Good evening, readers. Consider this the first entry in a series of entries that will describe my adventures using Passbook. Passbook is one of Apple’s newest features to accompany iOS 6. The concept is that you as a user are able to store all your rewards cards and even some forms of payment within one app. When I first heard about this, I was ecstatic! The Apple demonstration showed it to be a clean, pretty, functional app that would help keep your endless pile of rewards cards organized. I don’t know about you, but I am tired of having key chains weighed down by mini-cards that convenience store clerks scan so that I can get my 6th fountain drink free. I always have my phone with me and I love the idea of having a centralized location for all my cards.
I have to say that at first use, the glamour of it wore off when I tried to load cards. The information for users’ rewards are taken from other apps on the phone. So, in order for you to have the Starbucks rewards card or gift card for payments you must not only have the Passbook app, but you must also have the Starbucks app loaded on your phone.
So far, I only have the one Starbucks app information loaded into my Passbook app, but as I stated, this is the first entry in a series. I will give updates as I add more apps/cards into Passbook. I can happily report that paying with Passbook on the iPhone at Starbucks is quite painless. I ordered my grande pumpkin spice latte from the Barista and when I pulled out my phone, she said, “Oh, are you paying with one of those card things?” I replied with a, “yes.” And with a smile, she pointed a scanner towards me and said, “Ok. That’s no problem. Just put your phone in front of the scanner.” Now, as I’m sure many of you know, scanning an iPhone screen can be hit and miss, but this was completely functional. Starbucks has their act together on this front.
I recommend that iPhone users test out this app on your own. I will update after my next experience with the app, but I would also love to hear from other users and their experiences.
One last thing I’d like to mention is that there are a limited amount of apps that currently work with Passbook. Here is the list. I’m sure this list will grow as times goes on.
- Airbnb
- American Airlines
- Eventbrite
- Fandango
- Live Nation
- Lufthansa
- MLB.com At Bat
- MLB.com At the Ballpark
- Sephora to Go
- Starbucks
- Target
- Ticketmaster
- United Airlines
- Walgreens
NOTE: Normally we include links to download the app we are reviewing, but Passbook is an Apple iOS native app and loads with the software updates. If you are interested in reading more about Passbook, follow the link below.
