I am going to America Oregon) for 4 weeks and i want to be able to withdraw money from my bank account which is barclays in UK. Could you tell me which bank in america that dont make a charge for this? or which bank has an agreement with Barclays for this?

Bank of America is a Barclay's partner.

But double check w/ Barclays customer service before you leave home that there won't be any ATM fees. In Europe the banks do not charge for using ATMs "out of system". But they usually do in the States. Not 100% sure if the BofA/Barclays agreement is reciprocal. It should be - but w/ BofA who knows??

Wouldn't Barclay's be the best source of that info?

If you use your debit card to make a purchase in a grocery store, most of them will give you cash back (up to $50 or $100) for no fee. This is easier than finding a specific brand of ATM. Also, most ATMs charge only a dollar or two anyway, so unless you're getting cash every day it's a negligble expense. I have yet to encounter an ATM that does not charge any fee for customers of other banks.

English friends swear by Nationwide. They claim Nationwide Flex Account is one of a small number that don't charge a conversion fee for foreign purchases. www.nationwide.co.uk There are 2 types (blue and red) and I'm not sure of the difference. Friends have blue.

In the US almost all ATMS (except those for your own bank) charge for withdrawals. These range from 99 cents (at many drugstores and supermarkets) to $2 - at some competing banks. You can get small amounts of cash - usually up to $50 - at supermarkets if you buy groceries there.

This is in addition to whatever your own bank would charge you (don;t know if they do or not).

Just a note that at any supermarket in the San Francisco area, you can get $100 or $200 cash from the checker (buy a bottle of soda). Maybe the $50 is particular to NY?

I can only guess that your bank in the UK does bank holds (blocking of funds in excess of estimated purchases) when a debit card is used.... It may be in your best interest to have a credit card to use when renting cars, reserving hotel/motel rooms and for the purchase of gas. These are the most frequent types of transactions that will incur a debit hold on your funds. When traveling it is always best to have two sources of funds at your disposal.

http://www.pirg.org/consumer/banks/d...ebitcards1.htm