TripHip - Travel Tips and Advice for Traveling on a Budget

You can often get the best exchange rates abroad simply by pulling money out of the ATM.

When you pull money out of the ATM, you will usually get hit up with a fee from your bank as well as from the bank you are using. Did you know that you can sometimes avoid these bank fees?

Before you leave the country, find out if your bank has any agreements with any banks abroad. If it does, this might mean that you can use your debit card abroad at those affiliated banks, and avoid an ATM fee from either bank.

For example, I belong to Bank of America. Bank of America has affiliations with Barclays in the UK and BNP Paribas in France, so I can use either of those banks when I am in the UK or France without getting hit with ATM fees.

Considering that ATM fees can be anywhere from $2-5, and that they really add up - it's well-worth finding out if your bank has any agreements with banks overseas!