Originally Posted by
calbear2005
Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought exchange counters were cheaper unless you're exchanging huge amounts of money. ATM fees are generally ~$6 USD, plus whatever your home bank's exchange fee is, while exchange counters charge about 1%. So unless you're exchanging ~$1000 USD and assuming your home bank's fee is ~$3 USD, it's cheaper to go to an exchange counter versus the ATM.
Fidelity rebates my ATM fees in Thailand, and gives me
interbank rate on withdrawals using my debit card. The foreign transaction fee I would pay is only on purchases (and I use a different card for purchasing outside the US where that isn't a problem).
https://www.uscreditcardguide.com/fi...e-wordwide-en/
Charles Schwab is similar, plus it doesn't even have the foreign transaction fee.
https://www.uscreditcardguide.com/ch...e-wordwide-en/
Charles Schwab is discussed here on FT:
Charles Schwab ATM/Debit card?
In short, if you're doing overseas travel, it's fairly easy to get banking products that give you access to your cash without being gouged. Not all banks gouge you.
https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/bank...onal-atm-fees/
I try to do that because I don't want the nuisance of having to go look up currency exchange when I travel. I prefer to just use an ATM and go.