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How To: Hack a Keychain Card for Easier Wallet Storage

by on Jul 19, 2010

I do my best to shy away from any extra keyring accessories: no decorative keychains, fobs, or extras for me. When offered a discount or loyalty membership, I always opt for the credit card sized version rather than the keychainable one.

Recently, a bunch of small, local businesses banded together to create a great program that I’m excited to support, and the only way to access it? Keychain card. I tried storing it in my wallet, but it would fly out and across the room whenever I’d pull out another card, or fall on the floor and under the checkout counter, where I’d have to ask the clerk to grab it for me. No good.

So, I came up with this quick solution to store it among the other credit and discount cards, in about seven minutes of work.

1) The idea here is to scale up the size of your keychain card so it can be picked out among others. If you have access to a laminating machine, you’re set, but for the rest of us, there are a few easy options: They make card-sized self-laminating envelopes, which you can grab at the office supply store. OR, you can do as I did, and just ask nicely at your local video store if you can have a membership card blank. They’ll probably be happy to share.

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2) In order to find the card easily, I thought it’d be best to include some related artwork that will stick out as I’m thumbing through. A quick Googling taught me that credit cards are 3.370 × 2.125 in. I stopped by the company’s website on my way to Photoshop, grabbed a logo, and created a quick front and back for the card. You could just as easily write the card’s name on a piece of paper with a marker, and be just as well off.

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3) Print out the artwork (or just cut to size), and trace the shape of the keychain card onto the paper.

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4) Lastly, just cut out the space, so the barcode is visible. Alternatively, just place the art on top, and hide the front of the actual card. Trim away any excess, and use as you would any standard-sized card.

created at: 07/19/2010

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