Withdraw cash in Europe

If you use the Search box, you will find many recent posts on this subject. These posts probably exhaust what we have to say on this subject.

Here's what Rick has to say, but he doesn't recommend specific financial institutions:
http://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/money

Considering the thousands of dollars your trip to Europe is costing, it's as well not to obsess about ATM fees.

Check your local credit union. CU's are known to charge 1% as opposed to banks' 3% for currency conversion.

See Schwab Bank as their debit card has no additional transaction fees and includes ATM fee reimbursements. Free to set up. Free to use. Works wonderfully around the world...per my experiences. Like.

Thank you for all your replies.

In addition to Charles Schwab and credit unions, I can recommend ATM cards from TD Bank as having no foreign transaction fees, and low or no per-withdrawal fees (depending on which kind of account you get). Their credit cards, however, do have fees. Capital One credit cards are often mentioned as having no foreign transaction fees.

Bank of America has plenty of partners across Europe. In addition check out the centtrip.com prepaid MasterCard. It can hold 14 differnet currencies and you can buy currencies at the inter-banking rate.

What are the advantages of the centtrip.com prepaid MasterCard over cards mentioned by Harold above? The centtrip pre-paid card costs: 0.5% to load money onto the account, £10/year, £1.30 (UK) - £1.60 (outside UK) ATM fee, and 2% for non-covered currencies from an ATM.

I use TDBank- $3 flat fee in foreign ATM's. I also have Bank of America, they charge 3% at sister banks, 3% plus $5 at other ATM's. BNP Paribas is BoA's sister bank in France.
I've heard that some credit unions will reimburse you for fees.

It's probably a good idea to ask your bank or credit union if they have a partner in Europe with low or no ATM fees. For example, it's easy to find a Deutsche Bank ATM in Germany which I believe has no fees if you have a bank of American debit card. Not bad!

Minimize fees by making larger withdrawals. That's easier with the Euro now. Finally, don't forget to tell your bank your leaving. I had a bank cancel my card on me in Hungary. :) You probably know all that but just in case. Good luck!

Centtrip.com sounds like it is more expensive than a bank's
or Cu's debit card. I would steer clear of it w/all the fees.

The 5% to load the card is equivalent to Bank of America's charges when purchasing foreign currency not counting the delivery fee.

I use USAA, like many credit unions they charge 1 percent on foreign ATM withdrawals, not a fee plus a percentage like most of the big banks. You can find some free options but those typically come with strings/requirements (if those work for you, fine). USAA also offers a chip and pin credit card (but you have to request it).

During one 16 day trip I saved about $100 from what Wells Fargo would have charged. $100 may not seem like a lot, but I'd rather spend that on something I want than give it to a bank.

......a partner in Europe with low or no ATM fees...... This is a typical misunderstanding about ATM usage in Europe. In our of all experience with ATMs, and that covers about 15 years. we have never found an ATM that charged a user fee. Someone once posted that it was against the law to charge a fee to use an ATM. (Cannot confirm that !!) ALL fees charged for using your debit card at an European bank owned ATM, are solely determine by your card issuer. If your card issuer (probably your bank) says they charge lower fees if you use certain bank ATMs in Europe, then it is your bank who made that decision.

Neither Capital One product has foreign charges:

The bank ATM card Capital One 360: no % and no lump sum $5 fee

Capital One Mastercard: no %

These fees can easily be $200 so I wouldn't dismiss them outright as trivial. And they can be used for future trips once set up.

When banks talk about having partners in Europe so that their customers can avoid ATM fees, the ATM fees they are talking about are those that they themselves charge their own customers for using "foreign" ATMS (whether they are out of the country or just out of network). I have never had a bank-owned European ATM charge a fee for its use. My own credit union charges nothing, and my online bank card charges 1%, but the ATMs in Europe do not charge.

How many times do we have repeat it? Bank owned ATMs in Europe do not charge user fees. All fees charged to use a debit card at an ATM or a credit card in Europe are all charged by your card issuer - generally your bank.