You can still find cc cards that don't charge extra. I just got a Capital One card after reading they don't charge extra for foreign currency conversion. Plus I verified it with a phone rep before I completed the application. I have a bank credit card that also has no charge - HSBC.

Of course, they can still change their policies just like others have done - particularly MBNA.

As far as an ATM card, I used my HSBC ATM card when I was in Switzerland last September. I checked my withdrawals with the Fed Funds and daily exchange rates and the charge was just about 1%.

Mara in Brooklyn