I am taking Mrs. dwcatty to Paris in May for her mmmthieth birthday. We've already got plane and hotel reservations, and are now researching where to go what to see etc. I am something of a logistics freak, so am mastering the RER, busses, museum closings and late nights, etc.

One of my concerns is obtaining the best foreign exhange, whether on credit card purchases or cash withdrawals at ATMs. My research has lead me to believe my best course of action to avoid both conversion fees for exchange and bank fees at ATMs is the following two step process.

First I am going to open a no fee checking account with Bank of America and put enough money in it to cover any and all withdrawals I will make during my trip to Paris (with a cushion). I will get BofA's debit card, which is a Visa card, and use it at the BNP Paribas ATMs in Paris. Due to the relationship between BofA and BNP there is no exchange fee, nor is there a bank fee for using the French ATMs.

Second I will get a Capitol One Master Card. Capitol One does not charge conversion fees on their credit cards. Any balance I create for the things I charge while in France I will pay off completely when the statement arrives so as to not pay any interest fees.

This way I will have both a MasterCard and a Visa, I will have access to a no fee ATM to obtain cash, and I will have a credit card. (I can even get one with a picture of the Tour Eiffel.) I plan to get two of each, in my name in my wife's, for each account.

I have also gone to the BNP website, located and printed a map of the ATMs in the neighborhood of my hotel so that I won't be wandering around looking for a branch. There is no BNP at CDG, but I will be purchasing our tickets into the city (and our Navigo Decouverte cards) at the RER ticket window and they accept credit cards, so I can wait until I get to a BNP to make my first cash withdrawal.

I think that about covers it. Based on the experience of others here, does this appear to be a sound strategy? I hate paying for money.