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Use “Jenny’s” number to get grocery club discounts

in: Food & Mealtime, Travel & Outings

Amazon: 867-5309 / Jenny (MP3 download) Ah, the 80s! My big music decade, so I recognized this hack right away. You? Am I dating myself?

From May:

We find supermarkets a great place to feed our kids when we are out of town. Some supermarkets only give the sale price to people with a club card. Don't bother signing up for a card or paying full price. Supermarkets can look you up by phone number: use Jenny's! 867-5309 works every time. Invariably, someone has signed up with this number to avoid giving out their real phone number. 

Don't blame me if you're humming this song for the rest of the day.

Related: Grocery coupons: balancing time spent with money saved

More: Meal planning hacks

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Asha Dornfest is a writer, parent, and insistent optimist living in Portland, Oregon. She is the author of PARENT HACKS, co-author of MINIMALIST PARENTING, and co-host of the Edit Your Life podcast.

Comments

  1. tami says

    July 6, 2011 at 12:11 pm

    what about the area code, though?

  2. May says

    July 6, 2011 at 4:01 pm

    Most don’t ask for one but if they do, use the local area code.

  3. Roger Pence says

    July 6, 2011 at 10:17 pm

    Go old-school and use 634-5789.

  4. Eric says

    July 7, 2011 at 7:13 am

    This is also great to use at supermarkets that give fuel discounts based on rewards spending. I’ve been using this for almost 10 years as I travel a lot for work and for fun.

  5. Lissa says

    July 7, 2011 at 9:33 am

    That’s a great idea, but don’t use it for fuel discounts! Those are often limited–like, I spent $50, so now next time I fill up I get $0.10 off per gallon … but you already used it!

  6. Stu Mark says

    July 7, 2011 at 9:56 am

    For those who don’t get what Roger is layin’ down:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/634-5789_(Soulsville,_U.S.A.)

  7. Zoltan says

    July 7, 2011 at 10:51 am

    Or use 6060-842 …

  8. Scout says

    July 7, 2011 at 12:02 pm

    @Eric So, you’re basically stealing someone else’s fuel rewards? Nice. I know we save up our fuel points every month – they’re cumulative – so that I can fill up my 35 gallon tank at up to $1 off per gallon. I’d be pretty pissed if someone had plugged in my phone number and cost me my $35 in savings.

  9. Deb says

    July 7, 2011 at 12:04 pm

    Or Pennsylvania 6-5000.

  10. Erik says

    July 7, 2011 at 1:23 pm

    Most supermarkets have those cards and the applications sitting at the registers – just ask for a new one, tell them you’ll fill it out at home, and you’re set. The cards work right off the paper, and you don’t *have* to fill out the application. I’ve been using the same card for years at home, and I’ve *never* filled out an app for one.

  11. Tom says

    July 7, 2011 at 3:52 pm

    Might as well go back to the source and use Beechwood 4-5789.

  12. Psych says

    July 8, 2011 at 9:42 am

    If people were saving up rewards to use themselves and didn’t want their rewards stolen, they shouldn’t give a fake phone number. Conversely, if someone uses your rewards and *doesn’t* get the free one, then their purchase is contributing points towards *your* next reward.

  13. Jennifer Spera says

    July 8, 2011 at 12:15 pm

    I created a google voice number that’s easy to remember and just use that so I can still use my fuel points.

  14. Marcusa says

    July 8, 2011 at 12:29 pm

    How can you be sure that number (867-5309) is not an actual number in your area code? If it is I’m those folks are glad you gave there number instead. Better to use a 555 exchange.

  15. Tim says

    July 8, 2011 at 2:52 pm

    Some area codes have Jenny numbers in use. It seems that most people don’t enjoy getting called by random strangers, so 867-5309 is usually unused. It’s not a fake number; it doesn’t fall into any of the reserved number groups, and it exists in every US area code. http://www.oldskoolphreak.com/tfiles/phreak/jenny07.txt

    As far as fake numbers go, I like 212-555-0212, but I use my Google Voice number for free sign-up stuff, as I have it set to only forward calls from my contacts.

  16. Reed says

    July 10, 2011 at 1:20 am

    To be fair, if you want to protect your savings it would be wise to use your actual number. Because most people are not able to get, nor want to keep Jenny’s number – I think this is the cost of using a false yet well known number.

    This number should be considered a hackers delight.

  17. Kathee says

    July 14, 2011 at 6:29 pm

    I still have that 45!!!!

  18. Tom (not Tutone) says

    August 1, 2011 at 3:32 am

    This trick may still work in RI, but it will likely be recognized as Gem Plumbing who infamously uses that number in our area code.

  19. Nancy says

    August 3, 2011 at 4:24 pm

    What is it with plumbers? There’s one in northern NJ that has Jenn’s number too.

  20. Lyla Burns says

    August 10, 2012 at 10:11 am

    When I was looking up a place to come fix our fire sprinkler their number was 867-5309. I was wondering where I had heard that number before when the song came into my mind. One of my favorites! http://8217kk95.myutilitysite.com

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