Apple Card
The Apple Card has been available for several years now and has proven to be a very popular credit card. However, despite its popularity, there are a few things to keep in mind before signing up for the Apple Card. Here's what you need to know.
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Apple Card at a Glance
- Apply and manage directly in Wallet app on your iPhone.
- Get a free Titanium Card designed by Apple.
- No late fees.
- No over-limit fees.
- No foreign payments. transaction fee
- Created by Apple with financial backing from Goldman Sachs.
- All payments are due on the last day of the month.
- Find out if you're approved by just a software credit check
- Apple Card Savings Account
Apple Card privileges
Apple Card Perks
Apple Card Perks h2>
The Apple Card offers a number of rewards and perks that make it attractive for several reasons. The main feature is the ability to receive “Unlimited daily cashback” for every purchase. However, the amount of this cash back depends on where and how you make the purchase.
- 3% Daily Cash Back on every purchase in Apple Stores, the Apple website, and all digital purchases on the App Store , iTunes and Apple services such as Apple Music and Apple TV+.
- 2% Daily Cash Back on all purchases made with Apple Pay online and in store.
- 1% Daily Cash Back on all other purchases.
You can also get 3% Everyday Cash Back on Apple Pay purchases at select stores and retailers:
- Ace Hardware
- Exxon
- Nike
- T-Mobile
- Uber Eats
- Duane Reade
- Mobil
- Panera Bread
- Uber
- Walgreens
Apple Card Monthly Payments
Another nice benefit of the Apple Card is the Monthly Payments feature, which allows you to finance any purchase of Apple products over time at 0% interest.
If you're an Apple Card user, you'll see the financing option “Apple Card Monthly Installments.” Using this option, you can finance almost any Apple product, including all major Apple product categories:
- iPhone: 24 month financing
- Mac: 12 month financing
- iPad: 12 month financing
- Apple Watch: 24 month financing
- AirPods: 6 month financing
- Apple TV 4K: 6 Month Financing
If you trade in an iPhone to purchase a new iPhone, the cost of that trade-in will be instantly deducted from the purchase price of the new iPhone, lowering your monthly payment.
You also earn 3% Daily Cash on all purchases with Apple Card Monthly Installments. For example, if you buy an iPhone 14 for $799, you'll immediately get the full 3% Daily Cash, or about $24, even if you haven't paid for the device yet.
There's an approval process for monthly Apple Card payments. not required. Instead, the balance of your contributions counts toward your Apple Card's total credit limit. For example, if your credit limit is $5,000 and you finance an iPhone 14 from Apple, the cost of that iPhone 14 is deducted from your total credit limit.
What is Daily Cash?
Daily Cash is what Apple calls the cash back you earn on purchases with your Apple Card. You earn Daily Cash as soon as the purchase is credited to your Apple Card balance. This is different from many other cash back cards, which don't pay you back until the end of each statement cycle.
By default, Daily Cash is credited directly to your Apple Cash balance. Apple Cash is a separate card in the Wallet app that is actually Apple's competitor to other payment services like the Venmo and Cash apps.
The money in your Apple Cash account can be used to make purchases through Apple Pay, send to friends, and other users. family via Messages or transferred to a linked bank account. You can also use your Apple Cash to pay off the balance of the Apple Card itself.
Another available option is to immediately apply Daily Cash rewards to your Apple Card balance. This works if you don't have an Apple Cash account.
Most recently, Apple launched the Apple Card savings account. This is a new feature exclusive to Apple Card users. You can instantly transfer your daily money to a savings account with an interest rate of 4.15% and make deposits from a linked bank account.
Apple Card Security and Privacy
Apple Card also offers several security features and privacy to help protect your information and finances from unauthorized transactions.
- Advanced fraud protection: card security code is automatically updated every day.
- No card number. or a security code on the physical card itself.
- Ability to lock your Apple Card through the Wallet app.
- Real-time transaction notifications through the Wallet app.
Is the Apple Card worth it?
Now that we have looked at the benefits and features of the Apple Card, we can talk about whether it's worth it.
For a card with no annual fee, the Apple Card offers some attractive perks and rewards. options – especially for people who spend a decent amount of money directly with Apple.
The Apple Card is worth it if the following conditions apply to you:
- You are not bothered possible one-time deterioration in your credit rating.
- Apple Pay is widely accepted as a payment method in the stores and websites where you make purchases.
- You buy products from Apple, the App Store, and Apple Services.
- You can Responsibly take advantage of the Apple Card monthly installment option to finance Apple products at 0% interest.
- You appreciate being able to manage everything through the Wallet app on your iPhone.
- Apple Card also has a web interface, but the Wallet app is the best way to manage your Apple Card.
This is wrong. Let's say the Apple Card is a must-have credit card. There are similar competitive cash back options from companies like Chase, Citi and Discover. You can also check out options from American Express, many of which offer more enticing rewards if you know how best to use your Membership Rewards points.
I had the opportunity to speak with Emmanuel Cruvisier, the developer of the popular CardPointers app, about Apple Card. CardPointers is a great app for iPhone, iPad, and Mac that can help you maximize your credit card rewards.
A good rewards card like the Chase Freedom, Sapphire Preferred, Citi Premier or Amex Gold card has many more benefits. With these cards, you can earn transferable points that you can transfer to airlines and hotels to get a much better return on the points you earn, and their point multipliers for most categories are also much higher than the Apple Card.
With the Apple Card the most you can get is 3% back on your purchase, whereas with the cards I mentioned you can get 5x points back in some categories like like restaurants, gas stations. etc., and these points are worth even more because you can redeem them for business class tickets to Europe.
If someone spends $10,000 on their Apple Card in a year, they will get no more than $300 back, whereas the same $10,000 spent on a good rewards card could earn them 50,000 points, and those points can be worth 4 cents or more if redeemed well. , that is, the real cost will be $2,000. There is literally 7x the benefit of using a good rewards card, and that's exactly what CardPointers helps users do – earn more on every purchase just by paying with the right card.
Even if you just want to focus on cash back, other cards can earn the same cash back as the Apple Card, even across more categories and merchants. I'd like to see Apple Card further improve its revenue categories, and more and more banks are doing deals directly with specific merchants as a form of advertising, so I think we'll continue to see more opportunities like this across all cards. as a new source of income for them.
9to5Mac readers can save 30% off the regular price of CardPointers and get a $100 savings card as a sign-up bonus.
Summing up
As always, credit cards are a broad financial tool only if you you pay for them. every month. Once you start carrying a balance and paying interest, the credit card company makes money from you. The rewards you earn will never outweigh the interest.
Personally, I think the Apple Card is a great option for some Apple Pay purchases and my Apple purchases. However, my daily drivers continue to be the American Express Gold Card and Blue Business Plus.
What do you think about Apple Card? Already an Apple Card user or planning to apply? Let us know in the comments.
