A few days ago, I got a notice in the mail from Chase Card Services notifying me that from now until June 6, 2008 I will get $10 back if I make 3 purchases using their ‘blink’ transaction feature. A ‘blink’ transaction is one where all you do is hold your card up to a little pad and it automatically performs the transaction. It utilizes a RFID chip inside your credit card that emits a radio signal to the little pad that acts just like swiping your card, except you don’t have to swipe it. It works just like a Speedpass does for gas stations, or a FasTrak , or the I.D. badges that communist party officials have to wear in China so that Big Brother can keep tabs on them. It’s the same exact thing.
I love free money (and so does my credit card compay) so I am planning on taking full advantage of this opportunity to rack up the rewards and to have my personal purchase information used to generate personal adds that will one day greet me as I enter my local 7-11. “Hello, Mr. Lucre,” a bright, yet hologram 6 year old boy will say, buy me last pape’?
I’m a sucker for little coughing kids.
The terms of the deal are as follows:
- Shop at participating a shoppe
- Wave your card in front of the potentially privacy stealing device
- Get paid $10 for your trouble
The participating locations in my area are Arbys, 7-11, CVS, and Office Depot. The only place we really shop at is the CVS, but we haven’t gone in several weeks. I don’t want to go out and buy some random piece of crap just because I want $10 free bucks so it may turn out that we end up buying three packs of gum in three different transactions during the same visit to CVS on June 5th. A more likely scenario is that we don’t make the three purchases but instead buy two pieces of crap that we don’t really need and miss out the deal of the century. Go figure.
RFID related articles:
RFID Journal - first independent media company that solely covers RFID devices
Researchers See Privacy Pitfalls in No-Swipe Credit Cards - NYT, October 2006
Credit cards with radio tags speed purchases but track customers, too - Boston Globe, August 2006
A Hacker’s Guide To RFID - Forbes, July 2004
RFID Chips Are Here - Security Focus, June 2003
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Categories: Banks & Credit Cards ~ Tags: Free Stuff ~ Trackback
April 28th, 2008 at 6:50 pm
Nothing better than Free Money!
April 30th, 2008 at 6:46 am
Thanks for the reminder - I got that offer too. I didn’t know where I could use it so I kind of forgot about it.
By the way, I’m glad you posted the RFID privacy articles. I really wish that we had an option whether or not we wanted it. I’ll gladly stick to old-fashioned swiping if it means I can avoid RF pocket picking.
Plus I’d prefer to avoid holographic paper boys that have stockpiled information on my buying preferences