While many couples consolidate their bank and credit card accounts, there is at least one situation where having a separate account from your spouse can save you some huge headaches.

Consumerist reader Norm says he and his wife were traveling in Australia when she accidentally left her purse behind on a train.

The local police were very helpful in working with the couple to cancel their cards, but because both husband and wife shared the same credit card account, Visa had to cancel Norm’s card too. Thus, the couple had no credit cards until they got replacement cards at the next stop on their trip.

Luckily, nothing disastrous happened to Norm and his wife during this time without credit cards, but you probably don’t want to be traveling around on the other side of the planet without a way to cover unexpected expenses.

Norm tells Consumerist that he now realizes that if he had a separate account for emergency use, he would not have had to fret about having a wallet full of useless, canceled plastic.

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