Do you believe in Magic? Overall, sure, he seems like a pretty successful and talented guy. But as a prepaid card issuer, not so much. I’m, of course, talking about Irving “Magic” Johnson, the NBA legend, new minority owner of the Dodgers, and now prepaid pitchman. He launched the MAGIC Prepaid MasterCard yesterday I believe and after a quick glance, it seems apparent that it leaves something to be desired.

As with any prepaid card or credit card, you have to see past the snazzy look of the MAGIC Card and Johnson’s star power, and look at the fees it charges and services it offers. The MAGIC Prepaid Card’s fixed costs are pretty high, as you have to pay $4.95 for activation and then each month your account is open as a monthly servicing fee. You also have to pay at least $2.50 for each ATM withdrawal and unless you live in Southern California, it’s likely that each transaction will run you around 5 bucks when you factor in ATM owner surcharges. What do you get for the cost? The ability to use plastic to make purchases, which is nice especially since it doesn’t charge purchase fees, but that’s about it. The MAGIC Card doesn’t offer online bill pay, which means you can’t pay billers that only take checks (pretty important if you’re want your prepaid card to fill the role that a checking account once did). You can’t load a check onto the card either, which means people who don’t have bank accounts cannot use it to lower their check cashing costs.

There are surely better alternatives out there. I saw a study the other day (I think it was actually by WalletHub, funny enough) that pointed to three options in particular as being the best for the different ways people use prepaid cards. It said that the GreenDot Card is the best to replace your checking account, the Suze Orman card is the best for a children’s use, and the Chase Liquid is the best way to cash your checks. Looking at these cards, I would definitely recommend them over the MAGIC Prepaid MasterCard.