A gift card was provided to me by Verizon Wireless to assist me in using their product. All thoughts an opinions, however, are my own.
Last Wednesday was my birthday. It was one of the best birthday’s I have had in a long time. It actually started on Tuesday night when my family and I went to eat at the Hard Rock Cafe at the Mall of America. Then, Wednesday, while Hubby was at work and the girls were at school, I spent the day with a few fellow bloggers at the Mall of America having fun and going on a shopping spree with Verizon Wireless and Softcard. In the evening, my family carved pumpkins together. Food, shopping, family, and fun…what more could a girl ask for for her birthday?
My day with Verizon started with a tour of Verizon’s first destination store. Opened about a year ago in the Mall of America, this store is 9,715 sq ft of hands-on fun. With approximately 30,000 products, Verizon’s destination store shows customers how Verizon’s technology fits into every day life from music, to kids, to personalization of your products, to your home and travel life, and even your fitness goals. I’ve been to other “destination” stores but this one blew me out of the water!
I could go on and on about the store but that would make for too long of a post. I’ll just highlight my favorite part and you’ll have to check out the rest for yourself. I’m just going to say that I’ll be back to play again!
See that doll house above? That’s not an ordinary doll house, that’s a smart house! It’s a model home that shows how your house can be controlled by your smart phone. Security, thermostat, music, and even light bulbs can be controlled with apps on your phone or tablet. How cool is that?!
After touring the destination store, Verizon set us up with the Softcard app then sent us on a shopping spree to check it out.
What is the Softcard app? It’s a way to pay with your phone via Near Field Communication (NFC). Insert your credit card info and loyalty cards into the app then tap the terminal to pay with your phone! I have to admit, I was skeptical of the Softcard app. I don’t use my banking app on my phone, what makes them think that I’m going to put all my credit cards into an app? However, after speaking directly a Softcard rep as well as with other people who have used it, I believe it is perfectly safe to use and I WILL be using it in the future.
The same level of fraud and lost/stolen protection applies to your cards whether they are a plastic card or a “virtual” card in the Softcard app so you don’t add any risk by using your credit cards in Softcard. Plus, if your phone is lost or stolen, simply visit GoSoftcard.com to disable the app. You must have a pin number to access the app and as an extra layer of protection, the CVV number on your virtual card changes after every purchase so your info can not be used again if the NFC communication gets interrupted and/or stolen. For more information see Softcard’s website.
This is the cute black top and cardigan I got on my shopping spree!
I’ll let you know, there are a few disadvantages to using the Softcard app…It can only be used with NFC compatible phones. If your phone is not NFC ready, it can easily be fixed with a new SIM card (free for Verizon customers) or a NFC compatible case for your phone. It is also a fairly new technology that few stores have caught onto so you can’t use it many places yet. Hopefully that will change soon because with added security vs your plastic card, I don’t think it’s going away. The advantages of added security, special discounts for users, and cash back make using Softcard far outweigh the (soon to be gone) disadvantages.
One last hint before I end this post: If you go to use Softcard and the terminal doesn’t work, look for the green light to make sure it’s on. If not, ask your store to plug it in and turn it on. Since it’s new, most people aren’t used to it yet 🙂
