First, make sure your account has a web banking. This will help a lot when you need to know how much money you have in the bank. Everytime you check through an ATM your balance, the bank deducts 10 euros out of your account (14 $$) Having web banking eliminates this fee.

After you have seen through the web your balance, deduct about 7 dollars because that is how much your international fee will probably come out to. Remember to go to www.xe.com in order to check out how much it is through currency exchange.

Call your bank in the country you are from and raise your withdrawal limit. Mine used to be at 700 but after I told them I study abroad, they raised it to 1500. However, most banks wont allow you to withdraw over 1000 at an atm anyway, but its better to know that your limit is a bit more than average!

visa withdrawl with a passport at a bank

american express doesn’t charge a percent when you cash their travelers checks