If you love your Pride Card and you’re attached to your mobile device you’ll be head over heels for this announcement: the Pride Card is going digital!
Nearly five years after the launch of the Pride Card, a physical key tag similar to ones at Ralphs or Albertsons, you are finally able to access the deals and discounts directly on your smartphone. The app is now available as a free download on both Android and iPhone devices.
The digital Pride Card quietly launched a couple of weeks ago and some observant people have already discovered it and signed up. With the official announcement digital subscribers are expected to increase.
Although it’s assumed that the majority of card holders will switch over to the digital version, the actual cards will still be valid and available for pick-up at a yet-to-be-determined centralized location in San Diego. Both the digital app and the actual card will offer the exact same deals.
“There are those who may not have phones that accommodate (the app) and some of our seniors may not have phones at all,” said Stampp Corbin, co-owner of the Pride Card. “We’re making sure that we don’t discriminate against anybody because they don’t have a phone. We’re not in that business. We’re in the business of inclusion.”
Bo Andras thought of the idea for the Pride Card in early 2009. It was during the heart of the recession and he was laid off from his job. In addition, Prop. 8 had recently passed taking away the rights for same-sex couples to marry in California.
“I wanted to know where to spend my money,” said Andras. “I wanted to know that where I was buying my coffee or where I was eating lunch would support my rights.”
“I came up with the concept that if you meld together the frequent diner’s card with equal rights, the discount card and the old school entertainment book, all in one, it would show people that wherever they were spending their money would support their rights until Prop. 8 got overturned or until things progressed.”
Andras approached Corbin and they partnered to launch the card in July 2009. The Pride Card has been available for pick up at a number of local businesses throughout the year as well as being handed out at CityFest and San Diego Pride. Other local Pride Festivals, including San Bernardino and North County, also provided a sign-up for the cards.
The card has now grown to nearly 15,000 subscribers but the pair are hopeful that the digital app will significantly increase the number of card holders as people will now be able to sign up from anywhere.
Unlike other popular discount sites like Groupon, the Pride Card doesn’t require businesses to offer a certain percentage off. The deals are entirely up to the individual business and they are subject to change. Some places offer a new discount every month while others remain consistent during their entire 12 month contract. With the new app you can easily find out the current offer while on the go.
The Pride Card offers a wide array of deals for a variety of businesses including restaurants, retail, medical, real estate and more. The discounts can range from a percentage or dollar amount off a service to a free appetizer or a special offer on the closing cost of a new house.
Restaurants are by far the largest and most popular category with 18 to 24 offers listed at any given time.
“People are always looking for discounts at restaurants because people do eat out a lot, especially in the LGBT community,” said Andras.
The majority of businesses that offer discounts with the Pride Card are located in Hillcrest and North Park but there are a few outliers too. There are a couple of establishments in La Mesa, Coronado, La Jolla and downtown as well as about five businesses in North County that currently have specials.
Andras is hopeful that the launch of the digital app will allow the Pride Card to spread to more cities, both within San Diego County and beyond.
“We thought this (the digital card) would be the best method to expand outside the borders of San Diego without having to go to each city (to hand out physical cards),” said Andras. “We can let it grow organically as we did in San Diego.”
When people sign up for the app it will ask for both an email address and zip code. The email is to notify you of the new businesses that have signed up to offer discounts while the zip code will keep track of how many subscribers are located in each area. Once enough people have signed up in a specific area The Pride Card plans to add more local businesses.
In addition to offering the discounts on your phone the Pride Card app also offers a GPS feature that will show when you are near a business that supports the Pride Card.
The iPhone version has an additional tab that lets you know what is going on this week in San Diego, from special events to happy hours. This feature will be added to Android devices soon.
Getting discounts with the Pride Card is now easier than ever.
“Just tap the phone, tap the app and boom, there it goes!” said Corbin.
