That orange student ID that is hiding in your wallet is more than just the key into your residence hall.
Students can use their Tiger Cards to buy things other than food, such as books, clothes, gas, laundry and tanning through use of the Tiger Club program.
David Robinson, director of business development for auxiliary services, said the Tiger Club program is different than the mandatory dining plan. Tiger Club can be used in bookstores, vending machines and at other on- and off-campus vendors.
Though there may be some confusion with the University's required dining plan, a Tiger Club account is an entirely separate plan, although the same card is used for both.
There is no charge to students to sign up for a Tiger Club account, according to the Tiger Club account website.
The card works like a debit card, with a balance that is deducted from with every purchase made. The minimum for each deposit is $25.
Shops in downtown Auburn, such as Behind the Glass, Da Gallery and ellie, accept payment with Tiger Card.
Momma Goldberg's is one of the off-campus vendors that accepts Tiger Card, and has for years.
"It's not too uncommon to see someone use a Tiger Card to pay for their meal here," said Lee Andrews, general manager. "We probably get an average of seven to eight (Tiger Cards) a day."
Andrews said days they see $200 to $300 of their sales from Tiger Cards, and it is more common to see people pay with them on weekends.
All Momma G's locations currently accept Tiger Cards.
J&M bookstore employee Skip Johnston said they see very little Tiger Card use at their College Street location.
"Use of the Tiger Card at our stores used to be a major factor in our business," Johnston said. "We just don't see it as much as we used to."
Another local store, Tiger Rags, is also on the list of off-campus locations that accept Tiger Cards.
"I have never seen a Tiger Card used at our store," said Ashley Carroll, senior in laboratory technology and Tiger Rags employee since May 2009.
However, Eric Gevirtz, undeclared freshman, said he uses his Tiger Club account every day.
"I use it to buy food," Gevirtz said. "I've used it at bookstores off campus to buy accessories and stuff for my laptop."
Next time you reach for your credit card to pay for your Mellow Mushroom dinner or bagfulls of groceries from Kroger, just remember you're a part of the club: the Tiger Club, that is.
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