All Apple purchases (hardware and software) will earn you a nice 3% cash back, while Apple Pay purchases from your iPhone, Apple Watch, Mac, or iPad will earn you 2% cash back, and all other purchases will earn you 1% cash back. The card has no yearly or foreign transaction fees, no late payment fees, and gives you access to your cash back the day after you make a purchase. It also has an accompanying app that helps you weigh the benefits of paying off your balance in installments.
You should be aware of a few dents and scratches in addition to its many positive features. You'll need to pull out your titanium Apple card when making a purchase at a merchant that doesn't support Apple Pay. Also, unlike most credit cards, you'll have to ask for the actual card once you're authorized. In addition, the plastic card only earns 1% cash back on all purchases.
In addition, the card's earnings structure isn't competitive in a market saturated with rewards cards for all but the tiniest subset of mobile-first users. In most cases, consumers will benefit more from switching to a card that delivers greater overall rewards than they would from sticking with Apple Pay.
Apple Credit Card Compared to Other Options
For every Apple Card purchase made using an iPhone or Apple Watch, you'll receive a 2% rebate. Spending on anything else earns a 1% rebate.
Getting Your Rewards The Apple card's cash back benefits are called "Daily Cash," but you'll need an Apple Cash account to get the most out of them. Each day, your Apple Cash account will be updated with any winnings from using your Apple card. You can then put this money toward anything you like whenever you like:
Use Apple Pay to pay for something. Use Apple Cash to send money to loved ones via text message. Pay off your Apple credit card balance with it If you don't link your Apple Card to Apple Cash, your daily rewards will be accumulated and can only be redeemed by paying off your card amount.
Possibilities of Gain
We need to examine the bonus categories and estimate what a typical American family may spend in those areas to get an idea of the rewards potential of the Apple Card. Forbes Advisor compiles data from various government sources to calculate typical income and expenditures for its users. We budget based on the income of the 70th percentile of wage-earner households ($100,172).
When analyzing the Apple Card, we must also make some assumptions regarding user behavior. With Apple Pay, which is accepted at most stores, you may receive 2% back on every one of your transactions. Half of all purchases are assumed to be made using Apple Pay in our examples.
If you've been eyeing a new Apple smartphone and Chase provides quarterly bonus categories, including stores like Amazon, Target, and Walmart, the Flex is the superior choice. In addition, the Freedom Flex comes with a generous sign-up bonus of $200 after making $500 in purchases during the first three months of account setup. The Freedom Flex may offer many cardholders more benefits than the Apple Card in the long run. It is used by many people.
Additional Card Perks
Special No-Interest Payment Plans for Selected Apple Products: Put your purchases on layaway with the Apple Card and earn 3% cashback. It's the only card out there with sleek metal construction and titanium. Consider using a virtual card number to protect your privacy further when purchasing online.
Mutual access to Apple IDs among relatives. Partners can now combine their credit lines into a single account they both have access. One Apple Card can be shared among up to four users, provided all are at least 13 years old.
The Apple Card is a Mastercard, so it has all the perks that come with using the Mastercard network, such as using it for Mastercard Priceless experiences and getting ID theft protection and a 24-hour hotline if your card is ever lost or stolen.
Have You thought About Getting This Card?
While the Apple card's rewards program isn't the finest, it does include some perks that may encourage customers to make timely payments on their balances. There are many different rewards cards out there that don't charge an annual fee and also have attractive introductory APR periods and other incentives like this one. Just go with one of those alternatives instead of this dud.