is something which could lead to a big change in the Avios universe – RevPoints.

Revolut has started to offer Avios for debit card spending in five European countries via its new RevPoints loyalty scheme. I expect it to come to the UK soon.

If you or any familiy members live in Spain, Portugal, Croatia, Greece or Malta you can jump in now.

Revolut is rolling out a points programme called RevPoints, which convert to Avios.

To quote the company:

“RevPoints are designed to transform routine purchases into valuable rewards and will soon be available across Europe, making it one of the largest debit card loyalty programs. extensive areas of the region. By offering a tangible and rewarding incentive for everyday spending, we empower customers to get the most out of using Revolut as their main bank account.

RevPoints joins our portfolio of everyday banking products, as we continue to offer innovations aimed at meeting the needs of our customers, including vacation home rentals, hotels, travel insurance, experiences and currency exchange. As with many Revolut services, we are ready to redefine what loyalty programs can do, by adding even more benefits in the future.”

How do you earn RevPoints?

The key route is via spending on your Revolut debit card.

Other options include:

• Earning bonus points by upgrading your Revolut plan and hitting a spend target
• Completing challenges in the Revolut app
• Booking hotel stays via Revolut
• Signing up for RevPoints Spare Change

RevPoints Spare Change is a feature where you can choose to round-up any card transaction to the nearest whole number and exchange the difference for points. If your card transaction was £5.60, it would be rounded-up to £6.00, with 40p being exchanged for points.

What is the earning rate on card spend?

The earn rate varies based on your Revolut plan. This is how the European plans work in the countries where RevPoints is already live – swap € for £ and you get the equivalent UK pricing:

• Free plan – 1 RevPoint per €10 spent
• Plus (€3.99 per month) – 1 RevPoint per €5 spent
• Premium (€8.99 per month) – 1 RevPoint per €3 spent
• Metal (€15.99 per month) – 1 RevPoint per €2 spent
• Ultra (€45 per month) – 1 RevPoint per €1 spent

Some transaction types earn double points, and there are also ‘challenges’ such as a weekly spend bonus.

Which airlines is Revolut working with?

At the moment, the two participating programmes are Avios and Flying Blue, the Air France / KLM programme.

The only other option for redeeming points is for a discount on a hotel room booked via the Revolut platform.

Is this coming to the UK?

It seems so. I have seen specific comments about it being rolled out here soon, although there is no guarantee that the Avios option will remain.

Won’t this clash with existing Avios deals with Amex and Barclaycard?

It shouldn’t clash with the existing agreements with American Express and Barclaycard.

As long as a card offers an intermediate currency that converts to Avios, it is OK. Capital On Tap, NatWest and HSBC already operate on this model – you earn their proprietary points and must do a separate conversion to turn them into Avios. Revolut won’t be allowed to put an Avios logo on its card, however, and may be restricted from mentioning it in its advertising.

Will this be a good deal for UK Avios collectors?

Potentially, yes.

I doubt many HfP readers will want to pay a high monthly fee for a Revolut debit card.

However, the option to earn 1 Avios per £10 spent on a free debit card could be interesting. It depends how much occasional debit card spending you have.

If you could pay HMRC for free with a Revolut debit card whilst earning Avios then it would be very interesting for a subset of HfP readers – and would potentially make the paid Revolut products worth considering too.

Let’s see …. more to come, I’m sure.

You can check out Revolut plans on its UK website here although there is no mention of RevPoints yet.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (January 2024)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital On Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus.

There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.