> if push comes to shove, go to a branch and withdraw your money in person.
When I was starting out in my IT career, the nearest branch of my credit union was more than an hour away by car, and for much of that time I didn't even have a car. If my credit union had restricted my account to "thou must visiteth a branch and speaketh with a representative", I would've been screwed - on a level of "freezing and starving".
> transfer your money out through the mobile app or website;
Assuming this wouldn't be one of the first things shut off alongside the card.
When I first signed up for that credit union (right after I graduated high school) it was a 5 minute walk from where I lived. Then I moved, because I couldn't find work in my hometown.
I could've switched banks, but the only option in my new town was Bank of America, and after they screwed my folks over I'd sooner store my money in a mattress like my great grandma did in the Depression than trust my money with them.
You can still do most things without card access:
- keep standing orders flowing;
- transfer your money out through the mobile app or website;
- withdraw money from an ATM using an authenticator (nation-wide example in Poland: https://www.blik.com/);
- if push comes to shove, go to a branch and withdraw your money in person.