The best thing of the Apple Card is no physical number on the card and a hashed number on the receipt. For eating out and handing off a card to a waiter this is so important as this becomes a big source of identify theft. I had to stop using my Amazon CC in restaurants because of this problem.
Yep, my SO had this happen with a Capital One card, was used dining while visiting a friend.
Apple Card is very secure, tokenized, etc. The app is the best bar none. The next-day cash back rewards is nice, no foreign transaction fees. Don’t care about the wear on a physical card (at all). But the interest rate is practically criminal…tho I pay it off every month.
You get all of these benefits with any card as long as you stick to Apple Pay. In fact when our discover card got hacked I could keep using it on Apple Pay without interruption.
I have several cards that I divide up according to use - one I use only for recurring monthly charges. If I need to enter a number for on online purchase I only use my Discover card, I use my Apple Card for Apple pay purchases.
An added bonus is that virtually everywhere in Europe takes contactless payments. I didn't even have to take my physical card out on recent trips to Europe.
Except you left out that the physical Apple Card, which does have a chip in it, is actually incapable of contactless payments. It’s baffling. Yes, using Apple Pay with a watch (or phone) is great in Europe, but when I left my watch at home by accident I was forced to use a lesser card.
Frankly, 2% cash back for Apple Pay is the best general/standard reward in existence and no one should carry a balance, so the APR is virtually irrelevant.
Yeah, I’d like an example of a better reward than that.
I agree that some of the benefits are lower than other hotel or airline cards. The real perk is the financing of products. It’s like a Bestbuy card or department store card. The 0% and termed financing is good. It’s limited to the 12 or 24 months payment but honestly that’s good for apple products with a cycle (iPhone, watch, etc). The cell carrier financing is ok but for example with 36months at AT&T, it can feel like forever.
I’ve had a lot of cards over the last 30 years, with various rewards schemes. I can honestly say that my the time you factor in the nonsense associated with many cards (such as annual fees), Apple Card actually looks pretty good. (APR isn’t a consideration for me, since I never carry a balance from one month to the next. If you actually are using your card to buy things you need months or years to pay, I will admit there may be better cards. Obviously the zero interest on Apple gear is great—sure, I could pay out of pocket for a new Mac, but why not spread it across payments with zero percent interest and let the money in my savings account earn a little more income each month?)
I have several cards now that I use regularly to maximize rewards. For example, my Costco Visa has 4% rewards on fuel purchases at any location. But aside from fuel and in Costco stores, where it gets 2% rewards, it gets no other use. I also have a Delta Airlines AmEx card. Great card, got it for the 60,000 mile bonus when signing up. The rewards are similar to the Apple card plus a $100 Delta credit annually. But it costs $99 a year. We’ll see if I keep it.
Apple Card has 2% across the board for everything everywhere when using Apple Pay. And no annual fee. No foreign fees. It is the only card I use whilst abroad, on my watch or phone, since tap to pay is everywhere I travel.
And perhaps the biggest thing overlooked about the rewards cash on Apple Card is that it is instant cash back that goes into a card balance I can spend whenever, wherever. Not like my Delta card which gives me miles only useful for flights. Or my Costco card which gives me an annual reward certificate. Or my Capital One card which makes me redeem my rewards cash on the website for a statement credit. Apple Cash is Daily Cash on a debit card ready to use whenever I want and wherever I want. Sometimes it fun when checking out somewhere to pull up my Apple Pay to check out and see that I’ve got enough Apple Cash (free money!) to pay for that purchase.
I’m pleased with the Apple Card. If I had to use the physical card often (1% and no tap), had to carry a balance, or had nowhere to use Apple Pay I’d look for a different card. But with those considerations, Apple card is perfect.
[…] I like the fact that the charges I make in November aren’t due until the end of December and there’s still no interest. The payment schedule on a regular credit card is much shorter. […]
This ^ — we use this feature to handle certain large, regular expenses that will be reimbursed — in the past we used a savings account to cover these, but now we just float them on the Apple Card.
I live overseas and the card works steller, no fees and accumulations of cash back is awesome, already got me a free watch v8 , and the security is above and beyond the best feature, if Im not sure on a site that I have done a purchase I like the fact you can flip the CV number. I ditched my citicards because it was such a pain to retrieve your cash back
Guess I’m one of those for whom the card is 4.5. Wife and I have accumulated a couple of thousand in Apple Cash over the time we’ve had the card (early adopters). We do regularly upgrade our many Apple products so that part’s a no-brainer. That, and we pay off our balance due every month so APR is meaningless. Those students getting their first cards under pop-ups on campus would do well to adopt that habit from day one! Then there is the unparalleled Apple Card security that was never mentioned. Our Capital One Venture card (our go-to back up) has had to be replaced three times due do security breaches which is a pain in the ass. Apple Card with its unique number for each transaction? Never. “What’s in YOUR wallet?”
Lines up pretty well with my experience. A Visa issued by my credit union has had to be replaced four times over the past three years because of breaches, which so far are not a problem with the Apple Card. My initial credit limit ($2500, iirc) was low enough that I had to make more than one payment a month to afford some Apple hardware, but I waited a year and requested a raise to the limit, to $5K. In a few seconds, that is, too short a time for a human to have been involved, I got a message back saying it had been increased to $10K. And my current APR is 14.74%, which I understand is pretty good these days. (My other cards currently have APRs like 16 or 17%.)
I am concerned that despite the retreat from such practices during the Great Recession, card issuers are throwing high-APR cards at young people with no prior credit experience, not even a high school class in adulting, including personal finance. The banks want them to run up balances they can't possibly pay off each month, which is, as noted in several responses here, the only sane way to use a credit card if you can afford it. If you can't afford it, cut up the card.
You forgot one of the biggest spiffs. You get the cash back long BEFORE you’ve paid the bill. Plus you get every penny the next day.
Some of the other programs make it extremely inconvenient to collect the rewards. (Citi has to be the worst).
Now that I finally got my credit limit up to a decent amount, I’m a big fan. I run absolutely everything I buy across the Applecard. GS pays me a thousand dollars per year to use it. The only thing I can’t use it for is Costco.
Comments
I have several cards that I divide up according to use - one I use only for recurring monthly charges. If I need to enter a number for on online purchase I only use my Discover card, I use my Apple Card for Apple pay purchases.
I am concerned that despite the retreat from such practices during the Great Recession, card issuers are throwing high-APR cards at young people with no prior credit experience, not even a high school class in adulting, including personal finance. The banks want them to run up balances they can't possibly pay off each month, which is, as noted in several responses here, the only sane way to use a credit card if you can afford it. If you can't afford it, cut up the card.