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As per this question about US banks, I would like to know if any Australian bank offers an account with an ATM card (or Visa/Mastercard debit card) with no or low fees for travellers using them in foreign cash machines.
This includes whether certain Australian banks have deals with certain other banks in other countries where fees are waived/reduced.
My current bank account seems to have too many and too high fees when I'm travelling. If there's a better one I may change banks when I get home.
This answer is now out of date, since 28 degrees changed their T&Cs on precisely this issue in 2014. The use (without foreign transaction fees) of the card for purchases remains unchanged. Original answer follows.
28 Degrees offers a Mastercard (credit card) that doesn't charge international fees. If you put your card into credit and just withdraw your own money, you won't be charged cash advance fees.
But if you withdraw their money, you get charged at credit card interest rates until it is repaid. It's a way of avoiding the fees charged by the Australian banks when travelling abroad, but you might still get charged withdrawal fees by the local bank responsible for the ATM.
NAB currently charge a fee of $4 plus 2% on foreign cash withdrawls, and 2% on foreign transactions (other than cash withdrawls). However, if you have a NAB Gold account (which has a monthly fee unless you pay in a lot each month), then there are no foreign transaction fees (including no fees on foreign cash withdrawls). So, if you want to take money out abroad more than about 25 times a year, it's worth going for their Gold account.
A normal St George's account currently charges $5 plus 3% on overseas cash withdrawls, and 3% on foreign transactions, so NAB looks cheap... Commonwealth Bank charge a similar $5+3% / 3% fee structure, though they do have a cheaper rate of $2+3% on certain ATMs in New Zealand, Indonesia and Vietnam. Westpac also charge $5+3% / 3%, but they have a larger list of countries where the ATM from a particular bank will avoid you the $5 fee (but not the 3%).
Looks like there isn't a really obvious choice, unless you pay enough in every month to get one of the premium accounts for free. Well, unless you can talk NAB into letting you only pay for a Gold account for only the time you're away!
Citibank have an account now that has no ATM withdrawal fees for foreign banks. The ATM themselves may charge you, but Citibank won't. This seems a good replacement for the old 28degrees card. Note that this is a savings card so you need to have transferred money onto it before you can use it.
