That's a good point, and certainly a worthy consideration.

Because I stay in hotels, it's pretty easy for me to get rid of surplus local money. When I pay my hotel bill on the last day in a country, I give the hotel cashier all the local money I have leftover, and then pay what remains on the balance with a credit card.

If I have a distance to go to the border, I might keep the equivalent of about 5 or 10 Euros in local money on me to buy coffee, etc. along the way. Before crossing the border, I'll stop at a gas station and use whatever is left over to fill the tank.

Michael

For Canadians, I just found the Chase Amazon CC. It costs $0, give 1% returns and has 0% foreign conversion fees. https://www.chase.com/online/canada/canada-home-en.htm
As for regular banking, I think I will get the BMO Premium checking account that comes with 5 foreign ATM withdrawals per month.

Hi Charlie:

You are correct in pointing out that the Chase co-branded credit cards offered in Canada do not have a foreign currency conversion fee. Chase offers co-branding with a number of organizations... besides Amazon, they also co-brand in Canada with Sears and Marriott.

The only problem with the Chase cards is that they don't offer the ability to set up a pre-authorized debit from one's bank account to pay the account balance when it comes due each month. This can be a real disadvantage for someone who spends a lot of time away from their home address.

Michael