best debit card to avoid transaction fees

None in Canada that I am aware of, also there are places your Canadian (BMO anyways) debit card won't work, I found a Capitol One credit card I carried as a back up worked in those situations.

Some have told me they don't pay local fees with their Scotiabank debit card when traveling, but when I checked with Scotiabank, they told me they no longer have an account like that, unless you're a senior.

Note too there are three fees you'd want to minimize. You usually pay your own bank each time you make a withdrawal from another bank's ATM; you pay a foreign currency conversion fee; and you pay a fee to the local bank that owns the ATM.

RWT?

RWT?

The OP obviously meant R (Round) T (The) W (World) trip available from the 3 airline alliances.

@#2 I use Scotiabank ATMS here in El Salvador with no fees charged to either my US or Salvadorian bank accounts. My US account charges $2.50 per transaction, my Salvadorian bank charges $1.13. BAC the only other ATM that accepts my US debit card charges US $4.00/transaction, a complete ripoff!

Seems like using a Scotiabank ATM, where they exist, is the cheapest way to go for Canadians.

I haven't been RWT or, in English, around the world, on plastic, but I have used Canadian ATM cards from a couple of banks on a couple of continents. My cards charge from $3 to $5 Cdn per foreign transaction; at the moment I favour President's Choice. However, I never try to make purchases on an ATM card, knowing that it won't work in some places. To minimize the cost of plastic, I withdraw a considerable sum from a bank-operated ATM and then use cash as much as possible. For security I have cards from several banks, never carried in the same pocket or wallet together. If one won't work, another might, or find a different ATM.

I haven't been RWT or, in English, around the world,

RTW is an English acronym for around the world travel.

on plastic, but I have used Canadian ATM cards from a couple of banks on a couple of continents. My cards charge from $3 to $5 Cdn per foreign transaction; at the moment I favour President's Choice. However, I never try to make purchases on an ATM card,

What is an ATM card? Banks issue both debit and credit cards that can be used to withdraw cash from ATM terminals, both can also be used to make purchases from stores that honour them. The difference is that on a credit card cash advance from an ATM the bank will charge interest from the second it is used until you make payment, with a debit card it's your money so no interest charges.

knowing that it won't work in some places. To minimize the cost of plastic, I withdraw a considerable sum from a bank-operated ATM and then use cash as much as possible

Not an option on a RTW as once you leave Canada there are no Canadian ATMS, FYI Scotiabank branches outside Canada are not linked to Scotiabank in Canada so their credit/debit cards will be treated like any others.

. For security I have cards from several banks, never carried in the same pocket or wallet together. If one won't work, another might, or find a different ATM.

Good advice.

We are getting lost in translation. The original post came from Canadians who use the phrase ATM for automated teller machine. Americans may call it a debit card. At home, Canadians often pay for purchases with an ATM debit card rather than a credit card (which indeed is something different.) But Canadian ATM cards may not work to make purchases in some other places. They certainly do work to withdraw cash from machines in many foreign countries operated by many other banks. The network symbols MasterCard, Maestro, Cirrus and VisaPlus all indicate international networks which will dispense local currency to cardholders from abroad. The traveller may have to look around to find an international network to which his home bank belongs, but he is not limited to his home bank's foreign branches.

#8 the only on > getting lost in the translation> is you.

I responded with my experiences as Canadian who did a 12 month RTW using both Canadian credit and debit cards, none of which are marked as such. The BMO (both personal and business)are merely marked BMO with no nane, the TD Canada Trust debit card is marked 'Access Card'. The BMO (both US$ and CAD$) and Capital One (Canadian account) credit cards are merely marked Master Card.

As I posted in #1, there are countries where neither of the **Canadian** bank debit/credit cards will work however the Capital One credit care never failed to work!

BTW this Canuck has NEVER referred to cards as "ATM cards", I just call them what they are, credit/debit cards or at times bank cards.

FYI there are also ATMS that dispense real$ (that's US$) as well as local currency.