In Reply to: ATM vs CASH posted by msj on Tuesday, 25. January 2005 at 16:55 Bali Time:
ATMs would definitely be the way to go if it weren't for the fees and charges. I've done quite a bit of research and I couldn't find a financial institution that didn't charge either a flat transaction fee, % service fee or currency exchange fee or a combination of all 3. In fact, I think it is the ANZ QANTAS Visa card where you are charged all 3 plus interest on the enitre balance on your credit card for the month. Nasty.
After much searching and investigation of some other forumites alleged fee free transactions (fees were there), I came to the conclusion that the best I would find was the suncorp metway cash passport. But that now has a $3.75 flat fee that per withdrawal so it's near on impossible to escape the fees.
So in short, if you want to save yourself about $30 in every $1000 you take, just use cash. If you want to pay a little extra for peace of mind, spend the extra $30 per $1000 and take a cost effective cash card.
I'll be taking 1/3 cash, 1/3 atm and 1/3 credit card next time.