Can I use my ATM card from a US bank (Chase/WaMu) to withdraw CHF here in Zurich, I assume there is some fee - Is it a percent fee, or a flat fee?

Is there anyway to find a map of ATM machines in Zürich?

If your card bears the Maestro or Cirrus logo (or some others with global coverage) then it'll work.

You can use practically ANY machine in Zurich - why do you need a map? If you really, really need one, go to http://map.search.ch and put Zurich in as the address and then select to show the ATMS.

The charge for withdrawal will be levvied by your bank. Check their website.

Sometimes you get the option to 'withdrawl in CHF' or 'in USD'. I found that the fee is about the same it just will go to a different bank. In CHF I paid about 2% fee to my us bank. With USD I paid nothing to my us bank but the exchange rate was about 2% worse than average.

When we were vacationing here, we always took money out, there was not a huge fee. I was able to use my Wachovia debit card (visa) without a problem.

You can withdraw funds from any foreign account up to the day limit of your account and of the particular ATM, whichever is smaller (although multiple withdrawals get 'round the latter limit).

However, almost all banks impose a loading charge on use of cards abroad, even if the withdrawal is in dollars. Except where the ATM is treated as 'domestic' (some, not all, ATMs on US military bases). The loading charge is at least 1% (the amount imposed by VISA and MasterCard after some litigation over excessive exchange commissions). But most banks charge more: for debit cards up to 3%. USAA Savings Bank and many credit unions charge only the 1%. American Express charges 2.7% on all foreign currency transactions, plus a fee on withdrawals from your account. You have to sign up for the service; the only advantage these days is that their card is sometimes honored where a bank's own card is not.

Cash withdrawals for credit card accounts involve different layers of fees plus interest.

UK debit cards from the major banks tend to impose a fixed fee plus a percentage load. But Nationwide Building Society has no fee within the EU/EEA/Switzerland (there is 1% load elsewhere -- check their Web site).

ATMs are all over the place in Switzerland. With a foreign card you can use most all of them; with a domestic card usually only the one issued by your bank or one with a special arrangement.