Apple Announces 'Apple Card' Credit Card With Daily Rewards, Simplified Statements, and No Fees

[JTBing]

A payment RING? Hmm... I'll look that up... I have been using a payment PAD. How it works is, I carry around these little slips of paper, like sticky-notes but not sticky. I scrawl some symbols on it, hand it off to the cashier, who asks to see a piece of plastic that demonstrates that they are in fact MY pieces of paper, and then she lets me walk out of the store with STUFF, and no one even tries to stop me or anything. Sometimes, I use the loose-leaf version, which are fully pre-printed and don't require me to scribble on them at all, and most of the time, no one asks to see the piece of plastic, unless I'm trying to buy booze or cigarettes. My Credit Union actually gives me the tablet of slips of paper for free! The other ones... they cost money, admittedly. But happily, I can always go to the Credit Union, where I keep my supply of the loose-leaf stuff, and get some if I happen to need more.

The system works pretty well, and I don't have to cut Gold Man-Sacks *OR* Apple in for a piece of the action. It's pretty sweet, really, and also I don't have a multi-billion dollar corporation learning even more about me than they already know. #iPanopticon

Where do you frequently shop that still accepts paper checks? The antique store? I genuinely don't remember the last time I was in a place that still accepts paper checks. And I don't blame them. Your "payment pad" is less convenient and far less secure than the cards you're mocking.

That is clever but now we have a brand that is famous for charging an unwarranted premium on its products and encouraging people to get into debt. The Apple we all know and loved is dead.

Since when is a company to blame for people being financially irresponsible? That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Unless their products are solely luxury items with no practical value, which isn't true of Apple products, that's complete nonsense.

Also, nearly everything about this release demonstrates Apple's emphasis on helping with responsibility, not irresponsibility.

So many of you are 'excited' to get a credit card. Staggering. You should be looking to cut them out of your lives altogether if possible.

Yes, I know some people need a credit card as it's impossible to do things like hire a car etc without one, but people need to think responsibly here - not be swayed by the marketing BS about no fees etc. Someone will be making money out of you, i.e. the card issuer & Apple.

What's staggering is the amount of knee-jerk reactions around here to the concept of credit cards. Yes, they do open the door to financial irresponsibility if used improperly. If not, however, they provide significant benefits that make not using them the real financial mistake.

 

[mdhwoods]

What always blows my mind is why Americans use credit card. Its much easier to use debit. Why would you ever want to pay banks fees?

Fees are minimal, ie 85.00 a year on my Chase Southwest airline card. In return I bank enough miles for 3-5 round trip tickets in a year. We do not pay processing fees, just some cards have yearly fees on them.

 

[JustinM80]

Apple Card requires a credit score of at least 780. That’s insane!

 

[markhort]

In the UK at least, any bank account with a mobile app can already do this from your phone.

You still need the account number and sort code?

 

[jakeenzo]

So many idiotic comments in this thread it actually just lowered my IQ.

 

[ipponrg]

Apple Card requires a credit score of at least 780. That’s insane!

780 should be easy to get if you pay your loans and credit cards on time

So many of you are 'excited' to get a credit card. Staggering. You should be looking to cut them out of your lives altogether if possible.

Yes, I know some people need a credit card as it's impossible to do things like hire a car etc without one, but people need to think responsibly here - not be swayed by the marketing BS about no fees etc. Someone will be making money out of you, i.e. the card issuer & Apple.

There are advantages of using a credit card that make it difficult to discard. These include protection, rewards, insurance, and most importantly building credit

 

[LordVic]

780 should be easy to get if you pay your loans and credit cards on time

unfortunately, with the shrinking incomes, we've seen growing personal debt loads in the west. too many people are living off their credit cards and carrying balances for months/years.

I'd bet the average credit score is terrible
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There are advantages of using a credit card that make it difficult to discard. These include protection, rewards, insurance, and most importantly building credit

using a CC is completely reasonable, if people remember that they're not intended for laons and keeping you afloat. They're meant to be a temporary place to use for payment and then pay off. But CC's are generally easy to get. Much easier than a loan. So there are way too many people stuck using them for their day to day loans.

However, even if you have cash on hand. As you say, paying with Credit card offers a few additional benefits over cash.

I know with my credit card, I get not only points. There's travel insurance baked in. Theft protection if someone uses my money. Additional warranty coverage on some items, in addition, protection and means to get my money back should a vendor not deliver service.

 

[Rocketman]

Will places accept a card with no numbers or signature? I doubt it

They already do. Chip and pin.

I was trying to understand the no late fees offer and the fact you can miss a payment. I suspect it is done by allowing negative amortization. Might not sound like a big deal but this could eliminate most bad credit dings for users.

Also people dismiss the Apple Card as a mere service, but the transaction volumes will be huge with no limit to cash back as companies will use them for paying for large commodity purchases, and maybe even payroll services. Amex already encourages that.

And Apple gets a take as the card provider.

When I go to a restaurant in UK they come to the table with the chip or signature device.

 

[ipponrg]

I'd bet the average credit score is terrible

Agreed. That is why I said “if”. I remember in college, some of my fiscally irresponsible friends would sign up for as many 0% APR cards as possible. They of course would buy random things but intended to pay off the debt before the 0% runs out.

Guess what happened? They forgot to pay on time and got dinged.

 

[kdarling]

Goldman Sachs will never share or sell your data to third parties for marketing.

True, banks don't sell your data to third parties.

But they do share your data with "partners", which is basically the same thing, only couched in a disingenuous way.

They have tricks like having their partners mail targeted store coupons to people. If you use one, the store has to pay the bank a relatively large fee, often over a dollar. But no names are directly given to the store, thus Apple can claim their hands are clean.

 

[Khedron]

Up to 24.24% interest and the physical card isn't contactless. Courage.

 

[ChrisMoBro]

Since when is a company to blame for people being financially irresponsible? That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Unless their products are solely luxury items with no practical value, which isn't true of Apple products, that's complete nonsense.

Also, nearly everything about this release demonstrates Apple's emphasis on helping with responsibility, not irresponsibility.

Sorry, I was meant to say they are now encouraging people to get into debt. I still stand by the overpriced products that they sell but if people are happy to pay that premium then fair play but the credit card industry is an evil industry and I think it’s sad to see Apple partner up with such a morally bankrupt company like Goldman Sachs. Apple can pretend they’re trying to ensure a fiscally responsible attitude by consumers but credit cards make money by people going into debt and not every Apple customer is going to be responsible.

 

[MisterSavage]

I even used a credit card for a $10,000 down payment on a car and got 10,000 reward points for it. If I had known the card had a $30,000 limit, I would have done more like $20,000 on the card to get 20,000 reward points. In any event, I immediately paid off the $10,000 on the credit card within a day of using it for the down payment. Of course this not a good idea for people who don't have the cash sitting there.

You're lucky! My last car purchase they would only let me put a max of $2,500 on a credit card.

It's a great option for users with financial discipline. And for those that don't, they really shouldn't have a credit card in the first place.

What's staggering is the amount of knee-jerk reactions around here to the concept of credit cards. Yes, they do open the door to financial irresponsibility if used improperly. If not, however, they provide significant benefits that make not using them the real financial mistake.

Yes! If you've got financial discipline credit cards are great.

Apple Card requires a credit score of at least 780. That’s insane!

Ah, I was wondering about the 'no late fees' part. I guess this is part of it by weeding out a lot of people.

 

[BruiserB]

Up to 24.24% interest and the physical card isn't contactless. Courage.

I was wondering about it being contactless, but it makes sense that it's not. If a place takes contactless payments, Apple would prefer you use ApplePay instead of the physical card.

 

[Vjosullivan]

You still need the account number and sort code?

Some but by no means all. Monzo even allows you to send cash by email to others.

 

[puma1552]

can you have an authorized user? would like one account for my wife and i.

 

[cmaier]

They should have called it Hyper Card.

 

[Steve121178]

Apple Card requires a credit score of at least 780. That’s insane!

Maybe if all companies did this, then less people would be allowed credit which is a GOOD thing.

What is not so good is the APR's which are 13.24% to 24.24% according to Tom Warren at The Verge.

 

[markhort]

Some but by no means all. Monzo even allows you to send cash by email to others.

I know Starling lets to request money and share the link in a message or email. Still not quite the same as Apple Pay Cash though.

 

[jaytv111]

I’ve seen hints at having to use Face/Touch ID when using the physical card, but nothing official. Is this true?

No, the Apple physical card appears to just be a regular credit card (with obviously the number and CVM and expiration date not present). It has no way to talk to an iPhone to know when it's authenticated or not.

 

[Timemaster]

So many of you are 'excited' to get a credit card. Staggering. You should be looking to cut them out of your lives altogether if possible.

Yes, I know some people need a credit card as it's impossible to do things like hire a car etc without one, but people need to think responsibly here - not be swayed by the marketing BS about no fees etc. Someone will be making money out of you, i.e. the card issuer & Apple.

Honestly credit is a tool. The Apple CC is interesting to me but honestly I would really be debating if it is worth doing it as right now I have 2 CC. Amex and a Visa. Mostly for the benefits in more or less cash back. I have never paid interest as I use them as a tool to just track my spending and put everything as a few spots as possible and to limit hits to the bank account to only 2-3 times a month (bill due dates)

780 should be easy to get if you pay your loans and credit cards on time

780 is hard to get. My score goes from 790-750 on a normal bases depending on when the score is run as that can and does affect my credit utilization. Hit me at this time of the month it is the worse as the it is right at the end of a billing cycling but before last months statement is paid. That puts me at a nearly a 2 month load. The 750ish range come from if I have some large planned purchases on my card as I want my CC benefits. Balance is aways paid in full.

I pay my loan in time. I aways pay my CC balance off in full. Having a sub 10% utilization on a normal 2 month cycle is normal but if you have my entire living room and bed room on ones CC bill it is much higher utilization. But utilization is a snap shot in time.

 

[Creek0512]

It's an added step to pull out another item to access the number that would traditionally be on the card.

Uh, so pulling out your physical card is not an added step?

 

[lartola]

They already do. Chip and pin. When I go to a restaurant in UK they come to the table with the chip or signature device.

Except that the US is the only country in the world that refuses to adopt PIN authentication on credit cards (though they've had it on debit cards for years) and also the only one where restaurants don't usually have the wireless POS devices to bring to the table like all restaurants do in the UK and many other countries (US restaurants refuse to adopt that practice and have been doing everything to avoid it) so they still take away people's cards like in the 1990s (which, I think, may be the main reason why the apple card will only have the owner's name and nothing else printed on it).

 

[acorntoy]

What country do you live in where 80% of transactions are card payments and none of those people have access to cash?

The US in a heavy tourism area. Cash is pretty much a thing of the past in most transactions.

 

[Timemaster]

What country do you live in where 80% of transactions are card payments and none of those people have access to cash?

To be fair I live in USA and I do not generally carry cash on me. Honestly I just carry a few cc on me and that is it.
Cash is not something I carry nor do I need 2. We are living in a cashless world.