Miles are generally considered worth far less than 3 cents apiece. My Juniper Bank USAirways Mastercard only has a 1% markup but it still barely got used.

Well, this data point finally got my lazy butt to apply for a Capital One card.. (too bad it's a Visa and not MC).

used Commerce Bank (NJ) ATM card for cash withdrawal in Canada -- got $1.11 CAD per $1 USD.

used Amex for dinner in Canada -- got $1.089 CAD per $1 USD. Not terrible but annoying.

Why would you prefer MC? I don't think I've ever been anywhere outside the US that accepted MC and not Visa. The only advantage I've ever seen with MC is that for some bizarre reason MC's car rental CDW coverage applies in Israel (and maybe a few other places), where Visa's and Amex's don't apply.

I bought train tickets on UK GNER site. The conversion rate was 1.82. USD went down another 2% from March when it was 1.78 when I bought tickets on EasyJet site.

I called to enquire if there would be any currency conversion fee after June 1. The rep said for this particular card is still NO, thought the Fidelity version of the MBNA card already charges 3%.

There are many places around the world where Visa and MC are completely separate, both as credit cards and as ATMs. In Brazil, MC and Diners are accepted at the same retail points, while the Visa retail network is independent. Some merchants accept MC/Diners, some accept Visa, and many (but not all) accept both. American Express has its own network, separate from the other two. In many locations, merchants have three separate machines, one for each system.

Most ATMs do not accept any foreign cards in Brazil. Only specially marked ATMs will accept the cards advertised. In other places around the world, the situation is the same: ATMs accept only the brand on the stickers. For example, on Easter Island only MC will work in the local ATM; in French Polynesian, only Visa will work at any bank.

Not all countries in the world are like the US, where MC and Visa are virtually equivalent.

This I knew. But I was under the impression that Visa was more accepted overseas than MC, not less. Maybe the situation is different in Brazil or other countries I haven't visited lately (last time I was in Brazil I was 6 years old), but I don't think I've been in a situation in recent years where I could use an international credit or ATM card but not use Visa. My recent experiences come from China, Hong Kong, Israel, the UK, Holland, Spain, Guatemala and Belize. The only time I've opted to pull out a MC instead was the Israel rental car thing, where Hertz didn't make me pay CDW if I used MC instead of Visa. In Guatemala, I'm pretty sure Visa was the only card accepted at some stores I visited.

Wow, there are even ATMs on Easter Island and you can withdraw funds from your own bank?

I remember at Taihiti, there was only one machine at downtown Pappeete that took my ATM card (I dont remember it is a Visa or a MC) - that was the machine in front of the Marchee - not even the machine of the same bank at the bank's office in town would take my card.

in addition to everything that ppl have mentioned, I feel like MC is often the choice of promotions instead of Visa. For example, Faster Free Nights with Hyatt.

There is only one bank on Easter Island, and its ATM takes only MC/Cirrus. Visa credit cards can be used in local restaurants, hotels, etc., or at least the ones that cater to tourists. Credit card use often attracts a surcharge.

In French Polynesia there are banks everywhere you look, but they take only Visa/Plus foreign cards or MC/Cirrus ISSUED IN FRANCE; no MC/Cirrus from anywhere else.

I wonder what would happen with my Visa/Cirrus ATM card. Yes, umbrellabank.com actually issues a Visa/Cirrus ATM card. Strange, huh?

Your card should work both on Easter Island (Cirrus) and in French Polynesia (Visa). Why not take a trip and find out? (Or I guess I could open an account in umbrellbank)

I'd definitely like to go to Tahiti some time. But I have no idea when that'll happen...

I used to be a pretty big advocate of umbrellabank. I'm now more lukewarm. Following their acquisition by NewSouth FSB, they no longer have the superb 24hr customer service they once had, which is the biggest downer. And I have some beefs with their technology (particularly the way they do passwords and PIN numbers). But I stay with them because their product otherwise remains decent. They only charge 1% on foreign purchases/ATM withdrawals (better than most, although I have other cards that don't charge anything). ACH transactions are almost always available within 24 hours of transmission. Plus they rebate ATM fees and pay reasonable (but not extraordinary) interest on my checking account balance, along with free billpay and whatnot.

But I digress...

I am still looking for a bank offering a high-interest e-savings account (such as ING, Citi, HSBC) with an attached ATM card that (1) has a 0% foreign exchange fee, (2) allows withdrawals on the order of USD 2,000 per day, (3) rebates ATM fees in the US.

So far I know about:

ING - no ATM card

Citi - MC/Cirrus ATM card; charges an separate 1% foreign fee (apparently in addition to a hidden 1% built into the exchange rate); does not charge a per use fee for non-Citi ATMs for certain types of accounts; allows withdrawals of USD 1,000 per account per day (multiple accounts allowed, but only two show up on ATMs outside of the US)

HSBC - Cirrus only ATM card (no MC logo; may not work outside of the US); fee of 1% foreign exchange built into exchange rate; limit of USD 1,000 per day for withdrawals; charges USD 1.50 per use fee for non-HSBC ATMs; can be coupled with a no-fee checking account that comes with a MC ATM (I have no personal experience with all of this as I have never actually used the HSBC card)

Have you looked at joining a credit union?

I don't know if they exist in Brazil, but my local credit union has 0% exchange fee on ATM's, will raise your ATM withdrawl limit, and will rebate the first 5 ATM fees per month charged by the machine owner, and doesn't add any fees to any ATM withdrawls in the US or elsewhere.

I don't think you're going to find any savings account with an ATM card that has all those features. Your best bet is to use a savings account in conjunction with a decent checking account and transfer money back and forth. But I'm not sure that any account offers all those features.

I use ING and HSBCDirect in conjunction with Umbrellabank.com. Transfers are quick between ING and umbrella (usually are available at umbrella one business day after being sent by ING). HSBC takes a bit longer to transfer money out and has a crappier website, but offers a higher interest rate than ING. Umbrella builds 1% into the exchange rate for foreign ATM withdrawals and point-of-sale transactions and is limited to $500/day in ATM withdrawals, but does rebate ATM fees. See above for other comments on umbrellabank.

Another option is Bank of Internet (bofi.com). I don't have any direct experience, but have heard good things and am considering switching from umbrellabank to BofI because they offer much higher interest (>3% vs. <2%) and don't charge the 1% forex fee. They also offer ATM fee rebates. But they are still limited to $500/day in ATM withdrawals.