No Quarter, No Problem: Unlock Aldi Shopping Carts With One Tool

Published 1 day ago• 3 minute read

and a generous return policy (the "Twice as Nice" Guarantee). What it also offers are carts that you rent for the duration of your shopping trip. Yes, for 25 cents — or more specifically, a quarter — you can unlock Aldi's push carts, and the company employs this method so that customers are incentivized to return the carts themselves when they're done. However, carrying change around is a rarity nowadays. If you find that you continuously head to your store and then realize you don't have a quarter on you, you might find it useful to keep a mini-key pendant, like these aluminum alloy trolley tokens by Fusiontec, on your keychain.

No longer do you have to go rifling around in your purse or wallet, or hope that you have a quarter in your car's cup holder when you pull up to Aldi. You can just slip this trolley token into the space where the quarter usually goes and unlock your cart — no muss, no fuss. Then, it will release just like a quarter when you put your cart back and slip the metal "finger" from the cart in front into the locking mechanism on your cart.

It's quite common for Aldi shoppers to be kind and offer you their carts, without expecting a quarter in return. However, it is considered bad form not to at least offer the 25-cent payment. For this reason, since you're quarter-less, it is for the best if you turn down the offers of direct person-to-person cart transfer. If the individual offering you their cart does need the quarter back from the transaction, you'll be leaving them high and dry with your lack. Of course, when in this situation, you could always quickly mention, "I don't have a quarter," and hold up your trolley token, and they might give you the cart anyway.

There is also checkout to consider. Since most Aldi stores have self-checkout, it's no big deal if you use the trolley token in place of a quarter — you keep the cart you brought inside the store to shop. However, there is typically at least one traditional checkout lane, and if you tend to gravitate toward that one, you might need to do a bit of a cart shuffle when it's your turn. This is because the cashiers use a system where customers end up with the cart from the person in front of them. Since you don't want the person behind you ending up with your keychain, likely with your car or house keys attached, you'll have to move your cart into the right place, which can be a bit of a hassle to maneuver.