this post was submitted on 09 Mar 2024
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Privacy

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Hey I'm sure you all know how sketchy club cards are for collecting your data. But I do begrudge paying slightly higher prices just for valuing my privacy. I was wondering if there was any way to sign up to these things whilst limiting the data they have access to. Would it be enough to sign up with fake details and never use their apps? Or should I just give up on this all together? Thanks!

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[–] [email protected] 32 points 9 months ago (3 children)

If they let you give them a phone number, I always use (in the USA) my area code plus 867-5309. So far it has always work. Younger checkout people don't see anything unusual and older ones get a laugh out of it.

[–] merde 30 points 9 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 14 points 9 months ago

Thank you for sharing internet stranger. I was slightly confused

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago (3 children)

What happens if someone else beats you to that and uses your fuel points?

[–] [email protected] 10 points 9 months ago

That's part of the fun. Sometimes you get someone else's fuel points too. It's kind of like gambling whenever you fuel up. Over the long term it probably evens out, or at least I feel like I get a fuel discount pretty often with it so I don't worry about it. Worse case I'm helping someone else save a few bucks, it doesn't feel like a problem.

[–] clive 5 points 9 months ago

I found a few stores that dont allow redeeming fuel with that phone number. Makes me think they set the account up for people to use, or the poor person who actually has that phone number got upset after their fuel points kept getting stolen

[–] sugar_in_your_tea 3 points 9 months ago (1 children)

That's worth what... $1-2?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago

Yes that’s largely the joke, although I did once get $13 off in a single fill-up. It was the early days of the pandemic so between medicine refills and stocking up on groceries we’d maxed it out to $1/off per gallon. Combined with the plunge in gas prices it was the first time I’d paid under $1/gallon since the turn of the millennium.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago

Guess I should switch. I always get funny looks when I say my number is "Beechwood 45789"

[–] [email protected] 16 points 9 months ago

At my old group's monthly meetings we'd all chuck our cards into a hat, stir them around to randomize them, and take them out again.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 9 months ago

If you know anyone that has a card, ask them can you use it or ask in local groups. On reddit people used to share pictures of their clubcards so other people could scan it when they shop. The card holders get loads of extra points and the people that use the cards get the discount and privacy, win-win

[–] [email protected] 12 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Fake details and don't use the app should do the job.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago

And pay in cash

[–] [email protected] 9 points 9 months ago

Along with all the comments here, always use cash with the card too.

Once you use a credit/debit card with it, they'll have an association.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

standard is treat them the same way you used to treat Netflix logins – one club card number gets shared among family and friends

EDIT: no one ever used their own Netflix login and no one ever uses their own club card number

[–] [email protected] 5 points 9 months ago

They can and do associate cards with vehicles and use facial recognition. any attempt to circumvent the data harvesting is a waste of your time more than theirs ... for loyalty point cards.

People in this thread seem to have base discount cards, which are perfectly fine to swap around a group but points cards tend to have a bulk discount that accumulates over time and swapping would be a very bad idea.

[–] knobbysideup 4 points 9 months ago

My buddy used his pet pig's name. I generally use my first name with last name being the name of the business. Emails for each also unique.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

You could just give them fake personal information. In the end, if they really want they could identify you because you probably pay with your card?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago
[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

If I have more items with club price that would make a larger difference, I just quickly register a new one-use account with disposable email and random address in the app, and delete it afterwards

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago (1 children)

The whole point of giving you the discount is how they pay for the data. It wouldn't make sense for them to give you a discount without getting the data.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago

True but they offer clubcard prices for certain items which are made to look cheaper. In reality the clubcard price is the true value and the 'base' price is a mark up. So I guess we're being charged for trying not to give our data

[–] [email protected] -1 points 9 months ago (2 children)

I was accused of stealing by a self checkout machine 3 times in 2 weeks. Discount card or not I'm shopping at the more expensive knock off whole foods instead. Fuck kroger. (I was still stealing apples. Because fuck kroger)

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago

So you were stealing. That doesn't seem unreasonable.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago

Just gave me a random memory. I used to scan stuff through as onions back when self checkout was introduced. Got away with it so many times. Wouldn't recommend it now😅