I work at a bank, so I have a seperate checking account just for christmas shopping, it doesn't earn interest, but come with a free visa check card. I have money auto transferred into the account every paycheck and then I don't have to worry. A great thing about debit cards is that they are guarenteed like cc. It is pretty easy to dispute fraudulant charges and you can close it immediately over the phone if you lose it.(unlike if you were to lose your checkbook!!) Plus, if you go to visaextras.com you can enroll your debit card to earn points!!!
Carrie