Prepaid Debit Card Fees

I really got very tired of paying bank fees on my Debit Check Card so I decided to purchase a Prepaid Debit Card and try to avoid these outrageous fees I seem to accumulate each month from my bank. I heard so much about how you can control your finances by getting a prepaid Debit Card. Overall I think your better off with a Prepaid Debit Card versus a regular Debit Bank Card. But don;t think you are going to get rid of the fees because no they got to makes some money so you just need to beware of some of the I got you fees you can get with a prepaid Debit Card. Find out what fees you can get and avoid them so you can keep most of your money.

You have to pay a fee just to obtain your Prepaid Debit card and it can range from 3.95 to as much as 19.95. I paid 9.95 for my a local Tom Thumb Grocery store. I see these cads offered at various check chasing places and I have also seen some where you can get them on the Internet like Russell Simmons Rush Card. But so far I have not seen any for free. From my experience I hope to help you or warn you about some of the fees that you might get from getting and using a Prepaid debit card. I can also share with you some ways you to use your card so you don't use get money held form your card when you make purchases. I had my card for just two weeks and I found out a lot from using it. So if you are thinking of getting one of these cards bookmark this page and I will share with you some of the things I have discovered using my new Prepaid Debit Card.

There is an activation fee to get your card started. The fee can run from as little as 3.95 to as much as 19.95. You can obtain your new debit card from online or even at a grocery store like I did. You will want to put a nice size deposit because you get fees just for adding money to your prepaid debit card. I started with a hundred dollars but I should of put all I needed because I did not realize that it cost me money to add more at a later date. You can also get an additional debit card for you to give to your children or to significant other for an additional fee of what the card cost.

You card will be activated within a few hours of your purchase if you get it online. From what I remember you might have to wait a few days when doing it online because the have to mail you your debit card once you have it activated. If you shop around you might find a cheap activation fee as little as $3.95 but read the find print and make sure you understand the fees because your wallet can really hurt if you do not no these fees good.

Have a problem with your prepaid debit card and need to talk to a service representative it's probably going to cost you fee. I called to find out why my balance was zero when I tried to get a room on line and my debit card was rejected. I was trying to buy a room on hot-wire on my new card which would have been OK but my card was so new my name did not match the name on the card. Hot-wire rejected my card but still had a hold on my money that room was going to cost. So I called my representative and found out I need hot-wire to call them to authorize my money back to my card. It all worked out and I go my money back but I was charged a $1 dollar fee for talking to the service representative. I got this charge a few times because I called a on three occasions and got three charges for a dollar. She just has to answer the call about 10 times and she pays for here Salary I sure.

I know it was all in the small print but I did not realize I was going to have to-pay a fee each time I added money to my Prepaid Debit Card. The fee was $4.95 to add any funds and there was a limit of $500 dollars. If I added 10 dollars or 500 dollars the fee was still going to be $4.95. So I guess what Thur me off is that you can make a direct deposit from your paycheck with out a fee. That was one of the features that drew me to using the prepaid Debit Card. Just remember when you add money to your card that you add all you need for that month so you don't have to pay a bunch of fees every-time you ad money to your card.

If you need cash from your card you will have to a pay an ATM fee for you card and also the fee from the ATM machine you are using. This charge can be from $1.50 to $2.50 plus what ever the ATM owner charges. Just like a credit card or a regular bank debit card you still get fees on a prepaid debit card. Here is a list of the ATM fees on the prepaid debit card I have.

ATM Domestic Transaction Fee There is a $1.95 ATM Domestic transaction fee.

ATM International Transaction Fee There is a $3.95 ATM International transaction fee.

Balance Inquiry (ATM Domestic) There is a $0.75 domestic ATM balance inquiry fee.

Balance Inquiry (ATM International) There is a $0.95 international ATM balance inquiry fee.

Bank Teller/Non ATM Cash Advance There is a $4.00 bank teller/Non ATM cash advance fee.

I am sure the fees vary depending on the Organization offering the Prepaid Debit card but you know you have to pay the price for convenience.

Ok you heard about the regular fees but there are even more fees you have to be aware of when you use your card. Here is a list of some of the ones my card charges just to see some more fees.

Replacement Fee - If your Card is lost or stolen, there will be a fee of $5.95 to replace it.

Expedited Delivery Fee There is a $25 fee if you would like your personalized or replacement card delivery expedited (2 - 3 business days).

Check Refund Fee - There is a $5.95 fee to issue a check refund.

Monthly Service Fee - There is a $4.95 monthly service fee.

Reload Fee Varies by retailer.

Paper Statement Fee There is $2.95 fee for each paper statement.

Transfer to another account. There is a $0.50 fee for every Money transfer. (Same company)

Bill Pay (Electronic) One (1) free bill payment per week, $1.00 for each bill pay thereafter.

Bill (Paper Check) One (1) payment a week for free and each payment thereafter is $1.00.

OK now you get it there are fees and more fees, lets just face it your going to pay someone if not the bank then you can pay these Prepaid Debit Card Companies your hard earned case. I can't stand banks so I use one of these cards but I still can't stand paying all these fees.