From the pet store to the bookstore everyone seems to have loyalty cards these days. They’re great. They get you discounts and exclusive deals, which may be why your wallet is jammed full of them. Or, you may be the type who hates carrying them all around with you, but inevitably the one you need is stashed in a drawer at home.
Cardstar is a simple, yet brilliant, app that puts all your loyalty cards in the palm of your hand (assuming that hand is holding your smartphone). Download it for free to your iPhone, Blackberry or Android and then using your phone’s camera just scan the bar codes on the back of your cards. Boom! Cardstar reads the barcode and stores them where they can be scanned at the checkout counter just like you would your plastic card. Cardstar will also show you which of your stores is offering special deals and help you score coupons to save you even more money. No wonder the loyalty card program we’re most loyal to is Cardstar.
Check out this week’s Twirl and see how easy it is to ditch the plastic and hold on to more paper--you know, the kind with dead presidents on it?
47 Comments
Brooke says:
OMG what a genius idea! Just downloaded the app and adding my cards! Luv it!
CKnobloch says:
Brooke -- so glad you love it. I've been on a card-adding SPREE! Used it about 4 times last week. I'm obsessed!
Lori Radun says:
One question Carley. What happens when it is time to switch phones and get a new one? Do all these wonderful new things you've loaded into your phone from all these marvelous twirls you've shared with us get transferred into our new phone? Or do we have to reload all this stuff?
CKnobloch says:
Good question, Lori— It depends on a bunch of stuff. I don't think there's currently a way to move your loyalty cards from phone to phone— though we should ask Mr. CardStar when he hops on the comments this week! Apps like Evernote have a centralized cloud storage system, so you could get as many phones as you want and always be able to access your up-to-date data.
Dina says:
Lori, I use cardstar on two devices, my ipod touch and iphone and yes you can backup and sync your cards between them.
As far as other apps, my apple genius said that as long as I did a backup first, then restore to my new phone, all my apps and settings would come along for the ride. He was right!!!
CKnobloch says:
Dina— Thank you for sharing that! Good news!
Lindsay says:
Only potential hiccup to this is switching carriers. I switched from AT&T to Verizon, both with iPhone4's. The phones are actually completely different and don't sync to your backups, and I had to start from 100% scratch. Bummer.
CKnobloch says:
Lindsay— definitely a good point. CardStar 3.0 now does now have "CardStar Connect" a feature that allows you to backup and restore so all your data is locked up on one phone. Read more about it here: http://www.mycardstar.com/pdfs/CardStarFoursquare.pdf
Barbie says:
This is awesome! I have soooo many loyalty cards. I'm downloading this app asap. Thanks Carly!
CKnobloch says:
Barbie— you're so welcome! I know... my pile is dwindling, and my wallet is forever grateful!
Donald says:
It's a great Idea BUT the bar codes on the phone don't scan very well. I've tried it many times and they don't work. I know I am in Retail.
CKnobloch says:
Donald— Sorry to hear that. We haven't had trouble with it at all. Just yesterday I used it at Ralphs, Best Buy and CVS. I think sometimes the scanners don't get along with the reflective nature of some phones. Nothing to do with the app itself. But thanks for letting us know.
Betsy says:
Hey Donald, the other thing about the scanning is that it works perfectly with gun scanners, but occasionally with flat scanners they may need to enter the numbers. I love all the functionality of Cardstar, I would never switch!
Stew says:
I tried my iPhone for the first time at Rite-Aid last week and it didn't work with the gun-type scanners. I haven't tried it since, not wanting to seem like too much of a geek at the stores in my small town!
I've only got 3 affinity cards it'd work with in my wallet. I'm a guy, so no purse to carry every card under the sun. Most places will just look my account up from my phone number.
CKnobloch says:
Stew— Haven't you heard that geek is chic? Seriously, I'm sorry that your card didn't work at Rite Aid. And I do feel for you guys with no purses to lug all these cards around in! Seems like there are some scanners that give it more trouble, but you can always have them type in the number if the scan is unsuccessful. I've had great luck at Barnes & Noble, CVS and Ralphs... all with gun scanners. Keep trying!
Karen Rustvold says:
This is great! I have been sitting on the fence about upgrading to a smartphone-this was exactly the selling point I needed. Yeah-no more plastic!!! On my way to my phone retailer!
CKnobloch says:
Karen— Woo hoo! Thanks for letting us know! Congrats on your new phone (to be!)
Nello says:
There are other apps like Card, e.g., Key Ring:
http://keyringapp.com/
How do I pick one over another?
CKnobloch says:
We tested keyring and like it a lot too– their features are nearly identical, so it's all about which one works best for you.
Ms. CardStar says:
Ms. CardStar here! Lori- you can actually backup your cards from within the app. As well, you can sync or transfer your cards over to your new phone or a spouses phone if needed. Backing up and syncing directions vary depending upon mobile device so feel free to email support at mycardstar dot com and we can provide you with simply instructions for backing up and syncing your cards!
Digitwirl- Thanks for the great video review!
CKnobloch says:
Hey thanks Ms. CardStar, so glad you're here to answer questions!
Greg Johnson says:
Digitwirl Girl,
I received the Neat Company (Neat Receipts) newsletter moments ago, and saw you featured as a new member of the Neat Fleet. Congrats. Your videos are nicely produced. I'll be sure to recommend your site to others, and "Like" your Facebook page.
I've tried a few membership card programs, including CardStar, and it's nice to see your review. It looks like lots of new features have been added since the last time I explored the offerings.
Thanks for creating a nice blog for the rest of us to enjoy and benefit from. I'll use it as a reference guide and example of best practices for my own web work and product reviews.
~ Greg
P.S. I hope you don't mind me calling you Digitwirl Girl... I couldn't help it -- I love rhymes.
CKnobloch says:
Thanks so much, Greg! I hope you can make it to the webinar we're doing with Neat Company on friday. http://ow.ly/4MwJV And I'm glad you're enjoying cardstar like we are!
Sylvia says:
Hi Lori and CKnobloch
YES there is a way! To my knowledge only Cardmobili app (www.cardmobili.com) allows you to store all your loyalty cards in the cloud, so when you change your phone you can have all your cards in the new phone.
CKnobloch says:
Sylvia— super tip, thanks!
Elsa says:
I just wanted to let you know that I'm addicted to your videos. I pass them on to my husband who has also secretly become addicted to your videos....although he won't admit to it, but has purchased/downloaded almost everything you've done videos on
This app is definitely my new favorite! Thanks for sharing!
CKnobloch says:
Elsa— You just made my week.
CKnobloch says:
Oh, Greg, BTW— call me Digitwirl Girl anytime!
Cydney says:
Very cool. Thanks for sharing this app. I love your tips, they all have been great!
CKnobloch says:
Thanks Cydney! Keep watching, more awesome tips to come!
Delia says:
this was fabulous! can't wait to upgrade to a smart phone, another reason to do so
AND I would imagine that if you used a program like DropBox you could transfer the data to a new phone that way as well?
CKnobloch says:
Delia— Yes, another good reason to upgrade! About transferring data, there's a comment below from the cardstar people that gives you instructions so you can take care of that no problem.
Effy says:
BOOK STAR IN STUDIO CITY, my all time favorite book sore.
CKnobloch says:
Effy— Representin' the hood.
How to organize your wallet | Clear Simple Living | Home Organization says:
[...] • Business Cards – You could keep a couple of your own business cards in your wallet. But, as you collect business cards of other people enter them into your address book or connect with them on LinkedIn, and then toss them! The quickest way to do this is to create a spot on your desk where you put new business cards and then once a week process the whole pile of them. By batching this little job, you will be able to get it done fast. It’s a great thing to do at the end of the day when you don’t have the brain power to work on a project. • Receipts – When you get home from shopping, place your receipts into a simple and efficient filing system. I explain how to set up a super fast self-cleansing receipt system in my Fast-Filing Method program. • Misc Notes & Papers – Instead of writing on sticky notes and napkins and shoving them in your wallet, use either a paper capture tool or an smartphone app such as Evernote. I explain how to use a capture tool to easily and efficiently keep track of miscellaneous information in my Fast-Filing Method program. If you’ve got a smart phone and hate carrying out loyalty cards (but don’t want to give up the perks), check out this cool smartphone app that keeps track of all of them for you — click here to watch a short video about it. [...]
Gail says:
I've been using KeyRing for a couple of years now. Yes, you do sign in online, but it backs up all of your cards automatically! This has saved me numerous times as I've had to replace my smart phone several times for technical issues! I just reload the app, sign into my account and they are ALL there! Easy as pie!
Like the others mentioned, they don't scan very well at the stores, but it is easy enough for them to type the numbers in. KeyRing shows pictures of the cards/stores if they already have them in their database, which happens to be a lot of them like chain stores!
I also love all these tips! I didn't find this website until a few weeks ago, and I'm hooked! Sometimes I just sit and watch all the videos in a row!
CKnobloch says:
Gail— We've been testing KeyRing too and it's a great alternative. Love the online component. And thanks for the kudos— we're glad you're watching!
Elisa says:
genius.
Heather | Mom 4 Life says:
Ohhhhh downloading now, thanks!
Olga says:
Just got one question, I have anokia lumia windows phone and Im wondering which thing should I download. If someone could tell me that would be nice as I love that idea to have all the cards on my phone.
Olga says:
One more thing, can you add coupons on the cards?
Ginger says:
Good idea but most won't scan.
CKnobloch says:
Ginger— I have found that the ones that don't scan you can easily input into the app manually.
Best Shopping apps: CardStar | appSmitten says:
[...] “If your wallet looks like it could lose a few pounds, the loyalty cards you lug around are probably the culprit. Scan them all into CardStar, then pull them up on your phone when it’s time to pay. CardStar will even show you coupons so you save even more, no clipping required. Check out my video about it here.” [...]
Susan says:
I just found your website today, and I LOVE IT. CardStar looks like an awesome app, but when I went to download it, it wanted me to give permission for it to "take pictures and videos with the camera and, at any time, collect images that the camera is seeing." Obviously, I'm fine with it taking pictures of my cards when I ask it to, but the rest of that statement gives me reservation.
What are your thoughts?
Pam says:
I just downloaded Cardstar on my IPad 2 and added all my cards. Now I want to synch them with my iPhone. I go to Cardstar Connect and try to synch but it keeps saying it can't connect to the database. Can you help?
jfossett says:
The newest product in this field is the LOC Card® -- the first truly universal customer loyalty card (which also has smart phone app, too, for your existing loyalty cards).
However, the LOC Card is different from these other apps in that it is a single wallet card (and key fob and smart phone app, too) that allows customers to participate in a merchant loyalty program anywhere in the world with a simple swipe of the card on a merchant's point-of-sale (POS) equipment.
Consumers no longer have to carry around dozens of different merchant loyalty cards and they can manage all of their accounts from the LOC website. Merchants benefit from because card will work with their existing loyalty programs and the merchants no longer will have to manage POS signups or handle cumbersome registration forms.
The LOC Card was recently launched in the U.S. and the company is currently working to bring merchants into the program. To learn more about the LOC card, go to http://www.LOCcard.com.