Anyone uses barcode apps to substitute for loyalty/membership cards?

[jzmtl]

So I downloaded an app that scans and duplicated the barcode on loyalty and membership cards, if it works it would slim my wallet nicely. But my previous experience with photograph the barcode then take to price scanner is hit or miss, actually more miss than hit. It seems many scanners have difficulty with barcode displayed on phone screen.

As well I don't know if cashiers would accept it for, say air miles, at register.

What's your experience?

[Mr. Whippy]

I'd like to know how it works too.  I  hate that stack of cards in my wallet (which never seem to lead to anything... )

[jzmtl]

Well I tried a few, coupled with what I found online I have a decent idea.

It really depends on what type of scanner your store has. If it's the old laser type that shoots out a line, it'll never read the barcode on your phone screen. However if they have the newer optical scanner it'll read the barcode most of the time without problem.

So I guess it'll be a bit of trial and error to find out which card I can ditch.

[nate j]

It really depends on what type of scanner your store has.

That is correct.  It has also been my experience, however, that clerks at stores with the older scanners see this problem all the time (i.e. scanner not reading bar code from phone screen), and they are well aware of how to handle it by manually keying in the number.

[AimlessWanderer]

I don't use loyalty cards anyway. I have no interest in having all my purchases monitored and all my details sold on so that I can be targetted by more ads, more spam emails, more junk mail and more nuisance phone calls.

[Millhouse]

I've only used it once to collect an Amazon parcel from store. They scanned the barcode from my phone which worked fine.

[powernoodle]

It seems many scanners have difficulty with barcode displayed on phone screen.

That was my experience, so I ditched the app.  Its really too bad, because its a great idea if it works. I probably have half a dozen of these cards in my wallet.

[powernoodle]

targetted by more ads, more spam emails, more junk mail and more nuisance phone calls.

Looks like someone doesn't know that they can put down totally fake info on their membership card applications - yet still get the store discounts when you use the card. 

I agree with you about not liking the cards, but paying less for groceries and gas is better than paying more.

[Whoey]

I always thought this would be a good idea, yet hard to execute for all the reasons you have had issues.

[jzmtl]

I suppose you could always bring photocopies of the card, that'll always work. 

[Sazabi]

A number of the customers in my pharmacy use Keychain apps on their phones. The only times I've had difficulty in scanning the cards is in direct sunlight at the drive through or when the phone had a certain style of screen protector on it. Most modern versions of the apps lets you rotate the screen to greatly enlarge the card letting our scanners have an easier job at picking up the code.

[jzmtl]

A number of the customers in my pharmacy use Keychain apps on their phones. The only times I've had difficulty in scanning the cards is in direct sunlight at the drive through or when the phone had a certain style of screen protector on it. Most modern versions of the apps lets you rotate the screen to greatly enlarge the card letting our scanners have an easier job at picking up the code.

So I take it that you have the newer style scanner?

[Sazabi]

We do. Despite our POS terminals sometimes acting up, we have newer scanners. When we reboot the registers, the boot screen displays they have either 128 or 256 Mb of RAM...