Ahead of August Apple Card launch, Barclays Card rewards offers end

Posted:
in iPhone edited August 2019
After nearly a decade, Barclays has stopped offering Apple gift cards to new customers, and has stopped giving extra rewards points on buys from Apple in favor of a new Apple Card purchase plan.

The Goldman Sachs-backed Apple Card is nearly here
The Goldman Sachs-backed Apple Card is nearly here


The move to cut the Barclays Card rewards comes in advance of the Apple Card rollout in August. However, Apple Card customers will be given discrete financing terms for purchases from Apple.

At present, there is no detail on what needs to be purchased to qualify for the special financing terms -- which would be provided by Goldman Sachs. According to Apple CEO Tim Cook, the card is expected to launch in August, but Cook did not detail the launch window beyond that.

"Thousands" of Apple workers are currently evaluating the card in a beta test process, Cook said during the quarterly earnings conference call. Leaks of Apple Card packaging have emerged since it was announced.

The Apple Card is a digital-first product in partnership with Goldman Sachs and Mastercard, which people can apply for directly from their iPhone and activate the same day, storing it in their Wallet app. For use at stores that don't accept Apple Pay, card owners will also get a minimalist physical card carved out of titanium.

Already announced cash-back for the Apple Card includes 3% cash back rewards from any direct Apple purchase, 2% from anything bought using Apple Pay and 1% from everything else. This appears to be above and beyond any special financing terms.

A Bloomberg report on Friday morning also noted that the Apple Card software has hooks in the iPadOS betas, meaning that it could come to the iPad at some point as well.

Apple has also detailed the Apple Card security, how users will monitor purchases, and how the card will work in physical stores.




kenaustus

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 9
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    I know I'll be killing my Barclay Card shortly after getting my Apple Card.
    netroxjahbladewatto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 9
    Soli said:
    I know I'll be killing my Barclay Card shortly after getting my Apple Card.
    I will be killing most of my secondary credit-cards as well. Time to clean house.
    flyingdpStrangeDayswatto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 9
    netroxnetrox Posts: 1,415member
    I will definitely cancel my Barclay card as it does not offer benefits or rewards as much as my other cards. Barclay has become a burden to me because I don't like the way Apple Rewards work at all. It's complicated.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 9
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,834member
    Soli said:
    I know I'll be killing my Barclay Card shortly after getting my Apple Card.
    I would, but I just used their financing (which includes the card) for 0% interest for 18 months on a new iMac. I got a bunch of Barclay points for it, and I think they're still sending me out the iTunes/App Store gift card...maybe.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 9
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    Soli said:
    I know I'll be killing my Barclay Card shortly after getting my Apple Card.
    I would, but I just used their financing (which includes the card) for 0% interest for 18 months on a new iMac. I got a bunch of Barclay points for it, and I think they're still sending me out the iTunes/App Store gift card…maybe.
    It's an Apple Store GC, which is nice. Unfortunately they only do it in $25 values.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 9
    WgkruegerWgkrueger Posts: 352member
    Soli said:
    I know I'll be killing my Barclay Card shortly after getting my Apple Card.
    I will be killing most of my secondary credit-cards as well. Time to clean house.
    You may have researched it already but if not you might want to make sure this doesn’t negatively affect your credit score. It’s counterintuitive but I’ve read canceling credit cards reduces your score. 
    P-DogNCwatto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 9
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    Wgkrueger said:
    Soli said:
    I know I'll be killing my Barclay Card shortly after getting my Apple Card.
    I will be killing most of my secondary credit-cards as well. Time to clean house.
    You may have researched it already but if not you might want to make sure this doesn’t negatively affect your credit score. It’s counterintuitive but I’ve read canceling credit cards reduces your score. 
    Dropping a credit card can negatively affect your credit score in at least 3 ways. It can drop because the total credit limit is lower, which may also affect your percentage of used available credit (try to keep this under 10%), and if this is your oldest credit card then the length of time for your revolving credit will drop.

    I don’t think it’s counterintuitive. It’s something you need to be actively proving for it to have value.
    P-DogNCwatto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 9
    P-DogNCP-DogNC Posts: 37member
    I just opened my Barclaycard in December to purchase my Apple Watch 4 and receive $75 back. Since it is so new, I will cancel it without taking a “credit longevity” hit to my score, which is over 800. If I cancelled the card I have had since the 1990s, I would take a perceptible hit. Average age of credit only counts for about 10% of your score, I believe, but that is not insignificant. I have paid all of my credit balances in full each month for my entire life, so if a card came along with a staggering 50% interest rate but with totally kick-ass rewards, I would jump on it immediately.
    watto_cobra
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