Hey folks,

Anyone see this?

www.hubbcard.com

I tried this out the other day in Quebec City. They have discounts for pilots in restaurants all across the country. Some are pretty good (I got a free drink, and 20% off my bill in Quebec). This is for all airlines too, you just need to either be a flight attendant or pilot (and it's free to use).

Cool, but what does "Hubb" get out of this?

Why do they make me log in online and show my phone to the waiter? Can't I just print the card and keep it with me?

Not sure what Hubb gets out of it. I guess they probably have something setup directly with the restaurants who want to promote their businesses to flightcrews. All I know is that it is completely free for pilots and flight attendants, which is a very nice perk.

Yeah, their "How It Works" section explains that you can either just show your phone directly to your server, or print your account page and then show that to your server.

When I was in Quebec I used my phone and a flight attendant I was with had printed their membership page, and we did not have any problems.

(A colleague of mine also used it a couple times at restaurants in Toronto. The server was unsure at first what it was. Apparently since this company is new you still get that sometimes. Once you explain to the server what it is though, they usually either remember what it is or ask their manager. In both cases though, my friend got the discount with no real problem).

Thanks for the hot tip! I'll be signing up for this one

Hey thanks for the heads-up!

Used it at Hooters the other day in yyz and got 20% off!! They weren't the sharpest knife's in the drawer and the manager had to come over and check it out, but once he saw what it was it was all good.

Just curious, I know it's for flight crew only, but anyone know how they keep Joe Blow from just signing up and using the card??

Seems like an easy and good deal. hopefully they can add more places.

so is it only valid for the restaurants listed on the website?

Yup, the discounts are only valid at the restaurants they have listed. As far as I know it is still a brand new company, but from their website it sounds like they will be continuing to add new restaurants as they go. (I actually even sent them an email with a couple restaurant suggestions and they responded right away thanking me and saying they would be contacting the restaurants I suggested).

I am not sure how they verify whether you are flightcrew or not. Other than having to say what airline you work for when you sign up, their doesn't seem to be any big security measures. I guess they could randomly contact the airlines to try to verify your employment, but I highly doubt they would go to that much trouble ...

Anyone who has signed up let us know if you end up being a victim of identity theft. There is absolutely no information about who is running this site, they don't charge members, they don't charge restaurants and there are no ads on the site, which apparently started in 2008.
The information they ask for is more than enough to use your identity. Unless you're unlisted they can get your address form the yellow pages and voila they're applying for a mastercard in your name. Ask yourself why do you need to be a member, any place I've been that gives airline discounts just needs to see your employee i.d. This set up seems fishy to me. If HUBB were just a site that listed restaurants that will give a discount to pilots and didn't need personal information like a birthdate, which is mandatory(where you work is not), I'd be more inclined to use it. I will say this, don't give your actual birthdate make one up as they are not asking you to prove it, just to submit it.

Um, I think that is a little bit of paranoia, no?

I don't know about them being around since 2008 as I was told they are a brand new company. But either way, I think you need more than somebody's name and date of birth in order to steal their identity. I am sure you at least need their SIN number as well, which they certainly don't ask you for. They also don't ask you for your physical address which would be needed. (Nor do they ask you for a credit card or any bank account info).

All I know is that I have used this thing a few times and it has saved me some cash. I have also registered for other websites before where they ask for similar info. I have not had any problems with those sites, nor have I had any problems with this one.

It's good to think critically, but that sounds like a bit of a conspiracy theory to me ...

Flyboy2, I hope your naive faith doesn't cause you any problems. You should know that most companies consider reciting your address and birth date over the phone as proof that you are you. Financial institutions usually add mother's maiden name as well, which is not hard to find out these days. With this information someone can change the mailing address on all your credit cards, get new cards, and go on a spending spree.

In any case, I didn't use my real birthday, and didn't give my airline. I would suggest others do the same.

Next time you walk by one of those booths that are peddling credit cards, have a look at the application. Sin number is optional, all they need is address or previous address if you say you're at a new address less than 6 months, date of birth. Basically everything you've provided hubb. Paranoid, maybe, my identity ever stolen, nope...

Okay, but you do realize Hubb never asks you for your actual address (only your email address).

Look, I am not an identity theft expert. But to say that you can steal somebody's identity just by having their name and their date of birth is a little bit exaggerated, methinks.
If this were actually the case, I think there would be far more of this sort of fraud actually occurring.

Not so much naive, as it is realistic. I don't like to live my life always thinking that the "man" is out to get me. But if that is truly a concern, then by all means, never give anyone your date of birth.

Flyboy, you say paranoia. I say you got six posts of which 4 are on this thread.

I'll take it from other folks that have some credibility here, and agree. Something is up, ,and no you do not need a SIN to get somebodies identity.

Also as stated, alot of places we go, you show airline ID and you can already get the discount.

flyinhigh: Because I am new to AVCANADA, my opinion on a non-AVCANADA related topic is somehow less valid? Not sure I follow the logic.

Regardless, if you do not want to use it, then don't use it.

The only point I was making is that I find it highly unlikely that someone will steal my ID based on only having my name and birth date (as I have already repeated, they never ask for your address). What also gives them credibility in my eyes is that they have a bunch of fairly well known restaurants on board with them.

I like deals. That is the reason I started this conversation. What Hubb does for me is they provide me an easily accessible list of restaurants all across the country and the exact discount I can receive from them. I find this useful because I overnight in a lot of different cities in Canada and end up eating out a lot. If you do not see a value in that, then by all means that is your prerogative.

And yes, of course you can use your airline ID to try to get discounts. But Hubb already has all the discounts setup with different restaurants, so you know exactly what you are getting. I find it quick and easy.

Anyway, I had started this conversation because I liked the experience I had, and somehow it has regressed into me defending ID theft. All I am saying is that there are a lot of people/companies out there who know my name and birth date. I am not too worried about them stealing my ID solely based on that. If that is the kind of thing that keeps you up at night, then so be it.

http://hubbcard.wordpress.com/

There's some contact info in this link...

The address linked to the website is downtown Toronto just east of YTZ.

There are a lot of places that give discounts to crews that carry their RAIC card, but it sure would be nice to have them all listed on one site as this seems to do... And if they can make it work in Canada, they'll be able to market it elsewhere with much bigger markets...

You guys are getting way to carried carried away with this Identify Theft thing..

Besides, jokes on them. Most people that are going to be signing up for this are F/O's (like myself) and are so far in debt these guys won't be able to get a credit card in our name anyways!

Hollywood, you bring an excellent perspective to this debate!

arctic navigator wrote:http://hubbcard.wordpress.com/

There's some contact info in this link...

The address linked to the website is downtown Toronto just east of YTZ.

But isn't that the address for Wordpress, which is a blog hosting site?

Not sure... Looks like it might be a condo or something... I was thinking someone on a layover at YTZ might get motivated and drop in on them to see... There's also a phone number there that could be called... Personally if its gonna drop my expenses on the road I'll use it... As for Identity Theft, its pretty tough to get blood from a stone...

Ah well I never give my real birthdate on anything online anyway. I scratched my head for a while when I got half a dozen birthday wishes in the middle of January until I realized I put that on my Facebook profile for the same reason. Didn't realize it was telling people to say happy birthday to me!

Anyway if a couple of clicks gets me a deal on restaurants then I'm in! Why the heck not? They probably get a kickback from the restaurants or something, I don't care. I didn't put anything on there that could get my credit cards hacked or anything so I'm not worried about it. Now I just need them to get Saigon By Night in YQR to hook me up a 20% discount...

I love Saigon by night! all the other Vietnamese restaurants on the same street are owned by the same guy too if you wanna try them out. What a crazy amount of food you get there, and everything I've had is super good.