I've used the mag stripe tons of times over the last couple of years. Most of the time it's when I get "CHIP MALFUNCTION" errors at a card reader, or sometimes

I've used the mag stripe tons of times over the last couple of years. Most of the time it's when I get "CHIP MALFUNCTION" errors at a card reader, or sometimes they just tell me to swipe for no good reason. I wouldn't kill the stripe unless you've got a backup with you, at least for a while.