Prepaid euros or British pound cards

When all charges are added in, the prepaid card fees run in the range of 5 to 8%. Read all the fine print carefully. Better to find a bank or a credit card that does not charge the 3 % fee. There are many. And 3% is not a completely unreasonable fee.

Find a cheaper bank! Ally Bank online charges 1% and refunds any ATM fees (though European banks won't charge you). My local credit union charges nothing at all.

The fees aren't cheap, but there are 3 advantages to a prepaid card - at least the "Cash Passport" card issued by Travelex. 1. It is a chip-and-pin card, which is more universally usable in Europe than a magnetic stripe card. 2. You lock in your exchange rate when you buy the card. This works to your advantage if the dollar weakens after you buy the card. (Of course it works against you if the dollar goes up.) 3. Unlike a debit card, it's not linked to your home checking account. If it's stolen, there's no risk of the thief cleaning out your bank account. You just have to decide if the fees are worth it. You can preload the Travelex card with either pounds or euros. No, I don't work for Travelex.

Using an ATM card and rarely a credit card have worked flawlessly in many trips to Europe. Cash cards certainly appear to be convenient and if a pin and chip card is required for a transaction it's great. As noted, exchange rates vary so locking in a rate before your trip may or may not be an advantage. Per the FTC website, if you report a lost or stolen ATM card before unauthorized use, there is no liability. If you report the loss within two business days, then the maximum liability is $50.

3% is not that bad of a rate. Changing to a better card may not be worth the hassle unless you are planning lots of foreign travel and lots of charges.