The possibilities and resourcefulness of Passport seemed unprecedented when Apple first introduced the feature as part of iOS 6 for the iPhone and iPod touch in September. The application essentially functions like a digital wallet, housing all of your coupons, movie tickets, boarding passes, and the like all in the most convenient place of all — your smartphone. No more lugging around 12 pages of retail coupons or fishing through your overstuffed luggage bag for your boarding pass while sprinting to catch a flight. Passport organizes anything you may need in one spot and automatically brings your passes up on the lockscreen whenever you reach your destination.
The app may some flaws and remains a bit buggy, but it’s a step in the right direction. But as questions regarding Passbook go, the one people seem to be asking is: “How do you use the damn thing?” Well we have the answer for you.
Open Passbook
There’s no download necessary for Passbook. The application comes pre-installed on all new iPhone and iPod touch devices (there is currently no iPad version) as part of iOS 6. Just click the app icon to get started. Keep in mind your Passbook will be empty when you open it for the first time.
Download and add passes using apps
Passbook primarily works by utilizing integrated, third-party apps from specified airlines, restaurants, and other participating vendors. When you first open the app, there will be a clickable link to view all Passport-compatible apps in the App Store. Although the list is relatively sparse — there’s barely more than 20 available applications — it’s continually growing and expanding as new companies join the Passbook ranks. Grab the Starbucks app to use your Starbucks card the minute you enter the building or the Fandango app to bypass that long ticket line on a Friday night.
However, compatible apps you download will not be added to Passbook by default. It takes a few simple steps in order to setup and use the apps from within Passbook. The majority will have an option for integrating and adding cards and coupons, but you will typically be required to log in with an account for the particular app before you can proceed.
For example, you will have to log in or create a Starbucks account before adding a Starbucks gift card to Passport. After you create your Starbucks account and log in, click the “My Card” option at the bottom, add the card number, and click the “+” icon at the top to add it to your Passport. Your Starbucks gift card will then be handily accessible through Passport app opposed to the official Starbucks app.
Add passes by email
Email is another option for adding passes from stores, theaters, airlines, and other participating companies. Unlike the app though, adding passes using email doesn’t always require you to setup an account. When you view an email containing a pass on an iPhone or iPod touch running iOS 6, simply click the attached document and choose the “Add” option to include it in your Passbook.
Add passes by URL
Adding passes via websites works in the same manner as an email. When you view a website containing a pass on an iPhone or iPod touch running iOS 6, click the attached pass and choose the “Add” option to include it in your passport.
Tips and tricks
- Allow compatible apps to use your current location so passes will automatically appear on your lockscreen whenever you’re near a relevant location (i.e. when you enter a store or airport terminal).
- There are several options on the back of many passes for further customization and convenience. Click the information icon in the bottom-right corner of a pass to toggle automatic updates and lockscreen notifications. This way, if a new coupon is available or your flight gate is changed, you will be alerted via push notification.
- Most passes are redeemed via a barcode on the front of the pass. Just open and scan to reap the benefits.
Shed the cards
It may be a good idea to hold on to the hard copies of any coupons, tickets or other passes in a safe spot. However, you won’t need to them tethered to your purse or wallet once you get Passbook up and running. Shed the shiny plastic and move on! Check out the Apple support site for more information.
Did we miss something? Have you found Passbook practical or perhaps too difficult to navigate? Let us know in the comments below.
Motherhood statements. Passport is useless if I can’t add my loyalty card and preferred customer card details as well.
Businesses can now use Facebook Connect to generate a personalised Passbook Pass for their customers – which further allows them to learn preferences and tailor future offers for individuals. The consumer wins by getting more focused offers and the business wins by better understand their ever increasing customer base.
In this case when a Facebook Connect loyalty Pass is generated, a message is auto posted to the Loyalty Pass owner’s wall – invited their friends to join the program. You can experience the Facebook Connect Loyalty Pass for yourself from the article ‘building perpetual loyalty’ featured on the PassKit News Centre.
ShopZooky is an interesting Passbook powered mobile app that lets you search and share nearby Facebook Offers right from your mobile phone and save your coupons to Passbook. You can share Facebook and Passbook offers with friends and discover more local Facebook Offers. Facebook Merchants can also use ShopZooky to create their own locally enabled Facebook Offers including very easy support for creating and managing Passbook coupons.
Hey nice article! Also note that many passes have links on the back page that unlock other features of various sorts. For example if you download a 50% off coupon, you are likely to find more coupons listed on the back for that same retailer.
Passes are actually getting better as time goes on, providing better features!
Jim Bonner
Passborg free app, that is , Passbook meets Facebook Local Business
Luca,
Passbook quite literally meets Facebook with the PassKit Facebook Connect solution. A business issues a loyalty pass using the Facebook connect solution and the Pass Holder simply connects to their facebook account and a personalised loyalty pass is generated.
The local business can then provide far more engaging, tailored offers conveniently stored in the smartphone wallet.
You can try the experience yourself from the PassKit News Centre
Great article, I really enjoy article where Passbook is being explained.
I also agree with all the comments and we also see a trend leading towards SMS as the favored means of distribution. We see passbook as a small mobile application that allows the retailer to engage with their customers in real-time.
The focus has been on loyalty and coupons, be we are seen another trend emerging, business cards.I have been using Passbook as my business card for months now, the front has all of my business information, but I use the back of card as a “Twitter” type feed to all of my potential customers keeping them up-to-date on what we are doing at PassHound.
Passbook is going to get better in 2013 as companies like ours are getting integrated into POS systems to complete the PassBook experience.
Full disclosure: I am the co-founder and CEO of PassHound.com
Great article. Thanks for sharing and helping more people understand how to use Passbook.
In addition to the methods you describe above, many of our clients are distributing Passes using SMS messages, or via QR codes (in advertisments). It’s easy to distribute passes as URL in an SMS and for paper advertisements they use QR codes (which contain the PassKit Pass URL).
While there is a additional cost to sending SMS messages, our clients have seen this as a very effective distribution channel. Because the SMS is delivered to the phone (where as email could be read on a non MacOSX desktop) there is a very high likelihood that the customer adds the Pass (coupon, loyalty card, store card etc..) to Passbook.
By using QR codes in local newspapers/popular print, or posted in convenient locations around the city, it is very easy for a prospect / customer to quickly scan, be presented with the Pass (which they can even personalise) and then Add to their Passbook. By using PassKit the merchant can easily see which adverts (and where) attract the most customers. (assuming the customer agrees to their location being shared of course).
While this clearly helps the merchant, this also helps the consumer too; by using our analytics, the business owner / marketer can quickly understand customer preferences and improve their campaigns. They can even send updates to the Pass whenever they want to update the campaign at any time.
For example, Subway in Hong Kong continue to keep a coupon alive by sending the ‘next coupon’ when the previous one expired. So over the longer term marketers can rely less on email distribution and more on simply sending updates to the Pass itself. It’s a fair more effective (and convenient) way to stay engaged and connected with the customer.
Most people agree that Passbook got off to a bumpy start, with limited adoption by companies and confusion over the need for an app. But Apple really has provided a wonderful platform and tool for the consumer that any business of any size can tap into. It’s still early days and it’s really only a small percentage of businesses across the world that are aware of this potential. However we are already starting to see the snowball effect and if the speed of our sign-ups is anything to go it will be ‘strange’ if you don’t have at least a dozen useful passes in your Passbook before the end of 2013.
Full disclosure: I am the co-founder and CEO of PassKit
Great article. Thanks for sharing and helping more people understand how to use Passbook.
In addition to the methods you describe above, many of our clients are distributing Passes using SMS messages, or via QR codes (in advertisments). It’s easy to distribute passes as URL in an SMS and for paper advertisements they use QR codes (which contain the PassKit Pass URL).
While there is a additional cost to sending SMS messages, our clients have seen this as a very effective distribution channel. Because the SMS is delivered to the phone (where as email could be read on a non MacOSX desktop) there is a very high likelihood that the customer adds the Pass (coupon, loyalty card, store card etc..) to Passbook.
By using QR codes in local newspapers/popular print, or posted in convenient locations around the city, it is very easy for a prospect / customer to quickly scan, be presented with the Pass (which they can even personalise) and then Add to their Passbook. By using PassKit the merchant can easily see which adverts (and where) attract the most customers. (assuming the customer agrees to their location being shared of course).
While this clearly helps the merchant, this also helps the consumer too; by using our analytics, the business owner / marketer can quickly understand customer preferences and improve their campaigns. They can even send updates to the Pass whenever they want to update the campaign at any time.
For example, Subway in Hong Kong continue to keep a coupon alive by sending the ‘next coupon’ when the previous one expired. So over the longer term marketers can rely less on email distribution and more on simply sending updates to the Pass itself. It’s a fair more effective (and convenient) way to stay engaged and connected with the customer.
Most people agree that Passbook got off to a bumpy start, with limited adoption by companies and confusion over the need for an app. But Apple really has provided a wonderful platform and tool for the consumer that any business of any size can tap into. It’s still early days and it’s really only a small percentage of businesses across the world that are aware of this potential. However we are already starting to see the snowball effect and if the speed of our sign-ups is anything to go it will be ‘strange’ if you don’t have at least a dozen useful passes in your Passbook before the end of 2013.
Full disclosure: I am the co-founder and CEO of PassKit.com