If having Store cards doesn't seem like a big deal to you read this.

[saras]

27. They're not a big deal to me. I don't use them and the stores accept me.

When they ask for data, I never make a fuss anymore, but politely and blandly make up stuff at random - it's hard to pull off joke addresses that are subtle enough, especially without cracking a smile. Others may be better actors.

Another reason to pay cash whenever practical.

And, in general, the less data you try to give them, the more accurate the data they DO get is likely to be. If you bury them in garbage data, it is quite expensive to dig the 'real' you out of it.

When the cards first appeared in this area, I knew a performer who 'lost' hers extremely often, and got free copies from all the different branches of the store. She gave them out at performances, with the instruction to only buy ice cream with them. If this behavior became the norm, they would recede in importance.