As far as I know this fees are not charged by the bank operating the ATM but by the card issuer. The card issuer/your bank pays a fee to the ATM operating bank and charges you this fee + some more �. So the problem is not VISA/Master/Amex/Diners etc. in general but their price policy in Europe. At least this is what Citi told me, when I asked once.

If I use a credit card(visa, amex) in an ATM machine, the money is treated like a cash advance. All charges on the card then become subject to the CC company interest for that month. This can be very expensive. Withdraw $200, and get hit with 1.5% charge on the $15000 you have racked up for the month!!! I rack up those kinds of charges, and pay them on time. no interest, lots of miles. Cash withdrawals do not buy miles.

Get a separate debit card from your bank that you never put charges on. Find the max chargable. You can also get these cards from Fidelity, or Etrade. Some have very short daily maxes. My bank has a $250 per day limit.

The rates for these cards will vary, but they are the cheapest way to get small money.

for large money, you will have to find a money trader.

I agree, use a debit card for your ATM withdrawls. If you are staying entirely in the Eurozone, you might want to think about doing a single exchange away from the Airport. Almost all the public transportation systems (and most businesses now) in Germany, Italy, and France take credit/debit cards so you can get from the airport to town that way. If you choose to do a large single transaction, you might get a discount on the commission IF you ask for it and are willing to walk to the next bank if you don't (Frankfurt, FRA, is the most likely in my mind). This just means you are walking with a lot of cash during the trip though. Remember that Ireland, Great Britain, Switzerland and All Eastern European contries are not on the Euro. If you are going to these countries, just simplify life and just go with ATM theory as paying commission 2x will really agrivate you.

Not all correct. Ireland is a member of the euro-zone and the Euro is their official currency. In eastern europe at least in Montenegro and Kosovo the Euro is the offical currency.
And in addition to the countries mentioned above Norway and Sweden don't have the Euro.

ATM all the way - Easy,fast, and less expensive.

True on the Montenegro count, and nearly correct on Kosovo count. The Euro is one of two official currencies of the protectorate: the Serbian dinar is also legal tender there. OTOH, the dinar is the only official tender in Serbia, but the Euro is used and accepted (probably because of its loose commonwealth with Montenegro).

The EU at a glance - Travelling in Europe - Money:

There are different thresholds of participation in the EU. EU membership does not entail immediate conversion -- or conversion at all -- to the Euro.

Just to make matters crystal clear, a country can be Schengen but not necessarily an EU member.

Thanks for this additions. I wasn't aware of all this details.

Absolutely! Schengen, EU and Euro Zone are still not the same and won't be for quite a long time if ever.

You get those debit cards also from US banks. I mostly use my check card from NetBank. They have "Cirrus", "NYCE", "Star" and "Visa" on it. I was never charged a fee, and the rate is OK (medium rate like published in Bloomberg, WSJ). "Maestro" is a European (Euro) Card.... I have one from Dresdner Bank and was charged a 5.00 Euro Fee using an ATM from Deutsche Bank in Italy

Yes and even worse they charge 5 Euro within germany if you use the "wrong" ATM e.g. having a german debit card form Citi and using it a german ATM from Deutsche Bank or the other was round

I stand corrected. I would like to note that if you are hung up with only Euros in a non-Euro country, many merchants will take your Euro and give you change in the local currency. The rates are absolutly horrendous and I could only see doing this in dire straights or emergencies.

flyincat2k is wrong:

Yeah, your adivse is correct. You can also often pay with $$$ but always the same problem that you get awful rates. So something like this should be avoided.

I have a savings account at Chase bank. I have only an ATM card from them. When I used it in Europe, they charged me 3.5 percent of the amount I withdrew. Their explanation was that Mastercard was charging them 2.5 percent and they added one percent on their own. Again, I do NOT have a credit card, only a debit card. Here in Europe, Mastercard is going crazy charging local merchants ridiculously high rates for use of their card (and the local merchants are dropping the card as a result). Personally, I would stay away from anything Mastercard is involved it, including cash/debit cards.