# Fuck you and your card! (lame!) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 9, 2005, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-and-your-card-lame/334910 "2005-12-09T18:19:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2005, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-and-your-card-lame/334910/41 "2005-12-12T00:40:27Z")
> [@even sven](#): > > You know, they are probably reading this thread _right now_ and entering that all you guys hate cards in their database. You can never be too careful with your privacy.\ They can’t track me because no one gets my accurate information. AHHAHAHAHAHA!!! ---
**Author:** ![PsychoWench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9a140/32.png) [@PsychoWench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PsychoWench)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2005, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-and-your-card-lame/334910/42 "2005-12-12T02:09:35Z")
First, I actually find that at a lot of stores the cards from other companies work just as well, although I’m not sure why that is. Secondly, this amused me and I humbly offer it to everyone else: [Ultimate Safeway Shopper](http://www.cockeyed.com/pranks/safeway/ultimate_shopper.html) ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2005, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-and-your-card-lame/334910/43 "2005-12-12T03:11:51Z")
> [@PsychoWench](#): > > this amused me and I humbly offer it to everyone else: [Ultimate Safeway Shopper](http://www.cockeyed.com/pranks/safeway/ultimate_shopper.html) That sort of reminds me when Mad Magazine put a giant [UPC](http://cgi.ebay.com/MAD-MAGAZINE-April-1976-No-198-UPC-Humor-O295_W0QQitemZ6586734330QQcategoryZ3969QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem) symbol on their cover as revenge for having to put a UPC symbol on their covers. Funny! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2021, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-and-your-card-lame/334910/44 "2021-12-21T16:02:33Z")
Can I zombie my own thread? As was suggested before, if they have to have these stupid rewards programs how about having just one card? Like say, oh, I don’t know, YOUR DRIVERS LICENSE? You sign up for the program and they scan the encoded bar on the back of your license or ID. Then you use that instead of having 50 cards in your wallet. They could still issue cards for folks that don’t have DL or ID cards. So this morning my son was helping me install a new storm door as the old one got damaged by a recent wind storm. We realized I did not have a particular drill bit we needed. I went to a local hardware store I rarely go to. The slunt at the register started giving me shit that I wasn’t on their rewards program. She was insistent that I give her my phone number and fill out some card. She refused to ring up my purchase until I gave it to her. “Mr Beitz! Mr Beitz! I must have a phone number to set up an account before I ring up your purchase!” I was in a hurry as my son had other things to do. I firmly told her I was in a hurry and didn’t have time for any of this. I did not raise my voice or use profanity, but only because she knew who I was via my credit card and the store is in the jurisdiction I work in. Cashier was disgusted as I just wanted my receipt and to leave. She turns to a coworker and starts ranting how “these people just don’t get how important this is and how much it benefits them!” I hadn’t been it that store in almost 3 years! I grabbed my drill bit and receipt and told her when I had more time I would be having a conversation with her manager over her nonsense. It’s like a fucking cult it is! -Pete ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2021, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-and-your-card-lame/334910/45 "2021-12-21T16:04:29Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > As was suggested before, if they have to have these stupid rewards programs how about having just one card? Like say, oh, I don’t know, YOUR DRIVERS LICENSE? You sign up for the program and they scan the encoded bar on the back of your license or ID. Then you use that instead of having 50 cards in your wallet. They could still issue cards for folks that don’t have DL or ID cards. I hear that store loyalty programs will be transitioning to using the RFID chip that got implanted as part of the COVID vaccine. _ducks and runs_ ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2021, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-and-your-card-lame/334910/46 "2021-12-21T16:11:50Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Why don’t they just knock their prices down instead of having these stupid cards? Aye. > [@pkbites](#): > > Yeah, I know, I know; the database for “marketing purposes”:dubious: I don’t bother with them, mostly. I do have a Kroger card, but I just took one without filling out the paperwork. I think I listed my friend’s address once in the distant past. Albertsons stopped the card nonsense some years back but Vons, which they own, still uses them. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2021, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-and-your-card-lame/334910/47 "2021-12-21T16:18:58Z")
It’s the hard sell of these things that pisses me off! Do the clerks get some kind of bonus for signing people up? That mouthy bitch this morning was visibly angry that I said no. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2021, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-and-your-card-lame/334910/48 "2021-12-21T16:30:49Z")
I have two loyalty cards, one for Kroger stores (I usually use it at Fred Meyer which is our local affiliate) and one for Safeway. I don’t actually have a physical Safeway card, actually, I only ever provide my phone number. I’ve never had them spam me, I’ve never had any negative consequence in many years for using the cards, and I’ve saved a lot of money both in the store and at the gas stations adjacent to the stores. If you shop at those places without using the loyalty cards you are throwing money away. It’s so much better than clipping coupons, even the digital coupons that some places use can be a pain. I understand the argument that it would be even better for consumers if the stores just lowered the prices and didn’t demand any kind of loyalty program, but this is a business so you’d expect some kind of quid pro quo. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2021, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-and-your-card-lame/334910/49 "2021-12-21T16:33:19Z")
My argument is that I’m simply not interested in helping Business get better at marketing, since marketing is mostly used to separate people from their money unnecessarily. Every time you use that card, they get more data. And they share that data with other businesses, so they can refine their algorithms and other tools so they can take more of your money from you. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2021, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-and-your-card-lame/334910/50 "2021-12-21T16:41:04Z")
Fair enough. Last Saturday, I bought $200 worth of groceries at Safeway, and my card saved me $60. If you’re comfortable spending that much more money on principle then that’s your prerogative. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2021, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-and-your-card-lame/334910/51 "2021-12-21T16:42:21Z")
Merchants aren’t in the business of losing money; any benefit you received is outweighed by the benefit they received. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2021, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-and-your-card-lame/334910/52 "2021-12-21T16:44:17Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > So this morning my son was helping me install a new storm door as the old one got damaged by a recent wind storm. We realized I did not have a particular drill bit we needed. I went to a local hardware store I rarely go to. The slunt at the register started giving me shit that I wasn’t on their rewards program. She was insistent that I give her my phone number and fill out some card. She refused to ring up my purchase until I gave it to her. “Mr Beitz! Mr Beitz! I must have a phone number to set up an account before I ring up your purchase!” I was in a hurry as my son had other things to do. I firmly told her I was in a hurry and didn’t have time for any of this. I did not raise my voice or use profanity, but only because she knew who I was via my credit card and the store is in the jurisdiction I work in. Cashier was disgusted as I just wanted my receipt and to leave. She turns to a coworker and starts ranting how “these people just don’t get how important this is and how much it benefits them!” Slunt? ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2021, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-and-your-card-lame/334910/53 "2021-12-21T16:50:11Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Slunt? Slut + cunt? I got a Kroger card in 1999. I didn’t send in the card with the info, and it worked fine. I was even able to use it at a QFC when we went to Seattle. I’m not 100% current on what companies owns what other companies, but Albertson’s and Tom Thumb run the EXACT same sales ads and the back of that card says it’s also good at Randall’s, which I haven’t seen since visiting my sister in Iowa. I used the Kroger card till a few months ago, when it was so badly delaminating that the bar code was nigh illegible. My Kroger didn’t sell gas, but when I moved my new Kroger did. The years of purchases amounted to 30 cents per gallon discount, but just once. It’s a racket, but I play along somewhat. If you don’t, your grocery bills are going to be higher. It’s another point in favor of Aldi. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2021, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-and-your-card-lame/334910/54 "2021-12-21T16:52:41Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Slunt? It’s a term used by assholes to refer to the wage slave having to do the bidding of corporate clowns rather than blaming the management and marketing nitwits that put this kind of shit in place and then insulate themselves from the blowback. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2021, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-and-your-card-lame/334910/55 "2021-12-21T16:57:46Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Merchants aren’t in the business of losing money; any benefit you received is outweighed by the benefit they received. While that’s true, the only remedy is to live off the land and grow your own crops. Your statement is an indictment against capitalism in general, not just loyalty cards. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2021, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-and-your-card-lame/334910/56 "2021-12-21T17:00:49Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > While that’s true, the only remedy is to live off the land and grow your own crops. It’s not an “all or nothing” situation, IMO. Trying to frame it that way doesn’t help anything. > [@Atamasama](#): > > Your statement is an indictment against capitalism in general, not just loyalty cards. It could certainly be taken that way but we’re just talking about loyalty cards. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2021, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-and-your-card-lame/334910/57 "2021-12-21T17:02:19Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > It’s a term used by assholes to refer to the wage slave having to do the bidding of corporate clowns rather than blaming the management and marketing nitwits that put this kind of shit in place and then insulate themselves from the blowback. Why is it folks are not lining up for all those retail service jobs? Must be too many government handouts. Nothing to do with how they are treated by customers. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2021, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-and-your-card-lame/334910/58 "2021-12-21T17:04:12Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > It could certainly be taken that way but we’re just talking about loyalty cards. Then how do you justify buying anything from anyone? Every time you buy something from a merchant, the benefit you receive is outweighed by the benefit they receive, otherwise they wouldn’t make a profit. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2021, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-and-your-card-lame/334910/59 "2021-12-21T17:06:16Z")
Why do you think I don’t want merchants to make a profit? Did I say that? I weigh what I think the benefits are to me versus the demerits and I make a rational decision about what I need and what I’m willing to pay for it. I take as many relevant factors as I can into account when making these decisions. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2021, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-and-your-card-lame/334910/60 "2021-12-21T17:09:47Z")
Between my wife and I, we have about 50 rewards cards. All use the same phony phone number making using them easy to use without carrying any of the cards. A month ago I was in the electronic section of my local grocery/clothing/most everything else store. A guy in line in front of me was buying six 55 inch tv’s for a bar. The checker told him could save $50 per TV with his rewards card but he didn’t have one. I offered mine and he accepted. He save $300, I got 3600 fuel reward points. The next time I got gas I saved 80 cents a gallon and still have enough points to save another $3 a gallon in the future. Win win for both of us. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-and-your-card-lame/334910.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-and-your-card-lame/334910.md?page=4)