Kardashians withdraw name from debit card; plus 5 tips for avoiding debit card fees

Consumer Reports News: November 30, 2010 12:43 PM

The Kardashians, lords of "celebutante" reality television, are terminating their association with a prepaid debit card branded with their likenesses after Connecticut's attorney general, Richard Blumenthal, issued a Black Friday warning against it.

In a statement, Blumenthal said the card "is filled with gotcha fees and charges, such as $99.95 annual fees, $7.95 monthly fees (after the first year), ATM withdrawal fees, bill pay fees, loading fees – and even charges for talking to a live operator at their service center, and a card cancellation fee."

Blumenthal issued a statement saying he is "cautiously pleased that the Kardashians are terminating ties to the Kardashian Kard." But he said that the "larger lesson – common to other prepaid debit cards – is that targeting young adults with predatory card terms and conditions may bear close scrutiny and caution."

Earlier this month Consumers Union, our publisher, warned against the debit card. "Don't try keeping up with the Kardashians by falling for this celebrity-hyped prepaid card," said Suzanne Martindale, Policy Associate for Consumers Union. "There are more affordable and safer options to managing your money and paying with plastic." They also launched a Twitter and Facebook petition to get the Kardashians to withdraw from the card.

Yesterday Martindale wrote on CU's Defend Your Dollars blog, "the Kardashian Kard may drop off the market, but there are still a lot of prepaid cards out there with gotcha fees and poor consumer protections."

Here are a five tips for anyone considering a prepaid debit card:

Consider a regular bank account instead—you get a debit card, a monthly statement, and full consumer protections. Ask to opt-out of "overdraft protection" if you are concerned about overdraft bank fees.
Make a list of how you will use the card and compare the monthly fees and fees for deposits, purchases, withdrawals, bill paying, checking the balance, inactivity, and using customer service.
Keep track of your balance—you might face high fees for going over your card balance.
Try to figure out the costs for two months.
Don't rely on a prepaid card to build a credit record.

For more see, Prepaid Card Tips for Consumers, at DefendYourDollars.org.

The Kardashian Kard May Be a Goner - After Only 3 Weeks! [Consumers Union]

Kardashian Notice of Termination [ct.gov] *links to PDF

Attorney General Pleased Kardashians Seek To Sever Ties With Predatory Prepaid Debit Card [ct.gov]

Kardashian Sisters End Agreement With Issuer Of 'Kardashian Kard' After Blumenthal Raises Objections [Hartford Courant]

—Kevin McCarthy

Also from Consumer Reports:

Credit-card gotchas

Debit or credit: Which card to use?

Hidden fees exposed