I just give them BS info. I use the same made up SSN each time, just in case they ask you to verify. However I wouldn't waste the time for a free soda unless I was really thirsty. Now if they offered free porn or a pound of bacon for applying, that would definately be worth the time.

It is somewhat sad to see the walmart worker haggling people as they go by, trying to get them to sign up for a credit card, and get a 2 liter bottle of soda.

What sad times we live in..

@mmcnary:

I'm sure all those hard inquiries did worse for your credit score than a new line of credit.

I would love to meet some of these people that took em up on the offers.

@Haltingpoint: Once some guys were going around campus handing out "Free sandwich at Subway" (or maybe Quizno's). The trick was, once you got inside Subway, you had to sign up for a credit card to get the sandwich. Stupid. I think the flyers were illegal and the university cracked down on them, since only the alumni association was allowed to scam students into applying for credit cards. Go team!

It may seem slimy but its effective marketing nonetheless.

And now to share my own story...when I was in college I'll admit that the first credit card I ever signed up for was in exchange for free pizza. The guys hawking it tried to tell me I had to apply for two cards, and me, being the slick new advertising student, informed them that no, I only had to apply for one because nowhere on their flier did it state I needed to go for 2.

Yeah...fast forward several years and I realize how stupid I was. At least I got a card with good terms and a non-insane rate (which doesn't matter to me much as I always pay it off every month) and decent rewards.

I wish there were student advocates who would stand by the places that this was occurring and hand out information about why it is stupid to sign up for a card for a coke (or piece of pizza).

If any businesses still aren't clear why we are in the financial mess we are in, let me spell it out: People who would take out a credit line just to get a free soda are probably not the safest people to loan money to.

So, do they wait for approval before you get the soda? Because I'd just write something fake, take the soda and scram.

I always wondered what the C&C in C&C Cola stood for.

@mmcnary:
Ginzu knives are the best! They slice! They dice! They jullieen(sic)!

I will give Circuit City credit for one thing... for as long as I've had my Circuit City credit card I've never paid a penny of interest. They tend to have a metric ton of "90 day no payments!" specials that they run. Buy a lot of stuff, pay it off... never look back.

I don't know if that's worth a soda. Maybe some energy drinks... so I can chug back to celebrate my EXTREME SAVINGS!

I once went to Sears to apply for a card because my friend's Mom wanted a set of Ginzu steak knives...

Would not recomend it for most people, as it will bring down your credit score when they go to process your application and do a hardpull. Case of water or watermelon seems more tempting.

I think Wal-Mart started it. It's sad that they are following Wal-Mart's guidelines for being idiots.

But then again...

where do i sign up?

jc penny has been doings this for years.