For getting cash while traveling I really like using USAA's free checking account with its MasterCard (MC) ATM Debit card. If one sets it up right, one can initiate free online ACH electronic transfers into/out of the USAA checking account from one's other non-USAA accounts, so it is extremely easy to keep the account funded as needed. Once the money hits the account, usually within one business day of initiating the transfer, I can then use almost any atm in the world for free to access it since USAA allows 10 free atm withdrawals per month (max w/d of $400 per day) and also automatically rebates up to $15 per month in "foreign" (non-USAA) atm fees, if any such charges are added by the foreign atm. Also, for the exchange rate one gets the MC rate plus USAA passes along the 1% charge that MC charges (or will soon be charging) the bank, but they don't add any other fees for forex. So essentially one gets the interbank rate plus 1% which I believe is about as good as you can get on a debit card.

For non-cash purchases, I am using USAA's MC credit card which also only passes on the 1% MC forex fee but also gives 1% cash rewards back, so that cancels out the MC forex charge. The USAA credit card has an optional auto pay feature which allows your credit card statement to be automatically paid in full on the date it is due from any bank account you designate which is very useful when on long trips and you don't want to have to worry about getting that bill paid on time.

My back up card is the Cap One Go Cash Visa card, (but I don't much care for their online account access because you can't specify in advance the exact day you want them to pull from your bank to pay your statement).

I'm pretty happy with the above setup. Before I got smart I was paying a $3.00 foreign atm fee charged by my regular bank (Wash. Mutual) each time I used a foreign atm. It may not seem like much but it starts to add up after a few trips.