Variations on a code?

June 29, 2014 8:07 AM

This is a code, poorly printed, on the inside of a snack package. It is the last one I need to get a very small "reward."

These codes are really hard to read - I have entered it at least fifteen times (and fifteen ways) and it never takes. Is there some way to generate a list of possible combinations that isn't impossibly long to figure out what it really says? I realize that by posting this here someone else could just enter the code themselves, but at this point I need some other brains on this extremely minor, yet frustrating issue.

The company message board is filled with people ranting about this, but they offer no solutions.

posted by 41swans to Grab Bag (6 answers total)

Best answer: The main ambiguous part to me is the first 4 characters. There could be an o or a zero, and a B or an 8. In the third section there could also be a 2 or a Z.

So have you tried:
0787-XRP4-6992-9MTH
07B7-XRP4-6992-9MTH
O787-XRP4-6992-9MTH
O7B7-XRP4-6992-9MTH

0787-XRP4-699Z-9MTH
07B7-XRP4-699Z-9MTH
O787-XRP4-699Z-9MTH
O7B7-XRP4-699Z-9MTH
posted by EndsOfInvention at 8:18 AM on June 29, 2014

Looks like 02B7-XRP4-6992-9MTH to me. The 2s could possibly be Zs instead.
posted by travelwithcats at 8:22 AM on June 29, 2014 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: 07B7-XRP4-699Z-9MTH was the winner! Thank you thank you thank you! I was starting to think I was going to lose my sanity over this.

I will dedicate my manicure (the reward is a bottle of nail polish) to you, EndsOfInvention!
posted by 41swans at 8:23 AM on June 29, 2014 [4 favorites]

Were these the Special-K meal bars? I was wondering where that damn code was!!
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 9:27 AM on June 29, 2014

Response by poster: Yes, chesty_a_arthur! The codes are usually printed about midway down the inside front of the box, if that makes sense.
posted by 41swans at 9:44 AM on June 29, 2014 [1 favorite]

I do the Coke rewards and I know that they never use O or I, only 0 and 1. I am looking at a large number of them right now and don't see any 8s at all, only Bs and they all have serifs to show they are B and not 8. I also don't see any 2 or Z anywhere. I would bet that the character set used is smaller than all 36 digits and letters. A small group of users sharing the characters used in successful codes could determine which ones are excluded.
posted by soelo at 8:04 AM on June 30, 2014 [1 favorite]