RevPoints, Revolut's signature points revolution: there's also an Italian on the team. Our chat with Francesco Bovo

There is a before and an after in the world of points in Italy. And that "after" is called RevPoints, Revolut's loyalty program that - for the first time - also allows those with a debit card to accumulate points to transfer to premium air programs with 1:1 conversion.

It sounds like science fiction to those who, like many readers of The Flight Club, have built their ecosystem on American Express. Instead, it is reality. A reality that is still young, but with global ambitions.

We talked about this with Francis Bovo, Revolut's product manager and one of the veterans of the team that started RevPoints.

A long and unfiltered chat, where we touched on every corner of the program: from its origins to the various phases of a/b testing, from multipliers to upcoming airlines.

"I'm not the inventor, but I've been there since day zero."

Francis prefers to call himself one of the "veterans" of the RevPoints project, not the inventor. The team is anonymous, collective style - as is fashionable now - but the vision is clear and very ambitious: Create the world's first truly global loyalty program.

"Our goal is to make a difficult thing accessible. Airline miles are an invented currency, with a variable value and not always easy to understand."

For a novice user, hearing about Avios, Flying Blue or Miles&Smiles can be more disorienting than enlightening. That's where RevPoints comes in.

From debit card to "Pro" revolution

The paradox? All of this is accessible today without a credit card. All it takes is a standard Revolut debit card to start accumulating points. Although, as Francis points out, those who really want to maximize should consider upgrading to higher floors (Premium, Metal, Ultra):

"We want to push intensive use of points. That's why we reward those who choose advanced plans. But we have also removed barriers for standard users: now they also accumulate points."

Things then in some markets are even better, since in Spain, Lithuania and Ireland where Revolut offers a credit card you also get 1.5 points per euro spent.

Gift cards, multipliers and ... the future

Revolut's goal is clear: to create a system modular e universal, where every customer - wherever they are - can accumulate points and spend them in their own way. The first step? The gift card. Or the ability to pay via Revolut Pay, for example, just adopted by Wizz Air and WeRoad.

"For many Italian users, miles are not understandable. But if you tell them, 'Turn RevPoints into gift cards to use on Amazon,' then everything changes."

And that's just the beginning. I multipliers are the real game changer: from the classic 2x to 20x on certain categories (Enel, Skyscanner, Nespresso...), Revolut has built a real scoring machine. And those who have learned to use it - like many of our readers - have already shifted significant volumes from the competition.

A European program. Really.

The real strength of RevPoints is its being. pan-European. One currency for all, with identical conversion rates in Italy, Spain, France, Germany. An absolute rarity in the world of loyalty programs.

"Our goal is to maintain a global currency. When an Australian, Emirati or Japanese company enters , anyone, even an Italian user, will be able to transfer their points without restriction, and with the same conversions."

Can I use points to reset expenses? Soon, maybe yes

"We want to allow points to be used to discount real purchases-such as flights or everyday shopping-even without a direct partnership. But we will only do that if we can guarantee a good value for the points. We don't want to devalue them."

An eventuality that, if handled well, would open the door to an even wider audience not interested in miles but concerned with immediate savings.

What about cobranded cards? 

Revolut has been considering cobranded cards with some airlines, but so far there are no concrete developments.

"We have talked to a couple of carriers, we would love it as a project but the costs are significant, as well as exclusivity constraints that would make it complicated."

In conclusion

RevPoints has changed the rules of the game. It is not perfect yet. But if we look at the roadmap, the active multipliers, the number of companies ready to join the system ... the future is more than promising. Most importantly, for the first time, it is no longer necessary to have a credit card to accumulate points in the Italian market.

If until yesterday we were talking about cashback, today we are talking about value return. And for those who know how to use points, there is no smarter choice.

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