We recently opened a Fidelity mySmartCash account, which has turned out to be a good option for an ATM card when traveling.

This is an interest-paying (currently 3.5%), no-fee checking account, which lets you use the ATM card at just about any bank, and refunds any charges imposed by the other bank. I wasn't sure what would happen when we used the card in Europe, since they were sort of vague about currency transaction fees.

I have just checked my account online after the first withdrawal, and see that I appear to be getting the exact current bank rate. I withdrew 100 euro, and the dollar amount was $146 and change -- which is the bank rate I'm seeing online.

There were no additional fees posted to the account for the withdrawal. The credit card that comes with this account is not such a good deal though -- so I would still advise using Capital One for that. We used that credit card once, and were charged a 3% transaction fee.

I know that Capital One also has a money market account with an ATM card that doesn't charge transaction fees and pays a higher interest rate than the Fidelity account. However, that account limits the number of checks you can write per month, so it would not work as your primary checking account.

- Roz

Thanks for posting this. After NetBank went under, my account there moved to ING Direct, and I'm finding some bumps in the road in my first couple of months with them. They don't offer paper checks, and according to the FlyerTalk wiki they take 3% for foreign exchange and there are some reports of problems getting their ATM card to work at all overseas. For now I'll stay with them for some purposes, but I'm looking at Bank of Internet, where I've recently become eligible for Senior Checking ; they show 3.75% interest, free traditional checks, reimbursement of ATM charges, and no foreign exchange fee. I have mutual funds with Fidelity so maybe signing up for this account would be a little quicker, but at this point B of I looks a little more appealing.