Would you consider this type of debit card?

I almost always pay in cash from an ATM. I have never had a problem using a strip card in a bank ATM, so I don't see this card as solving a problem. If my trip spans two calendar months, I get 4 completely free (no exchange rate discount, no ATM fee) from one of my banks. From my credit union, I get unlimit withdrawals at 1% discount.

However, read the small print. I did a Google search and found some EMV cards - all pre-paid cards. Pre-paid cards are not, in general, a good deal. They often have additional fees to buy the card and to load the card, there is often a monthly charge. Check to see what the currency exchange fee is. Some travel cards allow you to load the card in euro, but take a larger currency exchange fee than most banks do for an account linked ATM card.

US banks are going to have to go chip technology soon. IMO, this is just a ruse to get money from people who have to have it sooner.

Thanks for the thoughts, Lee. We are going to open a checking account for our daughter this week and we may use her account as our main travel account. I still am not totally comfortable using our checking account and ATM without transferring most of the funds to our money market account. If our ATM card gets comprised, I don't want to have someone clean out that account. I'll have our bank officers info with us in case of problems but still want to try and safeguard our account as much as possible. I'll keep asking them questions too and try make sure I understand any liability we might have if our ATM card is comprised.

NO our staff would not consider any pre-paid card. See also http://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/money/card-fees. I would take the same credit cards and debit/ATM cards that you use at home. Any ATM card with a Visa or MasterCard logo will be widely accepted and doesn't need a chip to work, since all ATMs do have the necessary internet connection to work with magnetic strip cards.

I expect that the liability info for your regular bank account will turn out to be good news. In addition, your bank has a daily withdrawal limit that is much lower than your account balance. If the limit is currently $300, I'd ask to have it raised to at least $500 during the trip, so that you don't have to go to an ATM every day.

I don't have anything to add to the discussion about this card, but have just a very general suggestion for when you are asking your bank questions. Ask whoever you are talking to if they have ever traveled to Europe and have they encountered (xxx - whatever you are talking about). This is important because sometimes they will tell you things that they have been instructed are correct but in reality are not. It is just best to know up front if someone has practical experience so you can evaluate the information they are giving you. As an aside, your bank may have brighter people working the teller desks than my credit union does. I have found I do better if I go in and discuss things face to face rather than relying on telephone communication.

Thanks Laura & Pam! Laura - the daily ATM limit info helps a lot. Pam - I am putting one of the bank staff through 20 questions and she's been pretty good (I hope!) but yes, I won't ask a teller and rely on that info. Thanks for the input!

If you're opening a new account anyway, get one at Charles Schwab which has fee-free ATM withdrawals and a chip. I don't leave home without it.

The ATM you use in Europe may have a per-transaction limit, if you ask for, say, €500 and it is denied, just do more transactions for smaller amounts.

As US-issued pre-paid cards go this seems to be one of the better ones. A 1% currency loading over the MC exchange rate, $2.25 to withdraw from a non-US ATM, with the fee waived the first time in a calendar month. They do charge to load ($1) - I suspect they catch people with the 'inactivity' fee of $2.50 per month after only 90 days.

I listened to several people on this forum and opened the Charles Schwab debit card. I am extremely pleased so far. Chip and Pin technology, all ATM fees waived, and a decent interest rate for a checking account. Excellent customer service as well. I agree. If you are going to be opening a new account, consider this one.