Amex retained a majority of those card holders and Amex owned the accounts, not Costco. It sold them to Citi.
And it was no where near the majority of Amex cards in the US.
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Apple Ending Apple Card Partnership With Goldman Sachs
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And it was no where near the majority of Amex cards in the US.
Just found an article that said as of August, Apple Card Savings accounts accounted for over $10B in deposits at Goldman Sachs. I'd guess that number is even larger now.
I realize that this is a small portion of GS $1.5T in assets... but to have that much cash ON HAND to handle all of those withdrawals at once is pretty large.
I've said it before - if they change the card from a Mastercard to an AMEX, I'm out.
I hope that Apple Card continues via another banking company. Apple Card has completely changed my credit profile. The intuitive wheel-based interface for making payments that is baked into Apple Wallet is like nothing else of which I am aware. I know at a glance how much I have to pay and by when to avoid finance charges. The interface is a bit like a gamification of handling one's finances. Just by using Apple Card everywhere that I can that doesn't charge an additional fee for credit card payments, I've managed to earn about $1,000.00 in instant cashback that is paid out nightly. I don't have to worry about having a certain minimum to cash out, or cashing out in increments. Now, with the Apple Savings account feature, I can funnel my cash back rewards into a 4.15% savings account to earn additional money. Sure, it's not the highest yielding savings account out there, but the brilliance of it is that it's automatic, and it's still a competitive rate. Earning 2% cashback on all contactless payments is another huge plus. As a result, I use my Apple Watch to make payments everywhere I can.
I'm not a paid spokesperson for Apple Card, and I'm sure that there are other companies that offer compelling credit product solutions. Apple Card is the one that has clicked best for my personal finance management.
I'm not a paid spokesperson for Apple Card, and I'm sure that there are other companies that offer compelling credit product solutions. Apple Card is the one that has clicked best for my personal finance management.
It's not like AT&T didn't benefit from the iPhone arrangement too from the initial exclusivity, requiring 2 year contracts, etc.
Someone Give this man a tequila, Bravo Man....
Finally Someone With actual Common Sence here....
"American Express says the deal ended for purely economic reasons, and I suspect that’s right. I’ve suggested that as costly as it was for American Express to lose Costco, it would have been more costly to retain Costco. As big a win as Costco is for Citibank and Visa, it’s a deal afflicted by the winner’s curse because Citi/Visa had to overpay to secure it.
Nonetheless, losing the deal is a big blow: 10% of American Express cards were co-brand Costco products.."
An Inside Account of How Amex Lost the Costco Deal, and What it Means Going Forward - View from the Wing
Bloomberg ran a long piece purporting to tell the story of how American Express came to lose to Costco co-brand deal, and along the way details the challenges American Express faces to its business model. It begins with narrating the cultural differences between American Express and Costco and...
Citigroup actually did relatively well afterwards. Costco membership enrollment increased over time, as reported in the media, and so did the Costco Visa applications, as well as Citi crossmarketing to the Costco customers its other Citi cards.
Outside of the 2%-4% cashback areas, the 1% cashback area that Citi Costco Visa offered can be made up by applying for another Citi credit card that paid at least 2% back instead. It's a win-win for Citigroup.
HAHA, Apple certainly is struggling financially. LOL. It’s one card in one country, the world and Apple will survive.
I had forgotten about the Costco CEO calling AMEX just another ketchup vendor, LOL. Costco had the leverage and weren't afraid to use it."American Express says the deal ended for purely economic reasons, and I suspect that’s right. I’ve suggested that as costly as it was for American Express to lose Costco, it would have been more costly to retain Costco. As big a win as Costco is for Citibank and Visa, it’s a deal afflicted by the winner’s curse because Citi/Visa had to overpay to secure it.
Nonetheless, losing the deal is a big blow: 10% of American Express cards were co-brand Costco products.."
An Inside Account of How Amex Lost the Costco Deal, and What it Means Going Forward - View from the Wing
Bloomberg ran a long piece purporting to tell the story of how American Express came to lose to Costco co-brand deal, and along the way details the challenges American Express faces to its business model. It begins with narrating the cultural differences between American Express and Costco and...viewfromthewing.com
Citigroup actually did relatively well afterwards. Costco membership enrollment increased over time, as reported in the media, and so did the Costco Visa applications, as well as Citi crossmarketing to the Costco customers its other Citi cards.
Outside of the 2%-4% cashback areas, the 1% cashback area that Citi Costco Visa offered can be made up by applying for another Citi credit card that paid at least 2% back instead. It's a win-win for Citigroup.
Interface aside you do know you’re missing opportunities for better rewards?
There are so many better cards out there. It was mind boggling that people left money on the table simply to have a pretty white card lol
Maybe time to get a real rewards card? Chase sapphire, Amex plat, chase freedom, etc.
Vendors should be careful by calling out Costco.
Similarly, Coca Cola lost its contract with Costco as the former wanted to increase its rates (for the food court fountain drinks). Costco said 'No!' and went to Coke's competitor, Pepsi Cola, who now has the contract.
I mean .... all the interest rates are dropping, from earlier highs? The main "plus" to the Apple Savings setup is really supposed to be the idea that on top of getting paid at least a "decent" interest rate, it's constantly funneling between 1% and 5% of your Apple Card purchases back into the account for you, automatically.
For people who aren't using the Apple Card often or for larger purchases, this might be meaningless. But I'd argue it's helping those who do save more than they'd be saving otherwise. (Cash back bonuses I get from other cards usually wind up getting applied to my next credit card bill, so it's not money I'm encouraged to save.)
Your debt won't go anywhere. You'll be responsible for every penny of it in one way or another. Apple will likely partner with another bank anyway.
Oh yeah, same here. In an instant! Synchrony Bank was the absolute worst card provider I ever worked with.
It is sitting idle. Cash on hand or in the bank is sitting idle, using it to work for you is using it wisely. Goldman is (or was) an intermediate, Apple could very well negotiate with either AMEX or MasterCard to they themselves become a financial institution with access to their cards.
Apple doesn't have the expertise and branching out is a stretch of resources, that is an issue. But having a cash backing is not.
After what happened to the GS partnership with Apple why would another bank step up for more of that failure and losses? Banks have numerous ways to make money, partnering with Apple doesn’t appear to be one of them.