I have been a fan of Apple products long before their advertisements started screening in my country. And even then, Apple's branding has had very limited impact on me, given that I pretty much know everything there is to know about their products via online forums by the time the ads screen anyways.
This would be quite an interesting case study here. You say Apple's branding has very limited impact, yet you go to forums to read about it. If it were design centric, you wouldn't care about what forum people say.
I am still in the midst of fully understanding the implications of the Apple Card and how it works (which is complicated by it being a product not available in my country, and my general lack of understanding of how the US credit card system may differ from my country's), but here's what I have pieced together thus far.
1) The card has relatively low friction in signing up, given that the entire process can be conducted entirely from the wallet app on the phone.
It really depends on the target audience. For someone like myself who has control over my financial situation, I would just use it for the Apple Pay part for select stores (that my travel cards don't cover). I do the credit card juggle to maximize my returns. Having it conducted entirely from the wallet app neither helps or worsens the experience. When Sapphire Reserve first came out with 150,000 points, people didn't care if it wasn't immediate. Now if you have certain people (based on these forums) that have 560-660 credit scores, then yeah maybe that's a point there. Credit card companies bank on people to have debt on their cards, so the faster they sign up, the sooner they can make money off these people.
2) The pairing process is pretty cool (similar to how you pair AirPods to your iPhone).
I think that's what many pro-Apple feel. The more agnostic don't really care about this.
3) If the criticism is that the rewards from the Apple Card is lacklustre as there is a better alternative out there, then pray tell - why isn't everyone else in the US already using this card with superior rewards? I am willing to bet that if we were to get down to the nitty gritty, there's probably a catch somewhere in terms of how the points or cash rewards are awarded. Maybe the rewards take a much longer time to accrue, or there are strings attached to how this "cash rebate" can be used, or some other limitation.
With the Apple Card, it's just a flat rebate at the end of the day. No muss, no fuss, no having to shop with specific merchants or meet certain criteria. In the very least, signing up for the Apple Card just to make Apple purchases alone more than pays for itself, especially when it comes to paying for apps and services.
There are no strings attached here, nor is there a catch anywhere. The reason people don't use better cards with rewards is because they simply are too lazy to understand how it works. It's the same way you are lazy to understand how it works, so you miss out entirely on the benefits.
I have an Amazon Store card which gives
5% back on
all Amazon purchases. If I can order through Amazon for the same Apple MBP config at the same price post tax as the Apple Store, then the store card will take precedence.
The same with my travel points. I get 3% in points returned back to me. I then can purchase airline tickets at 20% the cost with those points. That sounds like a much better deal to me than a small flat percentage in cash back.
4) Contrary to what other banks are doing, Apple seems to be invested in the financial health of their users. For one, I don't think that Apple is actually hoping that anyone of you here goes into dept just so they can rake in the interest payments. They want you to be able to better manage your finances, and I think the fact that so many banks dropped out of collaborating with Apple on this speaks volumes about how Apple is actively looking out for its user base here.
I think this is quite subjective and borderline political, so I'll leave it at that. The nice UI is one of their hooks to get people to using their credit card.
5) Apple doesn't want your personal purchase history, and has worked out an agreement with Goldman Sachs not to use it either. I suppose in light of the Siri revelation, it's understandable that everyone here be more than a little skeptical about how closely GS will actually adhere to this agreement, but I am willing to give Apple (and Goldman Sachs) the benefit of the doubt here. In the very least, this sounds a lot better than what banks are already doing with your purchase data currently.
All I will say about this is it's Goldman Sachs. If you think any financial institution is really looking for your well being, I would love to be in your bubble!
What I see here is Apple using its control over hardware and software to push through its ideals of security and privacy via the Apple Card, because again, what other bank is willing to do the exact same things that Apple has done here? This is going to be something that traditional banks are going to find hard to replicate, given that you are essentially asking them to run counter to their own business model and give up a part of their own profitability.
Apple isn't a bank nor is it a financial institution. It's why they partnered with Mastercard and Goldman Sachs.
In short, what I see here is consumers getting an added layer of protection, while enjoying an improved user experience, and I think that this can be worth just as much, if not more, than whatever financial benefits I am giving up in exchange. After 1000+ responses between two threads, I think it's time we moved beyond "But my Amazon card gives me 5%!" and start focusing on the other areas of the Apple Card, if this is going to be a meaningful discussion.
I also think it's time you moved to the U.S. to clear a lot of your misunderstandings.
The real strengths of the Apple Card IMO are the following (from a U.S. perspective):
- Cash back after each transaction. For those people that are more strapped for cash, this will help them.
- 0% international transaction fees. For those that travel and can't afford a legitimate travel card, this is a good deal.
- Hands off financial budgeting. For those that don't have a grasp on their finances and are looking to get started, this is a good way to start.
- 3% off Apple Stores if you shop at stores frequently, and 2% off Apple Pay if you use it frequently. You
don't care about maximizing point per value.
I intentionally left off privacy/security because I am not convinced that precedes any of the points I mentioned above.
