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I just learned last year cap one no fee's so cool .And I get air miles a win/win ..

Thanks for the tip on Capital One cards that don't charge an international transactions fee.

HOWEVER, in reading about Capital One, there are a lot of articles out there on the Web from reputable publications, mostly from the last few days and weeks, talking about how Capital One is raising its interest rates by large amounts ... more so than other credit card companies ... even for those with high credit scores.

So caveat emptor. If you carry any balance, even for a month or two, the interest charges may more than eat up any savings on international fees.

--Lan Sluder

I prefer Traveler's checks, and stop by the bank to convert to BZ$$ daily, then dealing in BZD's, makes it easier.

I too find it easier to deal with BZ $, rather than US $. Generally, I have some BZ $ with me from the previous trip, regardless, there are US $ in the stash that need to be converted as I go. I do my best to get these US bills converted quickly. Generally, having a few drinks and paying as I go gets the conversion started in a happy way.

After I run out of both BZ $ and US $, I go to the ATM on a semi-regular schedule until it is time to return to the land of milk & honey . . erm, I mean ice and snow, where I earn the $ so that I can blow it all in Belize.

azbob, you may be getting US $ change when you give over US $, but it has been my experience that rarely get US $ in change unless specifically requested, because I am on short time. Once in a while, the change will come with a US dollar or two, but only because they didn't have the right change in BZ $.

Capitol One often has some good (unadvertised) benefits for those who pay off their charges each month - in Nov I bought a car and charged the majority of it (about 19K) and there was no interest or finance charges till March. Great deal. They are a great credit card company if you pay it off regularly.
And they have a "miles" plan too!

Thanks everyone!! I will check with my Wells Fargo, but it appears my free issue travelers checks might be best then, and plan on a few trips to the bank to get them exchanged for cash.

Go to Milo's Money Exchange and you'll get a better rate for your US cash and traveler checks.

BTW: Milo's will take personal checks also. Good idea to have passport for ID till they get to know you.

My daughter has been traveling in Eastern Europe and Turkey for the past month. She's a backpacker and doesn't spend a lot, a little over US$1000 in that time for food, hostels, train and bus transportation, and spending money.

Today I saw her Wells-Fargo checking account statement, which showed US$94.94 in international ATM/debit card fees over the past month, including $55 for 11 ATM withdrawals and the rest in 3% fees on debit card purchases.

So the international bank fees came to over 9% of her total expenditures!

She could probably manage her ATM withdrawals more efficiently, getting larger chunks of money less frequently, but when you're traveling from country to country you don't want to get too much local currency at one time since you're soon moving on to another country with a different currency.

Anyway, this is just an example of the ridiculous amount of fees the banks can and do charge on international transactions.

We're gonna be switching banks!

--Lan Sluder

P.S. By the way, my daughter says she is finding Eastern Europe and Turkey generally inexpensive to moderate, certainly less expensive than Belize for budget travel, and not much more than Argentina, Bolivia and other South American countries she's visited.

For Canadians who may be interested: I was talking with RBC and CIBC. Both said there is a $5.00 international fee/ ATM withdrawl but CIBC also charges 2.5% 'administration fee' RBC does not. There will be the exchange rate on that day as well.