Originally Posted by
Jagboi
I'd use a debit card, but not a credit card. My card treats that as a cash advance and interest at 19.5% is payable immediately until the cash is repaid. It's a very expensive way to get money. Withdrawing from your US account using an ATM is the cheapest option.
You misunderstood my point or else I didn't explain it well. I would
never suggest using a credit card to get a cash advance. I was suggesting using a credit card with a 1% foreign transaction fee and a generally good exchange rate to make purchases as a credit card rather than using an ATM card to make purchases.
tom911 has outlined good reasons for that above.
I agree with you that the ATM card is probably the most practical way for a visitor to withdraw a modest amount of cash for purchases too small, or otherwise impractical or impossible to make with a credit card. That's been true in most countries we've visited.