You Plan to Pay with: Cash from ATMs

Pros:

ATMs are widely accessible. “I traveled to 22 countries on five continents last year and didn’t have to exchange money once, because ATMs were everywhere,” says author John DiScala.

The bank-to-bank exchange rate is better than what you’ll get at an exchange teller. You’ll typically pay only $1.50 to $5 per transaction, with an additional conversion fee in most cases of 1 to 3 percent of the total transaction amount.

Con:

Foreign ATMs don’t always work like the ATMs at home. “Most of the world uses four-digit ATM codes, whereas some American banks allow for up to eight digits,” says Martha Doyle, president of EF Educational Tours, which arranges international travel for college and high school students. So before wandering abroad, change your code to four digits — and pick a series of numbers you can easily recall, since many foreign ATMs don’t have letters on their keypads, she says. Change your code at any branch or ATM of your bank.

The Bottom Line: It’s both convenient and inexpensive to use ATM cards. Ideally, use an ATM attached to a bank, and use it while the bank is open. If there’s a problem — the ATM eats your card and displays a message in Korean explaining why — then you can get help.

Tip: Check to see if your bank has international ATM locations where you would pay little or no fees. Citibank, for example, charges a 1 percent fee for foreign withdrawals at its ATMs throughout the world, from Seoul to São Paulo. Also, if your bank has a partnership with an overseas bank, you might not pay a fee, so check with your lender. For example, if you’re traveling to France and have a Bank of America card, you can use a BNP Paribas machine gratis.