Originally posted by: txrandom
This is what I did to withdraw Euros in France and Germany and Pounds in England for free:
1. Go to your local Bank of America.
2. Open an checking account. I did student checking thus it was free. Other people may have to pay a small fee or meet minimum balance requirements.
3. Put 500 NZ worth of dollars plus a good buffer into the checking account.
4. Fly to New Zealand and withdraw from any Westpac ATM for free.
5. On return remove extra funds and close account. (I kept mine open since it's free and may be traveling again.)
When I did this in Caen during the summer, I got very close to the actual market rate. I compared the value in my statement with Yahoo! currency exchange graphs.
From Bank of America:
Traveling Internationally?
Use your ATM card or check card within our Global ATM Alliance in the countries shown with no fees.
* Barclays (United Kingdom)
* BNP Paribas (France)
* China Construction Bank (China)
* Deutsche Bank (Germany)
* Santander Serfin (Mexico)
* Scotiabank (Canada)
* Westpac (Australia and New Zealand)
DING DING DING!!
Westpac ATM is in Auckland airport, so you can immediately withdraw on arrival. $800 NZD is limited per transaction (we used cash for everything, because no fees). Sometimes the ATM will let you run multiple transactions, if necessary. Also, you can pick up a Vodafone SIM card at the airport as well.
Although since May, I've got the Charles Schwab VISA which claims to have no FOREX fees, in addition to 2% cash back. Will probably will be what I use next time I travel, in combination with BofA account.