assuming the OP is american, charles schwab offers a no fee debit/atm card, but you have to have good credit.

bank of america charges 3% on atm withdrawals....bastards

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'07 DL1000 '08 DR650

Our Oz bank charges a flat rate of $4 which is OK since we can usually get $1000 at a time from the ATM and some ATM operators charge no fees.

BUT couple of days ago in Ecuador - where the single withdrawal limit is universally US$200 with a daily limit of US$1000, the ATM fee was $8 so total fees of more than $10 to get a huge $200 out. THAT is a ripoff.

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Tony
Click here for Travel Photos & Travel Map

As mentioned in this thread, check with you credit card companies and bank to see who has the best deal. In my experience, going back as early as 2008, Santander Serfin in Mexico is a partner with Bank of America. You can withdraw cash from a Santander ATM with your Bank of America ATM card, zero fees, nada. In some of the big tourist area you have your choice of withdrawing USD or MX pesos. Before opening a BofA account, check to make sure the partnership is still in effect. PS: Santander banks in other countries don't have the same deal with Bank of America. Sames goes for HSBC, Scotia, CitiBank...they are all franchises, without relationships that cross international borders.

I recently heard you can get better than bank rates when exchanging USD privately in Brazil. Venezuela and Argentina are great places to get great exchange rates when trading on the "private" market. In both of these countries I transfer funds from my Bank of America account to a friend's Bank of America account, then got local funds from them. Trading USD with street money changers in Lima (Nov 2014) saved me bank fees and got me a good rate. Hard to exchange outside big bills once I got outside of Lima.

Download a currency conversion app for your smart phone. I use the free app "Currency" for my iPhone. A conversion app will help you strike a reasonable deal at the border and informs you what price is being asked in your home currency.

In the end, get a credit card that cuts a fair deal, then deal with the fees. Its the price of adventure...and its worth it.

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Peter B
2008/09 - NJ to Costa Rica and back to NJ
2012/13 - NJ to Northern Argentina, Jamaica, Cuba and back to NJ
2023 - Peru, Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia...back to Peru.

Blogs: Peter's Ride

Great stuff!
Just a quick note on using street money changers or casa de cambio's. Trust me, they will check your $100 USD notes carefully ... so you need to do the same with their big bills. There is a TON of counterfeit money all over south america ... and they don't do a good job of catching the crooks.

Try to have a known to be good bill (get from legit bank) and compare to bills the money changer gives you.

Lots of Gringos have been ripped off this way so do be aware. The locals can spot the fakes quickly ... so asking a local friend for help can also work (it's what I did)

In November 2015 I met a young backpacker in Lima, Peru. She got stuck with counterfeit bills...somewhere.

A week or so later I was in gift shop up in the mountains buying a handful of stickers for everyone on the tour...and the shopkeeper put a thin piece of paper over the Peruvian currency I was paying with. She took a pencil and rubbed over a section of the bill. Their currency has special printing, so the pattern sticks out when this rubbing trick is applied. My money passed the test. It makes me wonder if shopkeeper look harder at the money travelers pay with, because we are more likely to be the victims and accept funny money.

PS: I had a taken a small stack of $100 bills when heading to Peru to join friends on a commercial tour. Before leaving Lima I wanted to exchange USD for Peruvian soles. When I ask a bank guard if that bank exchanges currency, he took out to the street and pointed to a cambo guy. I got a better exchange rate from this guy than the bank and no fees. Your mileage may vary.

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Peter B
2008/09 - NJ to Costa Rica and back to NJ
2012/13 - NJ to Northern Argentina, Jamaica, Cuba and back to NJ
2023 - Peru, Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia...back to Peru.

Blogs: Peter's Ride