This does not have to do much with crypto, but I noticed that many cpunks salivate on this issue. As usual, I was buying some tickets last week with cash, in United office. It took the clerk long time to get all the paperwork, and he said that I am the first to pay cash that week. After unsuccessfully trying to persuade me to use the credit card, he came up with this story, and it is the pearl of PR department work: "When you pay with the credit card, it is easier to find the ticket if you lose it, because all tickets are linked with the credit card number used for the purchase. There is no other way to retrieve it." I asked "So, people forget their names and flights ?" He said "Yes, and when you want a refund six months later no one remembers anything." So now I know that United a) keeps my credit card number forever, and b) uses it as the index to the record. An I was worried about the national ID card. I already have four.
