I'm going to AMS next week. Would the cheapest way to travel still be to pay the EUR2 fee plus 2 × 2.60 Schiphol - Zuid, and a GVB 24 hour card from there? Zuid seems to be the cheapest metro station to get to from Schiphol unless there is another way I don't know about.
Looking at
ns.nl, it seems you can buy an 'e-ticket' (ie: online, self-print ticket) for the 'normal rate' (ie: without the €1 surcharge for a one-off smartcard).
A
GVB 24hr card is €7.50, and only valid on GVB metros, trams and buses (not NS trains - but I guess that's why you're talking about changing at Zuid).
So, you're looking at €12.70 total. You'd need to decide how that compares to an OV-Chipkaart (which is €7.50 for the card, and you need a minimum balance of €20 when you start your final train journey (ie: presumably the return trip to Schiphol), so your outlay would be more than €27.50. However, an OV-Chipkaart is valid for 5 years, and works on all public transport in the Netherlands...
I already have about 20 transport smartcards for various cities/countries
+1. I wish that someone would come up with a 'roaming' smartcard that would work in multiple cities (same as Sim cards for phones). At least the OV-Chipkaart covers an entire country, not just one city...
EDIT: Just realised that, of course, it seems
www.ns.nl only accepts payment via iDeal (Dutch bank transfer) - so the online self-print ticket option doesn't work for international visitors... BUT it seems
SNCB will sell this ticket (even though its for domestic travel within the Netherlands) with payment by credit charge (and no surcharge)