The Apple Card Mastercard Review
Rating: 3.5/5
Pros:
3% Daily Cash Back on purchases from Apple and select few retailers
2% Daily Cash Back when you pay with iPhone or Apple Pay with the Apple Card
No fees at all
Tools to help mitigate interest costs and maintaining responsible spending
Titanium construction
Cons:
Very Apple-specific spending rules to get cash back
No balance transfers (either that or I can’t find it)
Backed by Goldman Sachs
Intro and Author’s Note
Let me put it out there now: I’m not a big fan of Goldman Sachs and their role in the economic crisis of 2008 after their subprime lending and then receiving $10B from the bailout. However, they have since admitted their wrongdoings and has since agreed to pay $5B for their role.
Having said that, I think the Apple Card and its no-fee approach is a breath of fresh air to new users and existing credit card holders. The tools that they also provide to mitigate interest charges and promoting responsible spending (please note this is objective) is something that I feel all credit card issuers could learn from, so let’s take a look at what the Apple Card has to offer.
The Apple Card Mastercard
When the Apple Card first came out you were only able to apply for the card through iOS (now you can apply through apple.com) which limited a lot of potential applicants, but at the same time I can see why Apple used this approach as the card’s benefits are highly geared towards Apple product owners - pretty much only Apple products owners.
My experience to obtain the card was pretty easy, just open the wallet app, answer a couple of questions, and I got my approval right away. It seemed that the physical card was a free option (not mandatory) but even if it’s a novelty, the titanium card is pretty good looking, and in the world of metal credit cards, it doesn’t hurt to add to the collection.
Having the Apple Card also gives you the option to take a 0% financing for purchases through Apple Store and apple.com, and depending on the purchase, there appears to be 6 months to 24 month payment terms. Not a bad deal, you should always take 0% if offered in my opinion.
Due dates are always at the end of the month, so you don’t have to juggle around what days which cards are due each month. For experienced CC users you should always set your autopay to pay the card off each month, but for those who manually track their due dates and payments, this makes it a whole lot easier.
Earned Cash Back Rates
3% Daily Cash Back
On everything you buy from Apple when you use your Apple Card with Apple Pay, and select retailers:
Apple, Duane Reade, Exxon, Mobil, Nike, Panera, T-Mobile, Uber, Uber Eats, Walgreens
2% Daily Cash Back
On everything you buy when you use your Apple Card with Apple Pay
Daily Cash Back Apple Cash
Cashback comes in the form of instant cash back on the Apple Cash app
Fees and Rates
Annual Fee: $0
No annual fee on the Apple Card - in fact, Apple has no fees, over limit, foreign transaction, or late fees.
Rates: 10.99% - 21.99% APR
This offering is slightly better than most credit cards out there starting from 15.99%+.
Benefits
The interface
The only major benefit for the Apple Card is the ability to real-time check your Card Balance, Weekly Activity in the form of a graph, Payment Due, and view your latest transactions right from the Wallet app without having to log in to any 3rd party apps. Also directly within the app you can send a message or call Apple for any questions, schedule your payments, view your monthly installment details, view your card details, credit details, and much more. You can even request to have the card number changed, as the physical card does not come with any details printed on the card except for your name.
Speaking of the card itself, the card comes in a nicely packed soft touch cardboard insert in typical Apple fashion, finished in the traditional Apple white color. The card is made of titanium with the Apple, Goldman Sachs, and the Mastercard logo etched. There’s no place to sign the card, and your name is printed on the front - very minimalistic, very Apple. Maybe a little too nice looking, as the soft finish on the metal card seems to be prone to scratches real easily.
Now let’s talk about the app’s interface - the card’s interface is designed to help responsible spending and mitigate the interest charges. In the payments widget, you’ll see a circular graph showing your total balance relative to your total credit, The interesting bit here is that there is a slider that shows you how much interest you’d be paying if you paid x amount. Since interest is calculated on a daily basis, you’re able to see how much exact interest you’d be paying if you made a payment at any given time. As I’ve said before, if you are an experienced credit card user, you should never carry a balance over to the next statement, but sometimes it just isn’t possible, especially during these hard times.
Spending Strategy and Conclusion
My recommendation is to limit your usage of this card to only places that take Apple Pay and only on Apple products IF this is not your only credit card, as there are plenty of other options to gain points and bonus cash back out there. However, if this is your only credit card, I think the intuitive interface and ease-of-use will help put new credit card users on the right track responsible spending.
The Apple Card Mastercard is a good choice for those who are immersed in the Apple ecosystem and has good cashback when available, along with being able to finance at 0% for Apple products. However, the restrictions it poses along with the limited retailers that do not take Apple Pay makes it a tough choice to recommend for all users.
