Well, rogerdodger, I learned a long time ago that with travel there is no "norm". I'm not the only one here who does extensive European travel -- many others more than I!

And while I might spend more on a round of pints -- that gives me pleasure. Handing over $30 to the bank when I don't need to does not give me pleasure.
If I accidentally lost a $20 bill out of my wallet, I wouldn't go ballistic, but I'd sure prefer not to lose it, and I'd think about how NOT to let it happen again and more frequently, then take appropriate steps. Some people apparently wouldn't care. I do.

Robjame - if you are spending that much annually, why wouldn't you just open and maintain a Euro denominated interest bearing account with a debit card? Before you leave for Europe have whatever money you need wired into the Euro account. Whatever you don't spend, leave there for next time.

Robjame, you hit it on the head! In the villages of Wool and Wellington I stayed at very nice B&B's for GBP 35. In York a bit more and in London a couple hundred. Also, regarding your spending 15,ooo per year,is the amount you wirhdraw from the ATM? In any event, I don't mean to sound critical of others and spending habits. For me, $30 one way or the other, is not worth the fret. If it is a major concern to you, then yes, you should spend what ever time you need to close, re-open accounts - in the mean time I think I will head out to the golf course. :)

ripit - that's the rub for Canadians.
Change the money at the bank - 2.5%
Withdraw from a foreign ATM - 2.5% + ATM fees.
Use visa - 2.5 + 1 = 3.5%
And there is complete collusion between the banks.
And I spend half the year in the States so I get the same charges changing Cnanadian to American dollars.

If you open an Euro denominated account (either online or in person) at let's say Deutsche Bank, why can't you simply have money wired from your Canadian account to the DB account for less than 2.5%? I would think that if you are wiring 10-15k EUR, you would be able to negotiate a better forex rate than that. Heck, 2.5% is the rate PayPal charges.

FWIW, I ran across this article while looking up credit card info:

http://www.cardratings.com/creditcar...hangefees.html

wawa means "geese" in Native American,

I had no idea until I ran across this thread that I would be charged more for transactions overseas than at home. I am a novice traveler and quite ignorant of some of this. I called Bofa and they confirmed that there will be a 3% transaction fee for any ATM withdrawals and Visa charges. So I then called my credit union and they have a 1% fee for Visa charges. I can't use my debit card overseas with them. So I guess I'll be using my BOFA debit card when necessary but my Visa or AMEX for all other purchases. I do need to get some travelers checks in Euros through AAA to pay for the apartment. I know they don't charge members for travelers checks but they may not give a great exchange rate?

All of this got me asking questions about my own accounts.

First, Bank of America. $5.00 per shot to use an ATM card unless the ATM is at a correspondent (affiliated) bank.
The ones applicable to me are Scotia Bank in Canada, Deutsche Bank in Germany, and Barclays Bank in the UK.
Unfortunately, most of the trip will be in Switzerland where there is no affiliate!

Second, Bank of America credit card.
B of A charges 3% for conversions into US dollars. Other cards charge less, but many of the big banks have the 3% charge for no value added.

Third, traveler's checks. You pay about 5% above the whole sale bank rate for the privilege of buying your own money. The same charge is true of acquiring foreign currency.

What everything boils down to is that the big banks have learned to fleece the little guy because he or she may not ask the right questions, or just accept the charges as part of the expenses of the trip. Nice way to rake off more money and post extra profit.

What I did learn in from this is that it appears that Capital One credit cards do NOT sock you with extra surcharges for overseas use.

Secondly, a local credit union will accept me as a member for a minimal deposit and issue me an ATM card. I can then add to the account just before I leave the US. I get 5 free usages of the ATM card per month at any aTM machine including those outside of the country. [I asked specifically.] After 5 transactions per month, I pay 50¢ per usage, whether here or in France.

The credit union does charge a one time $9.00 membership fee, two B of A overseas ATM transactions later I have recouped my membership fee.

On the plus side is that credit union interest on my deposit is higher than what I have at the bank, so I can gain there as well. And I can write checks as well, which are microfilmed and stored long term.

And vinolover is right. The policies have changed. Seems like the big banks have adopted a "sock it to them" modus operandi.

Spurred by a) this thread and b) my intent to use ATMs a LOT this summer to pay for 4weeks of apartment rentals in Italy I checked with my credit union. They charge 1% exchange fee for foreign ATM WD (no fee) with the Visa logo ATM card.

They said they offer a non-visa logo ATM only card, but all transactions are handled by the visa network, so they will still add the 1% fee.

Not a big deal in the scheme of things, but 1% of a very big number adds up quickly.

JD the one percent is a lot better than the three percent I paid on purchases with my Chase VISA card. You will do very well with that ATM card for cash. At least you know you have one of the lowest rates around.

normal1953, whoever told you that BofA will charge you 3% for ATM withdrawals is simply wrong. They do charge that for debit card purchases, but they DO NOT charge that for foreign ATM withdrawals. The charge 1%, plus the $5 fee if not a partner bank. As noted above, I have checked with their national offices -- not with a local "flunkie" who really doesn't know. And there are a lot of those, unfortunately.