The Kardashian Prepaid MasterCard is the latest product out of the sisters’ product line.You can already wear your makeup like a Kardashian, diet like a Kardashian and dress like a Kardashian, so it makes perfect sense to manage your finances like a Kardashian, right? WRONG!

As has been reported by The Consumerist and Forbes, the Kardashian Prepaid MasterCard comes with some major hidden fees.

Kardashian Prepaid MasterCard

Card Purchase (Includes monthly fees for 6 months) $59.95

Card Purchase (Includes monthly fees for 12 months) $99.95

Monthly Fee (Applies after initial purchase period) $7.95

Card Replacement – Primary or Companion $9.95

ATM Withdrawal – Domestic $1.50

ATM Inquiry or Decline – Domestic $1.00

ATM Withdrawal – International $2.50

ATM Inquiry or Decline – International $2.00

Point of Sale – Decline -Domestic $1.00

Point of Sale – Decline – International $1.00

External Checking or Savings Transfer (To/From) $1.00

Account to Account Transfer * $1.00

Retail Load Fee (MoneyGram) $1.00

Load Account by Debit/Credit Card ** $1.00

Cancel Account – Request Balance Mailed by Check $6.00

Service Center Care-Live operator $1.50

Bill Pay – Per Item $2.00

Replacement Card Expedite Fee (Overnight) $25.00

*Fee for transferring money from external accounts and to other cardholder accounts

**2.5% surcharge of transaction amount applies

There are some uses for a prepaid debit card ( if you don’t have a checking account, to receive a bonus or tax refund conveniently ), but usually the fees outweigh the benefits.

Especially for something like the Kardashian Prepaid MasterCard, which seems to be marketing itself to young people, these fees are a bad introduction to proper money management. Parents might think that a prepaid card is a good way to teach their teenagers how to manage money, but there are much better ways.

When I got my first part-time job at 16, I went to the bank and opened up a student checking account. There was an attached savings account, which I dutifully transferred money into every pay period, and a free debit card was included. I remember there was an 800-number hotline that I called at least five times a week to check my balance. I got the biggest thrill out of having my own checking account and keeping tabs of every one of those pennies. That balance represented a lot of hours trapped in a retail nightmare and I was going to make for darn sure I knew where my money was.

It’s so easy to get a free checking account. Big banks like Chase and Bank or America are available pretty much nationwide. Most people can join credit unions. Check with your employer or find out there’s a professional organization you can join with a credit union. Online banks like Ally and ING now offer convenient avenues to a free checking account.

Prepaid credit cards like the Kardashian Mastercard charge you fees for too many transactions. I will skip the fees and instead use my free interest checking account from a credit union, and my credit card that gives me cashback rewards. Wouldn’t you rather be making money on the plastic in your wallet, rather than paying for the privilege to use it?

Photo Credit: By David Shankbone (David Shankbone) [CC-BY-3.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons