Originally Posted by my.ark.4
If you have an AAA membership, you can get travelers checks in whatever currency you want for free and when I did it (Canadian dollars to Euros) the rate they gave me was either the same as the exchange rate or if not really close.
Go ahead and use travelers checks if you want to be thought of as a pain in the arse by all of the places you visit.
Go to a bank if you want to be robbed.
The best thing to do is to find a bank that does not charge any fees for ATM use, then use an ATM when you get there. Also find a credit card company that charges 0-3% exchange fee.
Credit Unions in the U.S. do not usually charge for ATM usage or foreign exchange on their credit card. Some don't charge for exchange to currency.