Apple on Tuesday ended its longtime Apple Rewards Visa card partnership with Barclays, a move that seems designed to focus attention on its own Apple Card product-financing plans. In August 2019, following the launch the Apple Card in the U.S., Apple and Barclays ended its rewards program, which gave users three points per dollar spent on Apple purchases as well as gift-card bonuses.
The Cupertino, California-based technology giant told retail employees in a memo that users will no longer have the option to apply for the credit card in retail stores or via the company’s website starting Sept. 15, the same day it plans to announce two new Apple Watch models and a new iPad Air. Apple told staff that existing cardholders can keeping using the card as a normal credit card.
The Barclaycard Financing Visa deal allowed customers to purchase Apple products at no interest for different amounts of time depending on how much they spent
[Apple] will instead point users to its recently launched Apple Card Monthly Installments plan, which lets Apple Card holders in the U.S. avoid interest payments for six, 12 or 24 months, depending on which Apple device is purchased.
MacDailyNews Take: Obviously, Apple Card, not the Apple Rewards Visa, is the way to buy Apple products and services going forward, as it has been since its debut.
I still won’t buy Apple products with AppleCard because it does not offer an extended warranty. If I use my Costco Anywhere Visa Card by Citi, I only get 1% cash back from Apple, but I get 2 additional years of warranty coverage for free, which is less expensive than buying AppleCare.