I just read a thread about what form of money you should bring to europe and came across a post regarding the ATM/check card.

Here's my question:

we have a debit card from washington mutual and bank of america (that has a master card/visa logo on it). since we closed out all our credit cards 2 months ago, we're going to rely on using just our debit/check cards.

We thought about withdrawing money from it when we get to london and then to italy using ATM and then purchase Souvenirs using the same card - since it has a master card/visa logo anyway....

is that ok?

Yes, it is OK in places where they get debit/credit cards. If the purchase is small..they just don't get any card.
I have one here in Spain and have used it in Italy without problems.

yes, sounds like a good plan.

Check out which banks BofA has an agreement with so save on non-BofA ATM fees.

I believe it's Barclay's in London, but none in Italy. It'll cost you $5/withdrawal (charged by BofA) if you use a different bank's ATM. Still the most economical way to get cash, but avoid making $20 withdraws.

I'm going to London in two months myself. I have two debit cards, one from Regions Bank and the other from Citibank. I only want to have a minimum amount of cash total, say between 100-150 pounds. I plan to get this as soon as I get off the plane, or at least right after I check in at the hotel.

How much does a standard British ATM charge for currency transaction? Where would you recommend that I do this?

In my experience the average British Bank ATM charges $0.00 per transaction. The ATM simply dispenses local currency.

The electronic network that does the currency conversion (i.e. Visa) currently adds 1% foreign exchange fee.

Your home bank may charge you a fee to access your own money - check with your home bank what they will charge per transaction.

The standard British bank ATM charges nothing. However, your bank might or might not charge something.

My fellow travelers and I are not people that like to carry a huge amount of cash on hand. So, I doubt I will use a British ATM more than twice. This should keep any transaction fees to a minimum.

Check with your bank on where their debit card will work. While I have rarely had any issues getting money from an ATM machine worldwide, I also have rarely been successful using a debit card internationally. Check with your bank.... (also, just because it has the Mastercard/Visa symbol - it doesn't mean it can be used as a credit card - when I opened my account, I only asked for the ATM/debit card - and mine isn't a credit card - but it still has the logo)......