Originally Posted by Lady Jag
So, once the checking account was depleted, money would start coming out of our large savings account. The person using the card might not even know where the money was coming from; they would just get the money continuously. There are daily limits, but it adds up. Getting a new card with new a new account number, closing the old account, and making sure checks cleared with a smallish bank in So. California while in France would be a huge hassle for us. Just trying to avoid problems if at all possible.
I'm sorry, I'm not understanding this. If you had the misfortune to lose your card in Europe, wouldn't you just stop the card? Once stopped, it would be unusable. Even your theoretical loss (ie whatever was not covered by Visa, the card issuer or any applicable insurance) would be very limited. You wouldn't need to close your bank account; you'd just need a new debit card number on your replacement card.
I have exactly the same savings account arrangement on the current account which is drawn on by my Visa debit card, which is the card I use overseas for ATM withdrawals, all the time. (I mustn't get into a macho match about whose savings account is bigger!
) I have to say that I have never once considered this to be a real risk of this method. The only precaution I think I need to take is to make sure I know off by heart the name of the service that will arrange to stop whatever cards I've lost. After that, the worst that can happen is that directory enquiries can do the rest.