Apple Card, a new kind of credit card created by Apple and designed to help customers lead a healthier financial life, is available in the US starting today. Customers can apply for Apple Card through the Wallet app on iPhone in minutes and start using it right away…
…While critics panned the card for what they argued were only limited cashback schemes maxxing out at 3% for Apple purchases, what they didn’t consider was that with its particular position in the smartphone economy the company could easily augment its deals.
After all, everyone kind of knows that iPhone customers tend to be among the more affluent smartphone users, are more willing to use mobile payments services, and are more switched onto using online and new breed services.
Such as Uber.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple Card. It just keeps getting better and better!
On launch day, Apple Card is extending 3 percent Daily Cash to more merchants and apps. Apple Card customers now receive 3% Daily Cash when using Apple Card with Apple Pay for Uber and Uber Eats. Customers can request a ride through Uber in more than 700 cities across the globe and order a meal through Uber Eats in more than 500 cities around the world. Plus, Apple Card will continue to add more popular merchants and apps in the coming months.
Got mine! Took like 15 min to get approved. $20,000 limit 12.99% interest – better than I expected. LOVE how easy the process was.
If you don’t mind sharing, what was your credit score range to get those terms?
Was 825 according to my bank’s website.
Interesting. I have a higher score, but was offered lower limit — fine by me because I often ask banks to lower it anyway.
As a note, rate is usually based on score, limit is usually based on a calculation of yearly income and existing credit lines and credit amounts in use.
Great. I hope you buy at least an iPhone and a MacBook Pro this year to help boost Apple’s share price. I hope most AppleCard owners are big spenders.
Took less than a minute. Offered a higher APR than yours so I declined the card
No vendors that I regularly use yet.
But here’s a question: I am in the market for a new MBP and iPad as soon as there’s a real KB fix. The discounts now routinely available from the big four resellers, Best Buy, Amazon, B&H and Adorama are more than 3% and not generally (if ever) available directly from Apple.
So what’s the Apple cash for buying a Mac through these sources? On the surface it would more likely be 2% than 3%. Yes/no….??
[Right now I have a card which gives me 3% on all Amazon purchases, but B&H also saves sales tax, plus their sales prices, plus the 2% I could get with an Apple card, so that’s the biggest savings I see.]
Sony has a program where regardless of what vendor and/or credit card you use to purchase Sony products, you can submit the receipt and get Sony Points. Wonder if Apple would consider a similar program.
Apple Stores price match usually. Get the best deal elsewhere then have the Apple Store match it. Best of both worlds.
I think Apple price match only matches the price of the product and does not match any other savings you may receive as cash back, points, etc. that you would receive using each of those vendor’s cards. For example, now that Amazon sells Apple products, will a consumer use Apple’s card to get 3% back or Amazon’s card to get 5%?
Okay but:
When can I link my card to my spouse’s card so we can actually have a household budget and a unified bill?
Why can’t my 18 yo get an Apple Card. You say you can’t ensure he is him, but wouldn’t you want to lock in 18 year olds who are heading to college and getting their first credit card?
Why do every Apple service show up on the bill as Apple Services? A key selling point is that you have smart data so people can interpret bills, but when I get an “Apple Services” bill I have no idea what it’s for — Is it Netflix? Is it extra iCloud data? Is it Apple Music?
I’m kind of giddy about this card. It feels lame to say so, but it’s exciting to have real control about this credit account. So let’s work the kinks out posthaste, EmK?
It’s a days-old product. MDN’s headline about it “getting better on day one” should be read for what it is — “Apple is going to need some time to figure this out.”
Why giddy about giving Apple more of your money?
For me, because I own a ton of stock. Duh.
I still wish I could have the same card for my wife and I so I only have to pay one bill.
I think this is really limiting.
Love the app with the card. However, I can’t download transactions into financial software (e.g., Banktivity). Apple needs to fix that soon, along with cards for family members.
On the first day they are improving it…
Sounds to me like they didn’t get it right by the time it was released. How very “modern Apple.”
Let say you have the physical card and you lose it without knowing. Can’t somebody just use it to a store like a regular credit card thus making it non secure still since majority of store don’t even check for ID?
According to iMore you can disable a lost card on the phone and they will give you a new number right on the phone so you have minimal time you are without the card. So seems even better than a regular card because you have a shorter time you are without your card.
The question was if the card is lost/stolen and you don’t know about it.
It’s still just a swipeable card?
I don’t quite understand why a person must have an iPhone to use the AppleCard. Doesn’t every A-series chip above an A7 have the Secure Enclave or for Macs a T2 chip? I really don’t understand Apple’s reasoning for only using an iPhone when any iOS device should work. It just seems kind of narrow-minded when every other credit card can be used on any device that uses a browser. However, without visible credit card numbers it would be difficult to input those numbers and CVV code into a browser. I’m just a bit baffled by the way Apple does things. I would think at least all modern Apple devices should allow AppleCard transactions.
Apple expects you to mostly use the card with ApplePay, so that requires hardware the average Mac or iPad doesn’t have (do cell-equipped iPads have NFC?).
WRT using on the web, Apple auto-populates your stored cards on connected devices so you can just use it as you would any other saved one. I’m about to change my card for all my recurring monthly charges, using my desktop’s browser.
Replying to my own post, but some additional info. If you have a newer MBP or something with TouchID, you can access the card from your wallet (after going into the Wallet app and adding it with one click) after setting it up on your phone.
If you have an older machine without Wallet/TouchID, you need to add the card by using its numbers, which are found on your phone under Settings->Wallet and Apple Card -> Apple Card->Card Information. Your “normal” CC numbers are all there.
The real problem comes with sites that don’t understand your browser’s UI for CC auto-fill. Then you need to go dig up the number and type it in manually, even on a Wallet-equipped machine.
I’ve switched over (I THINK) all my recurring charges (iTunes updated automatically, btw). Didn’t take TOO long, but would have been easier if all my machines had Wallet and all the websites could autofill.