Hands-On With Apple Card

got mine yesterday, looks different though.. View attachment 852997

 

You HAD to have had some money on there. Plex Pass +iTunes...$40 (we'll say)...that would be $1.20. $100 in gas, that would be $2.00. Totaling $3.20. But, doesn't sound realistic.

 

Chatted with Apple about this. The number on the stripe is not the same as the CNP number in the app. Attempting to talk to Redbox about it went nowhere as I couldn’t get anyone on the phone who even began to understand the question.

 

Obviously, there is no other card doing the exact same thing. However, the Chase Amazon Prime card (also metal), is always 5% cash back at Amazon, and 2% cash back on dining. Discover, which has AMAZING customer service, has rotating categories that give 5%, always at least 1%, cool card designs to choose from...and, did I mention amazing customer service? This card is not amazing...by far. It has it's place, but, it's a small one. No bigger or better than others.
It's gonna be okay. Not everyone has to think the card is perfect. You're being overprotective...of a credit card. Like..."Leave Apple Card alone!!!!! You're killing it!!!!!" Apple is gonna be okay. You're gonna be okay. Everything is gonna be okay.

 

Now if we could only get someone to tell us the reaction they get when using their Chase Sapphire Card. MR is really missing out by not putting this thread behind a paywall.

Clearly there’s several pixels not working, and some back bleed going on. I’d return it.

 

Discover is still not even taken everywhere. Let’s be serious. And the need for customer service for a credit card is limited. AMEX Platinum and Chase Reserve customers get credit service and those are better cards.

Apple Pay is taken at many, many places...so the 2% there is better than just a 2% offer on dining.

 

Wow! Seriously!? You are absolutely correct! Apple Card is the best card in the world!
Who do these other credit card companies even think they are?
But, seriously...I've never been anywhere that doesn't take Discover. So, yeah...let's be serious. I have AMEX, Chase, Discover, Capital One...Discover's customer service beats them all. Is Discover the best card for every situation? No. Chase? No. AMEX? No. Apple? No. Period.

 

You have a Chase Sapphire Reserve?

 

And the beauty of it is, no one card has to. One can keep using one's 2% Citi card for most stuff, but take advantage of 3% off Apple stuff (and free overseas transactions) with the Apple Card.

 

Not so great -- at least in my wallet (all of which are no annual fee cards).

I get 3% cash back at restaurants from a different Visa card, let's call it Card B.

The Visa card from my brokerage offers 2% cash back on all transactions, regardless of merchant category or transaction type (Apple Pay, swipe, EMV, card not present).

Card A offers 3% at supermarkets and 1% everywhere else. Card C currently offers 5% cash back at gas stations this quarter and 1% for most other categories.

Card K and Card V have less exciting rewards programs but both have no foreign transaction fees. Card K -- from my credit union -- includes cellphone insurance if you use it for your monthly cellphone plan payment.

So my main usage case for Apple Card is Apple Pay purchases abroad (2% cash). However, since Apple Card doesn't export data to Quicken, Mint, etc., I have little interest in using it for small transactions, like a $5 breakfast at Tully's Coffee in Japan. I might consider using it for a $200 pair of shoes while traveling.

Here in the USA, I have even less motivation to use the Apple Card.

My iTunes purchases are funded by gift card redemption; you can periodically find iTunes Gift Cards on sale (particularly during the winter holiday season) at a 15% discount. Buy these on a 2% cash back card and you're really getting 17% back rather than the measly 3% from Apple Card for a direct charge.

Apple Card might have slightly better security, at least while using the physical card. It sure looks purty though.

Since they have been mentioned repeatedly, I looked at the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Sapphire Reserve cards. Very nice offerings at a price. The latter is comparable to an AMEX Platinum.

One thing, if you use an airport with a Centurion Lounge, you can use it if you purchased your airline ticket on the AMEX Platinum Card.

Many of the cards with annual fees are geared toward frequent travelers, particularly those who take a lot of international trips. Judging from most of the comments here at MacRumors and similar Apple rumor sites, the people who participate in these discussions are rarely the type who travel internationally because they rarely mention the "no foreign transaction fees" of the Apple Card.

Hopefully Apple/Goldman Sachs will add additional benefits in the future. I really need to see data export to Quicken/Mint/etc. before I will use this card on a regular basis. I simply don't feel that it is worth my time/money to monkey around with Quicken/Mint/etc. to manually record a low value transaction in those systems when my 2% everywhere brokerage card automatically exports this data.

I activated my titanium Apple Card and promptly stuck it in a binder with the other three cards I don't usually carry. I've made one Apple Pay purchase and already paid the balance due of ~$11. My next purchase will probably be in September, just to keep Goldman Sachs from thinking that I've forgotten about the card.

An inauspicious launch.

 

And here, truly, is the end game of this card: iOS lock-in. You get rid of your iPhone and now your Apple Card becomes very difficult to manage and pay off. I'm sort of surprised they didn't at least offer some leniency here and make it managable from MacOS. Ah well.

--- Post Merged, Aug 14, 2019 at 6:17 PM ---

Yeah, it's a novelty thing, really. They really did do a nice job with the Wallet interface, though. While my Citi app is very useful and offers immediate alerts with every charge, it doesn't quite have that level of polish.

 

The interface thing is overrated. I like the fact that individual transactions show the cash back rewards percentage in a discreet badge.

The color coding is ornamental and not practical. When you pay off the balance due, the Apple Card reverts to white. The color coding only reflects the purchases you have on your current balance.

I know it has reports for weekly and monthly spending but...

It only tracks the spend on that individual card. If I buy a $600 monitor on Card A (because that card has an extended warranty coverage), Apple Wallet doesn't include that in my spending breakdown.

Worse, the Apple Card has moronic categories. Purchases from grocery stores and restaurants are grouped together. At least in Quicken, Mint, etc., they can be separated. That's important for me because I consider dining out to be different than groceries. But Apple Card is brain damaged. The $80 bottle of wine you ordered last night at the restaurant with your $15 appetizer, $35 entrée and $15 dessert is dumped into the same category as the $3 loaf of bread you bought this morning at the corner grocery store.

Stupid.

I know a lot of Millenials might feel fine jumbling discretionary dining purchases with their household grocery staples, but hey, as far as I can tell looking at the Apple corporate website, Apple's senior management team is made up of Boomers and a few Gen Xers.

Essentially, Apple Wallet is telling users they bought stuff. When they pay off their card, they bought more stuff.

Apple Wallet isn't going to tell me the percentage of what I spent on the Apple Card compared to the rest of my spending, like mortgage/rent, property taxes, auto/home/health insurance, HOA dues, utilities (most of which are ACH transactions out of my checking account).

 

Yes. Now, you’re deflecting. You are one of those people who has to be right. You make up things to argue about.
I have excellent credit. This ain’t my first rodeo. There are several cards out there....each with their own advantages. The Apple Card has it’s place, too. Is it THE best? No.
But, you know what? You are right. Apple Card is the best. Hands down. You knew before anyone else. In the future...people will want to know how you knew. You are truly the smartest being in the universe. Period.
You just have to know how to use it! Your card, I mean?

 

It’s what I’ve been saying the entire thread.

--- Post Merged, Aug 14, 2019 at 7:28 PM ---

I disagree. The ApplePay 2% all over the world and no fees has benefits not to be overlooked. And the security and reporting with instant cash is very uniquely Apple.

I have many other cards too, but this goes into the rotation for sure.

--- Post Merged, Aug 14, 2019 at 7:29 PM ---

I stopped reading your post when you were sarcastic. I never said the Apple Card was the best card in the world.

 

Jesus, chill out man. I just said it looks nice. If you think it's bad or useless, maybe just move on? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

FYI

https://wallethub.com/d/apple-card-3221c/

 

https://www.mastercard.com/apple-card-mastercard-benefits.html

Slight correction to the benefits portion regarding purchase protection.

All benefits to Apple Card users including but not limited to "Zero Liability Protection", among other things.

 

Is this post for real?

 

I received my AC on Monday this week. I had purchased a new MBP 13 for my wife for pickup in DE on Wednesday. Once I got to the Apple Store I asked to change the payment method, which a specialist accomplished easily. I place the purchase using Apple Pay with the AC and now I will get a 3% cash rebate on that purchase. The rebate should show up today.

 

Not sure what you mean by recurring? Suppose you buy a $100 iTunes gift card for $85, you redeem the code and $100 is tied to your Apple account. Now every time your iCloud gets renewed, $3 gets deducted from your balance. If you make an iTunes movie purchase, $20 gets deducted. So you basically replenish your amount when your balance is running low. I usually keep $200 at a time since it allows me to purchase apps and iCloud and Apple Music at a 15% discount. This is in addition to the extra 1 point or 1% you get if you use a credit card to buy the gift card.

 

Exactly! From the look itself, it looks like the skins from slickwraps but I don't see black color option. That's the most interesting whole back decal sticker looking thing. Tell us please?

 

I just meant a monthly charge. So you can buy one gift card, use the same card number, and just continuously replenish that card at a 15% discount?

 

I'm not getting notifications for purchases. Maybe a glitch with iOS 13?
They are turned on in Notifications and for the card in the Wallet app.

 

No say you buy an iTunes gift card ($25, $50, $100), you scratch off the back of the card and it gives you an alphanumeric code, like AF234AFSDFS. Go to the iTunes Store on your iPhone, scroll all the way down, hit redeem, and enter your code. Now you have $100 worth of iTunes/App Store credit.

Suppose you buy $100 worth of movies, they actually cost you "$85" since you got the gift card at a discount. If your balance runs low, you buy a new gift card, scratch off the back, and add it to your account. There is no virtual or physical gift card that you hang on to, the monetary value gets tied to your Apple account once redeemed.

The 15% sales are random so when the sale hits, make sure you buy enough to hold you over until the next sale.

 

We don't have metal cards here in India, so this looks very sexy and sleek.