We are at Alpine Meadows/Squaw Valley this year. My kids are on the rec team, and we all use the RFID passes. I like them. The kids all have pass pockets up about chest height, and so far (knock wood) they haven't lost them. I keep mine in a pocket in my glove, and my husband puts his in his chest pocket.
I did have a problem the first day I used it b/c I had it in my chest pocket, where I also keep a credit card and my phone, and I couldn't get through. The liftie let me know to keep the RFID pass separate, because the system will read all of those items, and I haven't had a problem since. And they can tell me how many days I've skied so far this season. My husband said he went through a while back and the liftie said "Hey, with today's visit you paid for your pass!" All in, we really like them.
You are able to link the pass to a credit card, which we didn't do. At least not yet. That would allow you to pay for food in the lodge and stuff in the gift shop, whatever. We can also put a limited amount of money on each kid's pass, and that could be a way for them to manage a pool of funds for hot chocolate and ridiculously overpriced muffins. Of course, everything is overpriced, not sure why I singled out the muffins! I'm not sure if we have the ability to check each kid's balance throughout the season, that would be ideal. I'll have to look more into it.