Another Gen X'er here. Chip Readers don't bug me. They were already common in Asia, where I spent much of my early adult years. But I much prefer paying by phone (NFC chips + fingerprint reader).
As for the topic at hand, I LOVE Kickstarter and Patreon, but you have to understand what you are getting yourself into. The most important thing to understand about Kickstarter is that it is not a pre-order. It is an investment. You invest your money and take on some risk in exchange for (1) getting a product that may otherwise never have been made, (2) generally at a discount from the eventual retail price, and (3) often with some backer-only extras. But there is risk, it is possible that the project will fail. You could just lose your money and get nothing for it.
There are lots of articles that give guidelines on how to use Kickstarter and avoid getting burned. Probably the most common is to back "proven" companies and individuals. I find that attitude unfortunate. Part of the appeal of Kickstarter is that we can all be "angel investors" making micro investments to allow creators to release products that otherwise might not have a chance of being made. That might be because they are "not good enough" but in some cases it is because they are "too good" (too expensive to be made through traditional channels), or the potential customer base is too niche. Kickstarter allows the long tail of various interests to be served.
I categorize my Kickstarter investments into two rough groups:
(1) Safe. These are the Kickstarter projects from creators with proven track records: e.g., Kobold Press, Reaper Miniatures, Fat Dragon Games, Zombie Orpheus Entertainment. I love the work that they've done in the past, and the project they are pitching looks great, so I want to help make sure they make it and I can get a better deal as a KS backer than buying it retail later. I'm willing to spend more money on these projects.
(2) Risky. These are cool projects by "unproven" creators. I expect that they will suffer from delays and will be rather rocky and unprofessionally run. I accept that I may lose my money. I generally do not spend a lot of money on these and take the mindset that it is a donation to give someone a shot at fulfilling a dream. Hopefully I will get to enjoy a cool project from it.
I've had the best luck with gaming aids, printed material, movies, and educational science kits. I've had very mixed luck with software. I will not back video games at all any more, but I am currently backing two different TTRPG mapping applications, one from a proven developer (Inkwell Ideas) and the other from someone I'd never heard of, but liked the concept (an isometric dungeon creation tool).
While there is not much protection (even if there is fraud, it is hardly worth your time to go after them), paying with a good credit card can help. There was one software game I backed that was a mess. But it was one guy, so whatever. What bothered me is that he delivered license keys but not all backers got them and he was completely not responsive to all attempts to communicate with him. I kept records of all my communications, had screenshots, and a timeline and was able to reverse the charge. Do not bother addressing this with Kickstarter itself. Their terms are pretty clear. Buyer beware.
Patreon is a lot safer. You set an amount to support per deliverable or per term. If you pay per deliverable, you can set a cap. It is easy to administer and cancel. Patreon is a great way to "subscribe" to content from creators you trust.
One example is Jared Blando, a professional cartographer. I know his maps are going to be professional and that he knows how to deliver. I am very happy supporting someone like that to build up my collection of digital battlemaps.
EnWorld's En5ider is another great example. I've been very pleased with the quality. Now and then there may be an article I don't have much use for, but the ratio of wheat to chaff is far better than a traditional gaming magazine, for example.
I also support Printable Heros, the creator is a relative unknown as far as I know, but his work is great.
DM Scotty is someone I feel I should throw a few bucks to every month even though most of his content is free on YouTube. I want to make sure he keeps creating content and Patreon is an easy, no-risk way to support him.
So I don't get the dismissive attitudes many have towards Kickstarter and Patreon, they have done so much to improve my TTRPG and Board Game hobby.
Subscription Boxes, on the other hand, are not my thing. None that I've looked at were at all appealing to me.