Taking advantage of very good USD/AUD rate

As one the previously posters mentioned, the 28Degrees Card is a useful adjunct to the Citi Debit Card. It is certainly a "no frills" card with no rewards/benefits, but it has no annual fee and no international transaction fees. Definitely worth putting in the bottom of your suitcase at the very least.

Citibank online banking lets you flag your travel plans now, so no need to call and will prevent transactions being blocked

If you wanted to lock in the exchange rate than your option is either buying cash or loading onto a travel card.
*Travel Card*
As everyone has said with Travel Cards the exchange rate can be very bad so it pays to shop around
Most travel cards will have free ATM transactions but again you need to check this
They may also have load fees
As well as from the NAB/ANZ/CBA these are available from Velocity (poor rate but earn 2pt/$), Qantas (1.5pts/$ poor rate), Travelex, AusPost, CashPassport, KeyToTheWorld, Suncorp and probably a couple I missed.

If you are happy to go with the exchange rate of the day, the below do not charge international fees
*Debit Card*
Citibiank ($0)
Macquarie Debit Platinum ($0 with ApplePay)
NAB Platinum Debit ($10/mth but comes with Travel Insurance)

*Credit Cards that are more popular*
28degress ($0)
BankWest Zero Platinum ($0 comes with Travel Insurance)
ANZ Rewards Travel Adventures ($225, earn points + comes 40k Velocity bonus + free flight + 2 VA lounge passes)

*Credit Cards others*
Westpac Lite ($9/mth)
BankWest Platinum/World cards ($160-$270 but earn points, World cards come with international Unlimited lounge access)
CBA Platinum/Diamond Amex ($249-$349 earn points, fee may be waived for certain customers, Amex only)

"Low fees on converting AUD to USD and Vice Versa."

There are none that meet this requirement. All prepaid travel cards will hit you with a margin on the exchange rate of around 4-5%

Do you want to pay a fee of 4-5% to lock in todays exchange rate? Probably not.

If you are keen, prepay your expenses now, and just wing it on the cash spending money you will be using. The impact of even a 5 cent negative shift iin the rate will be stuff all compared to total cost of the trip.

What about taking cash? I found the Forex in Sydney are often happy to negotiate the exchange rate especially if you have a couple of thousands to exchange. I found it's the most flexible way to pay while travelling.

Like everyone else around here I use a combination of 28 degrees and citi visa. I have been reading up on the new Transferwise 'Borderless Account'. It sounds promising but no card yet for Aussie consumers and a megre withdrawal limit. Something to keep an eye on though :)

Agree!!! 28 Degrees = great card: good exchange rate, no annual fee, no international transaction fees, no rewards/benefits and no rate guarantee. I have been very happy :-) plus ALWAYS transact in local currency not AUS rate if offered at point of sale (otherwise poor X rate).

Definitely take a couple of card options. Despite giving my bank detailed travel plans, they kept locking my card in Europe. Needed to phone them twice to be able to withdraw cash from an atm. Had some backup euros on a Travelex card (not recommended because the exchange rate they give you is terrible but at least I could get some cash.)

Buy YANK (strong conviction) or USD (not as strong conviction) on the ASX. Sell YANK or USD on the ASX. Transaction fees are $40 (less if you use a broker sign-up deal) but that works out 1% on $4000. There will be a small bonus $4 to $8 if you hold past July each year. Use your Citibank Plus Transaction Account card for your travels.

Some reasons you might not do this are a genuine opposition to the effort and paperwork, general concern having not interacted with the share market before or what is known as the mental accounting bias. The last reason is irrational though we know it results in worse financial outcomes every day.