Now that is a good idea? Make sure you put a password on your phone since it is more likely to get stolen over your wallet.

gregmick

No drivers license?

Scalvo2

I wouldn't really say that I'm at the mercy of the workers choosing to scan my "card." I'd say that my phone is at the mercy of the workers who do choose to take my phone and try to scan it. I'm not so sure I'd be willing to hand over an iPhone to some random checkout clerk.

conigs

I think scanning in Costco, Sam's and your Frequent Flyer / Marriott rewards are fine, since you don't have any financial connections to them. I tried to do it once with my grocery store rewards cards, but they wouldn't scan. I may have to give it a whirl again.

eEditor

an iPhone slims down your wallet autonomously...

mig000

After that post about a man spending millions from a photocopy of a license I'd rather stay away from certain copied ID cards being acceptable.

lesbiansayswhat

I have yet to find a store that has a card like that, that won't accept your phone number instead of the actual card.

No iPhone necessary to give them that.

infmom

I just can't see a Costco employee accepting a picture of your membership card. Even if it would scan correctly, I would see it as something that could be modified too easily when it's in a digital format.

But what do I know...

eclipse785

I know this isn't the most constructive of comments, but wow what an iphone user.

"To her the physical card was transformed into a picture on a shiny device."

Yeah, retail workers are certainly cave people.

AlexLand

Might not work so well with smartcard-based cards..

kennu

@HaloZero:

OK, just realized that once something is scanned the cahsier might get information about the person and thus it is not possible do that. My bad

HaloZero

I don't think I would accept a scanned card. It might have been modified with a new signature and ID rather than your own. It's a lot easier to fabrciate an image than to make a new card with the exact same barcode and stuff.

HaloZero

this what i use eWallet for on my Windows Mobile phone. i have all of my numbers with me and it's secure. no pretty scans of the cards themselves though. i suppose it wouldn't work w/ membership card but it's fine when you just need a membership # (frequent flyer programs).

MarkF52

An iphone will also make your wallet thin in other ways too, such as having no money.

daybringer

@AlexLand: iPhone are not yet sold in the Netherlands.

And the girl behind the counter had absolutely no problem in scanning the phone but it was her first encounter with a iPhone.

Smartcards, the cards with magnetic strips that are actually used won't work. But most of the companies just use the barcode and numbers. For these cards it is a working solution.

Albert W. Alberts

I tried this on a regular treo/windows mobile device and found the bar codes would not scan I think cause the screens were not very scanner friendly (not sure if it was resolution on screen glare). I imagine the iPhone screen is a lot better for this sort of thing.

rothgar

Don't try credit cards...

Brad

until you loose the thing and someone else starts using all your cards...

kklassy

Anyone who would let this fly at their register is, frankly, an idiot. Try again next time with your real card. If you have one and didn't forge it in the picture.

jtimberman

I doubt this. I had lost a receipt to to apple store, and had one in my email. So I pulled it up and the clerk at the apple store tried to scan the barcode placed on the receipt (its on the virtual ones too), but it didn't work.

Blinklink11

I don't know about you, but I don't want some idiot behind the counter scratching the screen! I prefer the suggestion to keep your membership cards in your glove box.

nka

I'll scan everything from credit cards to Coupons to Food Stamp Cards. Thx Lifehacker. :( Ne1 Know what DPI wrks?

ph15h needs a nu job

What if you had to swipe your card, then what? Not all places have a scanner so you can swipe your card. So how do you get past that problem?

This sounds like a good idea, but if you need to swipe, your outta luck.

ma5t3rw1tt

I think the iPhone is a better screen for scanning the barcodes, and after removing all my "loyalty cards" to head out to happy hour, I'd love to shrink my wallet. But I don't think this is a practical option any more than scanning/photocopying all of your barcodes to a single card. [cache.lifehacker.com]

More stores are letting you enter your phone number as an alternate ID on the card reader, but I've taken to just keeping the cards I need in my briefcase or by the front door when I'm headed out. I started to realize how silly it was keeping my USAir or Borders cards on me all the time.

urban bohemian

@nka: "...scratching the screen..."

Easy solution, get a screen protector of something similar from a company like Boxwave

(No affiliation; just a satisfied user. I have them on my camera screens.)

NoWin

I agree with Brad that scanning credit cards is probably not the best idea - considering it's not encrypted - but for your gym card or coupon cards etc., it seems handy.

Louise

LouiseVin

Ok people. You are taking this too seriously. No where does it say 'scan in every photo id, credit card & anything else that has your signature/picture/shoe size on it'. For things like grocery store tags, frequent shoppers program tags, I think this is an awesome idea.

It may be less 'slimming of the wallet' & more 'slimming of the keychain' as it seems most of those get stuck on your keychain's now days.

I now realize why I stopped reading the comments on this site, most people are too judgemental.

kidCasey13

@kklassy: Loose?

Scalvo2

Hehe, I guess I'm old fashioned. I leave all my loyalty cards at home. I just punch in my phone number at the register. Well, the fake phone number I used when I signed up for the cards.

greenbot

I could see it now. "I'm sorry officer, I don't have my wallet on me; however I do have a picture of my license on my iPhone". A ticket and a busted phone/lip later you realize it wasn't such a good idea.

Kareem King

@nka: First, the card image is ready by a barcode scanner, which is a laser, which aren't known for scratching things.

Second, the iPhone screen is optical glass. It's REALLY scratch resistant, unless the cashier is shaking it in a bag of diamonds and rubys. You just have to worry about it shattering, which as catastrophically bad

ludwigk

@Albert W. Alberts:

Didn't even see the location of the website. Good point! I just wrote the author off as a stereotypical apple user (no offense to anyone! i have a mac and I'm getting the 3g iphone!)

I stand corrected.

AlexLand

About slimming down the wallet, I was thinking more about the telco bill than the card reduction stuff.

Not that the iPhone and operation fees are slim...

m-p{3}

@ludwigk:

You would think that its pretty scratch resistant, until you clean it off with a paper towel, and it has a permanent scuffmark on the screen.

BenjiClayton

I've done this before as well. My experience was with a 12% off coupon at Best Buy. I didn't have the print out, but I surely had the email with me with the barcode on it. The checker looked at me and said, "thank goodness for the iPhone, right?" I'd have to agree. Sent from my iPhone

BaldwinSterope

this is perfect for business cards, insurance info. wonder if i'd work for a proof of insurance?

bigwhitebear18

Here is what I do - Using my iPhone, I surf to my UPC/barcode generator ([jaxed.com]) and enter the number and label for my barcode. On the resultant page, I get the barcode (generated as a .GIF) which I bookmark. Next time I am at the store, I just bring up Safari and load the proper bookmark and there is the barcode I need for that store.

Feel free to do the same ;)

jaxed