mpantone

mobird said:

For the regulars here on AI and the drive by visitors, do you back up and what is your method?

The past few years I have been using the two-pronged approach of Time Machine and Carbon Copy Cloner. The Time Machine backups happen weekly or so.

I have a desktop Mac (mini) and a notebook (Air) and do the same for both. I do a manual Time Machine backup immediately before I upgrade and I make sure that I have a bootable external drive running the current OS (Carbon Copy Cloner does this quickly), a working snapshot. It is imperative to make sure the bootable drive works: that means boot off of it and run it for a few minutes. It is frightening how many allegedly tech-savvy people are too lazy to test booting off of their cloned drives.

My Mac mini is my primary system so I always update the notebook computer first using a bootable USB install stick. That way I don't have to download the macOS Installer twice, plus I keep the installer on an SDHC card for a couple of OS cycles. As soon as the upgrade is done and I am able to log in successfully, another Time Machine backup takes place.

I usually wait a day or two to upgrade my primary computer (the Mac mini).

This way, I still have bootable system drives that are just as though I never upgraded, making reverting to the previous OS very simple.

In the case of the Mojave > Catalina upgrade, it's wise to have a bootable Mojave disk around since 32-bit application support is being eliminated with Catalina. At least you still have a drive that can run legacy 32-bit applications. I will likely keep the two external Mojave drives as long as I own these two Macs, long after the Time Machine backup is gone.

I do something similar with mv Windows 10 virtual machine (VirtualBox). I just copy the entire VM directory to an external drive immediately before I upgrade Windows/Office/VirtualBox. After a successful installation and reboot, I make another copy of that VM directory.

There are many backup strategies and mine is rather simple but works well for my particular usage case. For sure, others may be doing something different and hopefully their methodology works better for their own individual situations.

Short answer: There is no one best card for everyone.

Detailed explanation: Different cards have different benefits (and restrictions) in different situations. Whether one card is better than another depends on the individual and their purchasing habits.

I never carry a balance so interest rates are irrelevant for me. None of my cards have an annual fee.

• Card A: Extended warranty protection. New purchase protection. Average rewards program. Superior merchant dispute team. Superior customer service. Very good credit limit. Neither Visa nor MasterCard, not accepted everywhere. 
• Card B: Big credit limit. Lousy customer service. 3% rewards at restaurants (regardless of whether it's swipe, chip or Apple Pay).
• Card F: Decent rewards program. Automatic reward deposit to brokerage account every month.
• Card J: 5% rewards for select categories each quarter (Q3 at gas stations, regardless of transaction type).
• Card K: Mediocre rewards program that only gives gift cards. No foreign transaction fees. I usually redeem iTunes Store Gift Cards with my accumulated points.
• Card V: Smallest credit limit, average rewards program. No foreign transaction fees.

Depending on the situation, it is advantageous using a certain card.

I don't shop at big box stores. I don't eat at chain restaurants or fast food places. I patronize a lot of mom-and-pop stores. Almost all of my produce is purchased at the city's farmers market (mostly cash transactions). I am not a small business owner.

I do a fair amount of international travel (for personal holiday, not for work) so the foreign transaction fees are noteworthy. 

For big ticket items including travel (airline tickets, domestic travel arrangements), I use Card A. If I drop my brand new iPhone in the parking lot of the Apple Store and the screen shatters, Card A will cover the replacement. Getting an extra year of warranty coverage is great for it and similar purchases.

For dining out, I use Card B. No brainer.

For buying gas this quarter, I use Card J.

From a "responsible personal finance" standpoint, using Card F is probably the best since it deposits the reward rebate back into my brokerage account where I am more apt to invest it. However, I'm disciplined enough to fully fund my Roth IRA every year, so that's not really a selling point for using Card F. It might be helpful for others though.

For international travel, I use Card K and Card V. This includes recurring/occasional transactions that use an overseas credit card processing company. 

Where does Apple Card fit for me? To me, its main benefits are A.) no foreign transaction fees, and B.) 2% rewards on Apple Pay transactions. Whether or not the Apple Card provides extended warranty protection and recent purchase protection is unclear at this time. What's better, using an Apple Card on a $2,000 Apple Store purchase and getting $60 cash back or using Card A and getting an extra year of warranty protection, recent purchase protection and $20 back?

While I have not seen the full cardmember benefits document, it appears that using the Apple Pay card for me makes the most sense for A.) foreign transactions, and B.) if I can use Apple Pay at a POS terminal unless we are talking about a big ticket item that may benefit from extended warranty protection and recent purchase protection.

A real unknown is Goldman Sachs customer service. Historically they have not been a consumer company. Will them provide the same level of customer service as Card A's issuer?

But that's just me. Each person has their own financial situation and own spending habits. If you do most of your shopping at big box stores, mostly eat at large chains, and never leave the USA, well, Apple Card might be something you use more often than me.

apple ][ said:

AppleExposed said:

"Apple was reportedly the County's biggest property taxpayer in the 2017-2018 fiscal year."

Forget that tiny county.

Apple is one of the biggest taxpayers in the entire USA, if not the biggest.

The Feds don’t collect property nor sales tax. They collect income tax.

The state collects income tax too (at least here in California) as well as sales tax.

The county collects property tax as well as a supplemental sales tax. Apple’s property tax assessment also contains supplemental parcel taxes for various state, county and city bond measures.

There are many kinds of taxes and they don’t all go to the same place.

Note that Santa Clara County is one of the largest California counties by population and thus in the nation. Moreover with the large amount of wealth (mostly from the tech industry) it is the most affluent county on the West Coast. It’s not such a tiny county.

ttollerton said:

So, I guess it’s safe to assume that, since there are no numbers on the card, this isn’t the card to use for over the phone transactions?   Asking for my PCI QSA friend.  

Apple already covered this when they unveiled the Apple Card.

 The app on your iPhone will reveal a sixteen digit card number plus the corresponding CVV security code for "Card Not Present" phone transactions or online web forms. You recite this information over the phone. The merchant will submit the transaction for processing and the cardholder (you) may receive a notification on your phone asking you if you authorized the charge.

It's not a new concept. Some cards already do this for "Card Not Present" transactions. If you decline, the transaction will be flagged and sent to the fraud department. 

If I recall correctly, American Express has sent me a couple of e-mails concerning certain transactions. In one instance, another card issuer sent me an e-mail for a charge I did not authorize. I immediately called the customer service line, had them disable the existing number and issue a new card. That was probably the first time I had to do so in 10+ years. It's comforting to know that someone is watching your back but in reality, credit card issuers have vested interest in identifying fraudulent activity early.

You would use the same card information for recurring charges (utility bill, insurance, phone bill, cable TV, ISP, transit card, subscriptions, etc.). The Apple Card can be used in "Card Not Present" transactions like a normal plastic card.

Don't get me wrong. I will definitely apply for an Apple Card. However, I'm realistic in expecting that this will not be the King of All Credit Cards.

I will still keep my Bank of America VISA card in my wallet, mostly because it gives 3% back on dining. Big ticket items go on AMEX. I have two other cards that have no foreign transaction fees.

For sure Google can try. After all, they have tried something similar before. Whether or not they decide to make another attempt is anyone's call; even murkier is whether or not consumers will embrace whatever new payment system Google comes up with.

We do know that Google does not control the hardware (apart from their Pixel line of handsets which are an insignificant percentage of Android smartphones). 

Credit card issuers will be under pressure to differentiate their products even more now. Amongst my current stable of credit cards, some provide better rewards programs for certain categories. Other cards have benefits like no foreign transaction fees. At least one card has a good recent purchase protection policy and better merchant dispute service.

I am all for increased competition between credit card issuers. If you want more transactions on your card, give me some reasons why I should use your card instead of someone else's.

I can add all the credit cards I have into Apple Wallet but my physical wallet has three slots I've reserved for credit cards. If you want me to carry around your physical card, give me a good reason. Right now, I'm not sure I'd bother carrying around the physical titanium Apple Card. I have other cards that provide better cash back rewards for certain transaction categories where Apple Pay is less prevalent in the USA.