<human>: Give me the gist of the text in a nutshell

I am in the UK but this may apply to some other countries if you look into companies offering the same service. It's painful to see people still prepare for their travels by going to a foreign exchange shop in the town and pay all the fees, plan out exactly how much money they will need, etc.

Tip 1 - Halifax Clarity Credit Card (Or Santander Zero is the same) - if you do a lot of travelling - get this now. It allows me to withdraw cash from any ATM in the UK or abroad without any fees - no percentage, no flat rate fee. They of course charge you interest on the cash you withdraw but this is minimal if you pay it back straight away. Moneysavingexpert recommends this as the best card. If you are outside of the UK, have a look for the local equivalent if there is one.

Tip 2 - When withdrawing cash from an ATM abroad and it gives you an option to make the currency conversion for you, don't take that option. As I have said, with the credit card above, I get charged no fees so it is a lot more economical, I am sure that any card will be the same. Here is the example: I was in Europe last week and went to withdraw 400 euros - the ATM said that it can charge my card with 400 euros or it will do the conversion for me now and charge my account around £353. That is a rate of 1.133. I of course chose 400 euros. A few days later my statement revealed that my bank converted this to around £324 - a rate of 1.235. As you can see, the ATM wanted to charge around 7% fees - your bank should always be cheaper for that (as long as it's a large transaction if you also get charged a flat fee on your withdrawals).
<bot>: 1. Find a bank card that doesn't charge an ATM fee, such as the Halifax Clarity card or Santander Zero here in the UK. 2. Never allow the foreign ATM to make the currency conversion for you.