You should probably get a Capital One Visa card for point-of-sale transactions.

And then, if possible, you should get an account from any bank that offers a "Plus" or "Cirrus" ATM card without a Visa/MC logo, and that promises you there will be no fees. Alternatively, you can get an account from a bank with a Visa Debit card, which will usually have the Plus and/or Cirrus logos on the bank. You slightly increase your risk of your account being cleaned out if your card is lost or stolen, but most banks will put the money back after investigation, and it sounds like this won't be your primary account anyway.

My checking accounts are at Umbrellabank.com and at Commerce Bank of NJ/NY/PA. Both offer Visa Debit cards--Umbrella with Cirrus and Commerce with Plus. Commerce seems to offer a slightly better exchange rate at ATMs (I believe they still "eat" the 1% Visa fee), but you may not be available to open an account with them in your area. Umbrella charges no fees beyond the 1% Visa forex fee for ATM transactions or point-of-sale transactions, and they also rebate ATM owner fees.

For online transfers between banks, I pass things through my ING Direct savings account. It takes 5 business days for deposits to become available at ING, and there is a limit to how many withdrawals you can make per month, but there are zero fees or minimums, they currently offer 3.80% APY on the account, and you can link up to three external checking accounts for easy online transfer. I keep most of my cash in ING and transfer it to Umbrella and Commerce as needed (withdrawals usually are available in 1-2 business days). If you want an ING account, PM me for a referral--you'll get $25 and I'll get $10.