Like most people, I carry a bunch of store-loyalty cards. I realize that there are serious privacy implications, and sometimes it amuses me to provide fake information (I am known to Dick’s Sporting Goods, for example, as Reginald Fink-Nottle, and to Barnes & Noble as Loretta Sponge). But the money that they save makes it pretty much mandatory to carry them.
But what a drag it is to have a dozen of these on your keychain, and then to have to paw through them to find the right one at check-out time!
SO: I saw (on LifeHacker) a suggestion that one scan one’s cards into one’s iPhone, claiming that the contrast on the iPhone screen was sufficient for reading by the supermarket scanner.
I’ve scanned my cards, and notice that they are all in terrible shape. I can’t see how the scanner reads them.
But I’ll try it. I will update this post with the results.
Plus, as one person said on LifeHacker: After the cafe punches 10 holes in my iPhone, I get a free latte!
Update 1:
The Harris Teeter card (pictured above) doesn’t work. But I don’t think that proves anything, because the card is a wreck. I’ll try some of the cleaner ones elsewhere.
Update 2:
Results gathered from many attempts. Conclusions here.