How to avoid all these gouges?

Phone your bank and ask about fees.
Some customer service reps are fuzzy on the details, so speak to a supervisor. Call before each trip abroad, since the fees keep changing.

Take care when booking online.
If a Web site quotes foreign currency prices, try to pay in dollars through a U.S. bank. My co-worker who flies to Canada frequently and was charged an extra three percent when she booked her seat through aircanada.com now phones the airline's U.S. reservations office. Booking by phone costs her $10 per ticket, but that's less than the fee that her credit card will charge if she books online.

Pre-pay for your overseas arrangements through a U.S. travel agency.
Consider paying in dollars for your hotel, car rental, and airline expenses before you travel. Say you're headed to New Zealand and want to rent a car and stay at several lodges, which will cost $6,000. If you pay the hotel and car companies directly, you could end up owing $180 in fees. By booking and paying through a travel agent, you could save this money. Be sure to select an excellent destination specialist (see "World's Greatest Travel Specialists," August 2005).

Obtain a credit card that charges no fee for foreign transactions.
Amalgamated Bank, BMW Bank, Capital One, and Tompkins Trust Company offer these. Personally, I might get a Capital One card since it has no annual fee, uses wholesale exchange rates, and levies no foreign-purchase surcharges. I'll use it for overseas purchases only, however, and will pay my bill in full each month because it charges high interest rates and has a very limited mileage program (to be discussed in this column next month). Some savvy travelers even carry credit cards that actually earn them money. The excellent online forum Flyertalk.com has a thread called "Best Card for Foreign Exchange?" which discusses cash-back cards that allow you to net a profit on purchases abroad. One traveler recommends the MBNA Fidelity Investment Rewards MasterCard: The 1.5 percent cash rebate—minus the one percent currency-conversion fee—equals a 0.5 percent profit.

Get an ATM card that charges little or nothing for withdrawals abroad.
Small local banks tend not to levy the hefty ATM fees that the big banks impose. For instance, Commerce Bank—which serves the mid-Atlantic region—waives all ATM surcharges worldwide.

Ask your bank if you can avoid surcharges by switching to a preferred-customer or business account.
Foreign-transaction fees are often waived for premier and corporate cardholders.

If a foreign vendor offers to charge your credit card in U.S. dollars, refuse.
You will likely get a less desirable exchange rate than the one your credit card uses, and you could end up taking two currency-exchange hits: the one inflicted by the vendor and then your card company's. If a clerk says that you have no choice but to pay in U.S. currency, he probably doesn't know how to override the system. Speak with the manager.

When shopping overseas, consider paying by check.
Don't laugh. Friends who are frequent travelers to Italy tell me that they avoid fees and negotiate better prices by using personal checks in small specialty stores and artisans' shops. Of course, using checks is advisable only if you are certain that the merchant will provide what you pay for. (When unsure, I use my American Express card. In my experience, it offers the best assistance in disputes abroad because it has the most clout with foreign merchants. I think of its two percent currency-conversion fee as insurance that I will end up getting what I paid for.)

Before taking a cruise, ask if shipboard payments go through a foreign bank.
Some credit cards view onboard purchases as foreign transactions, so even though you pay in dollars, you could be stung with a three percent fee.