7 ms·

I have a lot of cards. Between gift cards, loyalty cards, and credit cards, I have at least 20-30 that I'd like to carry on me. I end up leaving cards I don't u

I have a lot of cards. Between gift cards, loyalty cards, and credit cards, I have at least 20-30 that I'd like to carry on me. I end up leaving cards I don't use every day in my car (and am always paranoid about the valet as a result). I use a KeyRing app for loyalty cards, but it's a pain and requires me often typing numbers into things. I often find myself in a Starbucks, realizing I left the Starbucks gift card in my car. Etc. This would let me get away with a much slimmer wallet and is therefore quite convenient. If it works.

JTon 12y ago
For loyalty cards, why not use passbook or equivalent?
- IanCal 12y ago
  To pick a single example, in the UK Boots points cards have a pin in and need to be inserted into a reader.
- saryant 12y ago
  Good luck getting Lufthansa to accept a Passbook version of a United premier card.
- Karunamon 12y ago
  I've got 12 cards in my wallet right now. Passbook accepts one of them. I'm unaware of any equivalents that would work with even a majority of them.
- syncsynchalt 12y ago
  Passbook only supports 2d codes, not 1d codes (UPC-style codes) or mag stripes that you typically find on loyalty cards.
- mattmaroon 12y ago
  There are apps, like KeyRing, which I use. The problem is unless the merchant has an optical scanner (many are still on laser) they can't scan your phone. So now you or the cashier has to type in a 12 digit number. If it's the cashier, you have to hand them your phone. It's annoying.
staz 12y ago
I don't get how you can end up with so many cards, it's seems like a very american problem. I have 5 cards in my wallet: * Debit card and a Visa credit card: both with chip&pin and allowing me to do secure transaction on the internet * A public transport card: RFC, also allow me to rent bikes * An ID card, also with a chip&pin, allow me to sign documents and fill my taxes * An insurance card which is not even a magnetic or electronic card, it's just a piece of plastic with my client number printed on it And I don't really see why I should need or want more cards
- crazygringo 12y ago
  I'm in your boat, BUT... You could also easily have 5 store credit cards (J. Crew, Banana Republic, etc.) for extra discounts, a few gift cards you haven't spent yet (Starbucks, Best Buy, etc.), an extra 3 credit cards (they have different promotions), a handful of loyalty cards for discounts (a couple supermarkets, three or four coffee shops, a couple of restaurants), various forms of ID and access cards (company, school, gym, apartment complex front door)... You can see how it adds up. The reasons for almost all of them are discounts or extra value. Keeping track of all these cards and carrying them around could easily save you several hundred dollars a year if you're willing to do it.
  - Vespasian 12y ago
    I've never seen one of those gift cards in plastic forms. This seems indeed to be very american ;) Every gift card I ever got or bought was just a piece of paper. And my only store loyalty cards are actually from the US (although they exist here as well).
    - mattmaroon 12y ago
      Here they are much more commonly plastic. They look like a credit card and are on display at stores. It is just a much nicer presentation for a gift than a piece of paper you printed. It's also more convenient to hang onto. It doesn't have to be folded and get beaten up in your wallet when you don't use it for 2 months. The only time you have something printed on paper is if you got it off a credit card rewards site for the most part.
camillomiller 12y ago
This really is something I don't get. I have a pretty busy digital and real life, and I really can't think of having more than a couple of CC (one Credit, one debt), an EC Karte and maybe a couple of cards for gym membership and (in this very moment) H&M giftcard. Even Apple Pay strikes me as a solution looking for a problem. Maybe that's a fundamental difference between the U.S. and Europe, but I really don't get the gist of all this "scrape the huge heap of card crowding your wallet" excitement.
- sagichmal 12y ago
  That's five or six cards. Combined with cash, coins, and temporary things like tickets and receipts -- that's a lot!
- mattmaroon 12y ago
  After reading this thread I'm starting to think European companies use plastic far less than American ones. All I can say is live here for a year and you'll understand.
JoeAltmaier 12y ago
But would you be able to find/remember all those cards if they were stored in this thing? Isn't it the pretty plastic and embossed pictures that scream "Barnes & Noble"? Would burying that inside a Plastc mean you never used them?
- mattmaroon 12y ago
  I have the opposite problem. I have more than I can carry on me, so they all end up in a heap in my dresser drawer. Then they never get used.

JTon 12y ago

For loyalty cards, why not use passbook or equivalent?

IanCal 12y ago
To pick a single example, in the UK Boots points cards have a pin in and need to be inserted into a reader.
saryant 12y ago
Good luck getting Lufthansa to accept a Passbook version of a United premier card.
Karunamon 12y ago
I've got 12 cards in my wallet right now. Passbook accepts one of them. I'm unaware of any equivalents that would work with even a majority of them.
syncsynchalt 12y ago
Passbook only supports 2d codes, not 1d codes (UPC-style codes) or mag stripes that you typically find on loyalty cards.
mattmaroon 12y ago
There are apps, like KeyRing, which I use. The problem is unless the merchant has an optical scanner (many are still on laser) they can't scan your phone. So now you or the cashier has to type in a 12 digit number. If it's the cashier, you have to hand them your phone. It's annoying.

staz 12y ago

I don't get how you can end up with so many cards, it's seems like a very american problem. I have 5 cards in my wallet: * Debit card and a Visa credit card: both with chip&pin and allowing me to do secure transaction on the internet * A public transport card: RFC, also allow me to rent bikes * An ID card, also with a chip&pin, allow me to sign documents and fill my taxes * An insurance card which is not even a magnetic or electronic card, it's just a piece of plastic with my client number printed on it And I don't really see why I should need or want more cards

crazygringo 12y ago
I'm in your boat, BUT... You could also easily have 5 store credit cards (J. Crew, Banana Republic, etc.) for extra discounts, a few gift cards you haven't spent yet (Starbucks, Best Buy, etc.), an extra 3 credit cards (they have different promotions), a handful of loyalty cards for discounts (a couple supermarkets, three or four coffee shops, a couple of restaurants), various forms of ID and access cards (company, school, gym, apartment complex front door)... You can see how it adds up. The reasons for almost all of them are discounts or extra value. Keeping track of all these cards and carrying them around could easily save you several hundred dollars a year if you're willing to do it.
- Vespasian 12y ago
  I've never seen one of those gift cards in plastic forms. This seems indeed to be very american ;) Every gift card I ever got or bought was just a piece of paper. And my only store loyalty cards are actually from the US (although they exist here as well).
  - mattmaroon 12y ago
    Here they are much more commonly plastic. They look like a credit card and are on display at stores. It is just a much nicer presentation for a gift than a piece of paper you printed. It's also more convenient to hang onto. It doesn't have to be folded and get beaten up in your wallet when you don't use it for 2 months. The only time you have something printed on paper is if you got it off a credit card rewards site for the most part.

camillomiller 12y ago

This really is something I don't get. I have a pretty busy digital and real life, and I really can't think of having more than a couple of CC (one Credit, one debt), an EC Karte and maybe a couple of cards for gym membership and (in this very moment) H&M giftcard. Even Apple Pay strikes me as a solution looking for a problem. Maybe that's a fundamental difference between the U.S. and Europe, but I really don't get the gist of all this "scrape the huge heap of card crowding your wallet" excitement.

sagichmal 12y ago
That's five or six cards. Combined with cash, coins, and temporary things like tickets and receipts -- that's a lot!
mattmaroon 12y ago
After reading this thread I'm starting to think European companies use plastic far less than American ones. All I can say is live here for a year and you'll understand.

JoeAltmaier 12y ago

But would you be able to find/remember all those cards if they were stored in this thing? Isn't it the pretty plastic and embossed pictures that scream "Barnes & Noble"? Would burying that inside a Plastc mean you never used them?

mattmaroon 12y ago
I have the opposite problem. I have more than I can carry on me, so they all end up in a heap in my dresser drawer. Then they never get used.