The Apple credit card came out a few weeks ago and the coverage has been abysmal. After reading two articles in the mainstream news, I still had no idea what the basic features of the Apple Credit Card were. One Yahoo post focused on superficial aspects like “sign-up is easy” and “it looks cool.” Nothing about the actual card features, which I want to get into in this post. Here are some of the most notable features of the Apple Card:
1. It’s a digital card…and also titanium
It wouldn’t be an Apple Card if it was just plain plastic. While Apple is promoting their credit card as a “digital” product that lives in your iPhone Wallet app, there is also a titanium version if you like impressing cashiers with a fancy card.
2. Better security
Security is a big selling point of the Apple Card, but I don’t know that all the features (Face ID, Touch ID, etc.) are that reassuring.
But what’s interesting about the physical card is that it has no numbers at all, making it more secure. Considering the number of times I’ve been hacked this year, I’m all for it.
3. It earns up to 3% cash back
Apple cardholders earn 3% cash back on Apple purchases, including in-store, online, through iTunes and the App Store. You’ll also earn 2% cash back on all purchases made via Apple Pay and 1% back on everything else. Kind of a snoozefest if you ask me, but I’m sure some members of the Apple cult are very excited.
4. Rewards are issued daily
This one caught my attention: Unlike with most other credit cards, you don’t have to wait until the end of a billing cycle to get your rewards. When using the titanium card, you get “Daily Cash”, which are your cash back earnings deposited into your Apple Cash balance. Daily.
That’s incredibly valuable if you’re manufacturing spend and want your rewards quickly to cover fees, travel expenses or anything in between.
5. The card has no fees, except that it does
Apple claims the card has “No fees. Really.” That’s not entirely true. While the card has no annual, cash advance, over-the-limit or late fees, it does have interest fees. Apple claims its goal is to “provide interest rates that are among the lowest in the industry.” However, the fine print lists a range of 12.99% – 23.99%. Sounds pretty standard to me.
That being said, I’ll give Apple credit for emphasizing financial responsibility with a nifty interest fee calculator. Input your payment amount and Apple will tell you how much of your payment will go towards interest fees.
Ideally, we should all be paying off our credit cards every month, but the reality is a lot of people don’t. At least with this feature, there’s a clear indication of the financial penalty that comes with carrying a balance.
6. Customer service via text
Every credit card company out there needs to take note: Most of us don’t even like talking on the phone with our friends and family. We definitely don’t want to spend precious time chatting with poorly-trained customer service reps who keep us on hold forever or attempting to communicate with non-functioning chatbots.
Apple gets it right by introducing customer service via text. Let’s make this a new thing Chase/Amex/Citi/Bank of America/U.S. Bank.
7. The payment due date is easy to remember
Payments are due on the last day of the month, which is easy to remember and convenient. I keep a spreadsheet of credit card statement closing and due dates. It would be a lot simpler if all of my card payments were due at the end of the month.
8. Apple’s weird care instructions
Like all of its products, Apple is trying to distinguish this credit card from the herd. It’s new, different, revolutionary…and it can’t touch other fabrics. Apple has an entire support page dedicated to care instructions for the Apple Card. Among them is a warning not to let the card come into contact with “some fabrics, like leather and denim” because they “might cause permanent discoloration that will not wash off.”
They do realize most of their customer base consists of denim-wearing yuppies, right?
Should you get the Apple Card?
The most notable feature of the Apple card, from a rewards perspective, is that rewards are issued daily. It also functions as a 2% cash back card, assuming you shop with merchants that accept Apple Pay.
Both Staples and Office Depot accept Apple Pay and frequently run discounted gift card promotions. Using your Apple Card would come in handy because you’d earn 2% cash back through Apple Pay. It would be ideal if Apple Pay purchases also earned Daily Cash, because then using this card for manufactured spending would be pretty ideal.
Back when I still had a Barclay Arrival Plus Card, my favorite feature was getting my rewards as soon as the transaction posted. That instant gratification is definitely preferable to waiting a month for points to post, and another 2-3 months for shopping portals to pay out the cash back I earned.
Is it reason enough to pick up an Apple Card? No. This is really a card for the masses and I don’t anticipate a need for it unless, maybe, Simon Mall starts accepting Apple Pay. That being said, it does have some pretty nice features that I would love to see rolled out by other banks: Mainly customer service via text and better security.
Are you going to apply for the Apple Card?
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