In 2002, my MasterCard check card was stolen and my bank account was cleaned out by the time I got down from my climb and discovered the theft. It took three we

In 2002, my MasterCard check card was stolen and my bank account was cleaned out by the time I got down from my climb and discovered the theft. It took three weeks (including closing my original bank account and reopening with a different account number) before the money had been refunded. This was inconvenient considering that I had just started a year of exchange in Canada. Unless the rewards/benefits/insurance is _better_ than a credit card, it still doesn't seem like a wise choice.