Newbies - plese stop asking about traveler's checks. They became extinct in the 20th century. Eueope has exactly the same type of electonic banking system as the US. In citues and larger towns there is an ATM on every block (there may be fewer in a tiny town but there will be a bank with one).

To avoid paying purchase fees, cashing fees and getting an awful rate of exchange (as well as the hassle of searching forever to find a place that will change trav checks) the rules are:

1) Pay for as much as possibe with a Visa, MC or AmEx (whichever card charges you the lowest % over the interbank rate)
2) Get cash for small items from the ATM with a debit card attached to your checking account

yup. They are now in the museum.

We still need a means here to point people to answers for common questions.

True dat

Not quite, NY Traveler. It sounds as if you may have the kinds of CCs and bank accounts that get special treatment, but for us poor folks ....

CREDIT CARD --First DO inquire of your credit card company about that % charge... if it's 1%, okay.... but many many of them charge 3%, unless you have one of the "Big Spender" versions (called Premium, diamond, sapphire, VIP etc). In that exalted level you'll do well... but if you're just one of the "unwashed" with a "regular" card you may be better off going the cash route ---AND, if you're up to a bit of bargaining, small shops, hotels etc may give u a nice discount for cash. Ask ask ask.

ATM (debit) CARD -- First, There is a universal 1% fee for "Currency Conversion" that goes to Visa/Mastercard Clearinghouse. 99% of banks include this in transaction so you don't see it. Only bank I know that "eats" this fee is the Online Bank, Capitol One. So live with it.

- Second, any fees are NOT levied by the banks whose machines you use... any fees come from your home bank, and they can vary dramatically. Here's a handy Online comparison of many banks (some national, some regional, some local): http://www.flyerguide.com/wiki/index...d_Credit_Cards
... as you can see, to get $300 worth of Euros, Wachovia/Wells Fargo will charge $5 per transaction plus 3% = $13!!! highway robbery. TD bank (if you live where there is one) will charge nothing, zed, zippo for up to 10 withdrawals per month. And if you simply request at your branch to have your withdrawal llimit raised from $500 (the usual) to $1,000, that gives you $10,000. Should be plenty! for average trip.

- Third, several simple precautions. (1) good to have debit cards on several accounts, just in case (2) if you're a couple, each should have ATM cards on each account. (3) tell banks before you go that you're going to be withdrawing money abroad, so they won't freeze your account (thinking it's fraud), AND ask to raise withdrawal limit, so u won't have to run to the bank frequently. It's good to do this in person, and watch the clerk input the information in the computer.

And that's all...

Under the 2nd point above, about bank ATM fees.... as with credit cards if you have a Big Spender Account (i.e, Bank of America Premier account, PMA checking for Wells Fargo), the fees can be waived on request. But for the rest of us common folk ... shop around!

ALSO --If you belong to a credit union, they don't profiteer... low or no fees. I travel with most of my trip money in TD, and my Credit Union account as my back-up.

Use capital one cards, no transaction fees on any of their cards.