Brother, can you spare a credit card?

COLORADO SPRINGS - It's a true season of change: The Salvation Army is experimenting with a plastic alternative for folks who don't have cash to throw in a holiday red kettle.

This season, five bell-ringers in El Paso County, Colo., will be the first to accept debit and credit cards along with spare change and bills. Salvation Army officials say the kettle tradition needs to be tweaked as consumers increasingly carry only plastic.

Bell ringers gave the idea mixed reviews, but some shoppers who saw the kettles liked them, saying they've walked past the buckets in the past and wanted to donate but had no cash.

ASSOCIATED PRESS