I find out in advance with which foreign banks my bank has a relationship in that country and then use that bank's ATM to get cash.

This is why I use the Schwab card. When you're exchanging cash, you end up carrying around rather large amounts of US or local currency, which can make you feel uneasy at times. I'd rather carry around a few dollars and use the Schwab Visa card as needed.

That is not always possible. For example, Bank of America has no partner banks in Ireland, so my ATM withdrawals would be 3% + $5 each time.

I have a Fidelity account that is quite similar to the Schwab account with fee reimbursements and no FTF. Like many here I use a credit card for 99% of my transactions. I probably get $100 in cash three or four times a year in the US. It is great being able to use the machine in the grocery store, bar or gas station and not wasting $5+ that the owner and Bank of America would hit me with instead of seeking out a bank branch.

Since my BoA debit card rarely leaves the house there is practically zero chance of a pickpocket wiping out my checking account the day all of my bills are about to be paid. The Fidelity account usually has $200-$300 in it, more if I am traveling to a more cash based country. It is a great, fee free way to make life more convenient and isolate major damage to my primary bank account.

I've discovered that PenFed credit cards are actually a great backup option. My Cash Rewards Visa has no cash advance fee, no FTF and only a 9.99% interest rate. That means each $100 costs me $0.0274 per day. I can push out a payment from my phone anywhere, so even if it takes a full week to post my cost is 19 cents. BoA would have charged $8. It is also chip and PIN (secondary), so good for international travel when you run into that unattended ticket machine.

Their fraud detection is also pretty good. It's caught a skimmed card re-use before but I've never had to do an advance travel notification.

In my experience, my "home US bank" covers the add'l fees charged by the other bank within that 3% fee. So for example, if I were to withdraw at say, Crédit mutuel in France and they charge 3€, I don't have to take their fee since it's covered within my 3% FX fee.

My US checking account waives the 5$ non-home ATM fee up to 6x a month, so I just get charged the 3% fee for FX, which is fine for me because the ATM rates are less hassle and better than whatever foreign agence charges.

Great point about a checking account & theft. CC's have always been good to us when our information has been stolen, but the one time our bank account had several McDonald's purchases in Africa, it took us ages to get the money back and in the end, we gave up trying to fight the $5 international fees altogether. (Those can't be claimed until after the other refunds are issued and it just came down to not wanting to spend another hour on the phone with customer service.)

We will definitely open up a new debit account just for that reason after recalling the hassle. The lack of $5 & 3% fees will just be a bonus.

Citibank Gold Advantages
 

If you have a Citigold account you can withdraw up to your limit from ATM's worldwide without fees and a good exchange rate.

US bank with no ATM fee
 

Exactly.

Isn't this thread about avoiding these fees altogether? It's just throwing money away unnecessarily.

I have done testing on this: getting currency in a foreign country from ATM, bank, and one of those tiny currency exchange shops, all within minutes to avoid the daily rate fluctuation as much as possible. ATM was definitely the best.
I use an ATM card from my credit union. I have done that in many countries. The only place I was charged a fee was Canada (outside of the US). Interestingly, my credit union charges a 1% transfer tax, yet, even including the tax, the exchange rate I get is invariably that of the interbank exchange rate for the day.

My credit union ATM card is fee free (no use fee) BUT they pass on a 1% fee from VISA with each transaction separately (i.e. it's not in the rate which is pretty close to the interbank rate). Don't know what Schwab and Capital One do w.r.t. that. I was under the impression that this is from VISA and non-negotiable, so if Schwab is eating that fee for their customers (or has an agreement with VISA that negates that fee), that can be a big deal. But generally speaking, credit unions are an alternative to brokerages if you qualify.

In many Eastern European countries, local exchange shops can actually be a pretty good deal for cash (even better than the 1% VISA fee for ATMs). Bulgaria, Serbia and Romania come to mind. On the other hand, the chain exchange places like Travellex (especially at malls) are horrible. Many even post one rate in big print but in small print note that it's only valid for transactions over $1000 or $10,000. For Western Europe I have always found ATMs to be the best value. Though I would add that I transit London a few times a year (only a single overnight) and have always managed to do it just with a credit card.

Avoid unnecessary cash currency charges
 

Definitely avoid banks and foreign ATMs other than in emergency. Max use of credit card (having signed up to one with minimum or no charges for transactions in another country). In UK estimate your foreign cash needs and buy online for postal delivery - this may not apply for example in US. Near end of stay start spending remaining cash but keep a reserve for unexpected charges by taxis, porters, delays at airport etc.

Do you have a specific recommendation for Bulgaria? We have tickets for there later this year.

It appears to me that Schwab eats the fee - only because when comparing the Schwab FX rate for a withdrawal from the same day as a CSP/CSR (or other Chase Visa), the Chase Visa rate is typically a tiny bit higher so Schwab must be eating at least part of it at least compared to Chase who doesn't eat any of it.

It's one of the reasons I actually stopped using my CSP/CSR when traveling and switched over to my Citi Mastercards which seem to have a better rate (see this thread for much more analysis of this: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/cred...-cards-29.html)