Seems simple enough but with banks starting to charge a fee for Debit cards I am wondering what others experiences have been.

If ATM fees are your worry, go with a Credit Union. Mine does not charge anything over the $1.50 fee on their end. I use Bank of America for international business banking, but I won't use their ATM unless I really need the cash due to their new fees.

If ATM fees are your worry, go with a Credit Union. Mine does not charge anything over the $1.50 fee on their end. I use Bank of America for international business banking, but I won't use their ATM unless I really need the cash due to their new fees.

BOA $5.00 a month new fee doesn't apply for ATM use, but the other charges are still high.

I understand why banks promote debit cards, but I don't understand why consumers accept them. The simple solution to your question, where possible, is not to use debit cards at all. Either transfer money from your US bank to your Thai bank by one of the routes recommended here or use a US credit card. There are several US credit cards that don't charge a foreign exchange fee. Also, debit cards are much more dangerous than credit cards. You lose the ability to dispute a charge, for example. Many US banks will still provide an ATM card if you don't want the debit card. That would be much safer, but then you have to avoid local atm charges in one way or another.

Charles Schwab & Co., set up a with a brokerage account. With their VISA debit card there are no ATM fees and you will receive the daily corporate exchange rate. So hard to beat.

Additionally, if you have a Bangkok Bank account, you can set up transfers to the Bangkok Bank NY office for easy transfers.

Good if you want to transfer larger amounts, however cost is a little bit higher than a straightforward ATM withdrawal.