Originally Posted by
zombietooth
My experience is confined to Asia, but VISA/MC (with no foreign transaction fees) never give you the London Interbank rate, nor have any ATM debit cards from any US banks that I know of, they usually give 2 % less. In addition, Thailand charges a fee on foreigners using ATMs, resulting in an even worse deal.
Israel is in Asia, so your stats will need to change
I've done a bunch of tests on this. The rates are never the exact same. But, the rate is as close as you'll get to the Bank of Israel official exchange rate. Truth is, sometimes the rate you get is actually a bit better. Assuming your card charges no fee (neither a percentage for FTF nor a set, non-bank ATM) and you're using a bank ATM (which doesn't charge a fee to use for non-customers), you're in the best shape already.
Having withdrawn thousands of ILS at a time, I've seen the difference between what the BOI rate should've given me and what I've actually gotten to be within maybe a shekel or 2 (at most, usually less).