Key Ring Reward Cards: Highly useful while not always perfect

[fangorious]

This little gem of an app does what it promises in that it stores barcodes from all your retail loyalty/rewards cards so you don't have to carry them. With large built-in lists (there are separate lists for cards with barcodes and cards without) and a nice in-app tutorial video it's easy to get started.

When adding a new card you are asked if the card has a barcode. If not you must manually enter the number. For cards that do have a barcode the familiar Barcode Scanner is used, or you can manually enter the number with the keyboard. In both cases you can select the retailer from the list. If the retailer isn't in the list you may manually specify that too (you can also submit new retailers back to mobestream for inclusion in future updates). There are separate lists for cards with barcodes and cards without barcodes. Due to the size of these lists keeping them separate minimizes the time it takes to find a retailer in the list.

Once a card has been added the barcode/number can not be edited. You must delete the card and reenter. You can change the retailer and an optional label (more on the label later).

My major complaint about this app is that many barcodes contain digits which are not printed on the card. Keyring recognizes these extra digits in the barcode and happily displays them under the barcode image. The problem this leads to is that in the event the retailer's scanner can't read your phone screen they will start typing in the number displayed. In my experience these extra numbers not printed on the card must be disregarded when a retailer is manually entering the number. I submitted a bug report and the response follows:

When Key Ring scans the barcode, it only recreates a barcode for the
numbers read from your barcode. Often barcodes include check digits within
the barcode that are not shown in the actual membership number. If the
retailer is able to scan the barcode from your device they will indeed find
you account. With that said, we need to add a customization option where a
user such as yourself can edit the number displayed below the barcode. I'll
open a defect for that and submit it to our lead key ring developer.

This was on May 4, 2010 and recent updates haven't included this yet so be on the lookout. In the meantime, I have used the custom label field to specify the number as printed on the physical card when the check digits are displayed. This way I remember when to tell the retailer that the barcode number is 'wrong' and save some time.

Some recent reviews within the market have mentioned concerns over the permissions. I'll admit I don't understand why this app needs to check your location or phone state/identity, so use your best judgment installing it.

 

[Deleted User]

It's a cool idea, but the problem -- and it's a deal breaker -- is that supermarket barcode readers can't read a barcode off a cell phone's screen. It's not technically possible. Now, more advanced barcode readers might be able to do it. You will have to try it and see.

In Greenville, North Carolina, both Food Lion and Harris-Teeter's registers were completely unable to scan the barcode on my Android phone.

Asking the cashier to key in your number every time is not acceptable. That's why they put barcodes on the cards, so they can just scan them and have them entered inside of half a second.

 

[fllinton]

works fine in the stores I use

 

[K-Rizzle]

It didn't work at my gym, haven't tried it at grocery stores, I just assumed it wouldn't work.

 

[Sarates]

I can't even get mine to display the barcodes, despite having done everything I read in all the various blogs....still, no barcodes. After I spent all that time scanning them.

 

[johnlgalt]

Those with issues where your store cannot read the barcode, try HandyCards - it has 2 different ways of displaying the barcode, and I have a 99% success rate with it.

 

[droidros]

I tried in two places so far - Hallmark and Blockbuster. Both places just typed in the codes - they didn't even bother trying to scan - just said it won't work. This is discouraging - even though it frees up some of my wallet/keyring space, I don't want to make the sales clerks to have to do extra work.

 

[Mr Marcus]

I have used this in my grocery store and in CVS; each works every time I go. The ONLY exception I've had was ONE time I went to the self-checkout, and the scanner there wouldn't read it. That's ok by me, because I loathe self-checkout. Every time at a 'normal' checkout, it reads it dead on. Looove this app.