Even with Revolut you can’t travel for free
Vacations are over. Kids are back to school. It was really salutary to switch off from work for a while. One spends more while not working and my summer break was not an exception. More than one week from my return from the US East & West Coast trip has passed. I found out again that the customer experience of fintech apps is not only in its user interface but also in the processes which must be clear to the user (a client would be a far better word, though).
I travelled with my colorful card issued by Revout. This is a piece of plastic one could really love. Especially if you travel a lot from Poland, the country with no plans to be a part of the eurozone.
So I got back. Spent a few days fighting with jetlag and dumping my photos of the American national parks. When I came back to myself and almost forgot about that leisure trip my Revolut app reminded me about the itinerary I had. More than once I woke up with a few push messages that the payments for specific vendors were reverted. The money really returned. WOW! This is nice — that was my first impression. But after a few seconds I felt really guilty. I did remember what I bought, let’s say, in Walgreens Las Vegas and it was simply unfair to get it for free. Good service deserves reward. During the following days I observed how a part of the money I spent on my vacation is coming back to me in various transactions. Maybe this is the method to get reach by travelling and spending, but it didn’t last too long.
My Revolut account encountered something they named as delayed transactions. My account balance was shrunk and I stopped feeling guilty for getting something for free. A few days of a rollercoaster in private finances without my direct preceding actions.
Finally no one made a loss. I believe all the vendors got the money I spent for their services and products. As a fintech guy I can understand most of the operations they have in the background to process my transactions. But as a user — or let’s say a client — I have two lessons learned:
- the positive balance on your account does not mean that you have money,
- travel broadens the mind.
I was aware of them anyway.
Even without a card and regardless of the ups and downs of your cash flow, you can look through my last American trip itinerary on my personal blog szewo.com (posts are in Polish).
Memories are priceless.
Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com on September 11, 2018.
