Apple’s Credit Card – Simple & Simply Explained

   

I don’t know if I’ve ever mentioned it before, but I’m a big Apple fan. I like their products mainly because they are simple, and I’m Simple Money Man, so it makes sense.

Apart from simplicity, in my experience, Apple products are durable, efficient, and intuitive.

And I understand that folks who specialize in Information Technology argue that Apple products limit customization, but I haven’t found myself needing to customize my smart phone, it’s pretty smart as is.

Furthermore, I’ve found in prior experience with a different phone manufacturer that quantity in terms of added features and customizable options sometimes compromises the quality of operation within a product or device.

Admittedly, I don’t get too excited when Apple releases a new phone because I don’t see myself spending hundreds of dollars to upgrade. However, Apple’s Special Event on March 25, 2019, focused on services, not products. Among those services, Apple’s CEO Tim Cook introduced Apple Card, which is free to sign-up for ofcourse like all credit cards.  

This is the first-ever credit card introduced by Apple. Even though it won’t be available until summer 2019, I’d like to go explain what I’ve learned about Apple Card so far.

Some Benefits of Apple Card

Even though some of these benefits you can find with other cards, I’m still categorizing them as benefits since they incentivize a cardholder.  The benefits of Apple Card are:

  • Users can sign up directly on their iPhone to get the card.
  • It offers worldwide usage.
  • It can be used on any Apple device.
  • Users can earn cash rewards immediately that Apple calls “daily cash”. You get 2% of the purchase amount anywhere it is accepted and 3% from purchases directly from Apple like, for example, apps or items from the Apple Store.  
  • Its technology provides transparency and personal financial education:
    • Including deciding how much interest you are willing to pay with a simple interactive tool that instantly calculates interest for you.
    • How much you’ve spent where and on what in daily, weekly, and monthly formats using customizable dashboards that are color-coded and simple to understand
  • There are no late, annual, international or over-limit fees. This could be good or bad, depending on your usage and payment habits.
  • The physical card does not have a credit card number, CVV code, expiration or signature line on it. This card offers only 1% daily cash when used.
  • The card app only provides the last 4 digits of the number and you can actually change it later yourself if, for example, you have to give the card number to someone and then later need to change the card number.
  • Every payment is authenticated with touch ID or face ID.
  • Purchases are private in that they are not stored on Apple’s servers. They are only on your device.
  • Location where expenses were incurred can be seen via Apple Maps in case you may be unable to recognize transactions.
  • Apple and its service providers, MasterCard and Goldman Sachs say they won’t sell your information to other advertisers.

Some Drawbacks of Apple Card

As with anything, there are benefits and then there are drawbacks. Here are some:

  • Signing up and keeping track of yet another card (unless you plan to cancel an existing card).
  • 2% cash back is ok, but some credit cards offer up to 5% cash back on certain purchases at certain times during the year.
  • With the physical card, it can still be stolen and used by others. You would need to cancel it out.
  • Interest rates are 13-24%, which are not particularly attractive.
  • If you’re an Android user, it doesn’t make sense to even have a physical Apple Card because of the loss of benefits.
  • Many places don’t offer you the ability to use Apple Pay and “If consumers can’t consistently use a tool, they tend not to want to use it,” said Thad Peterson, a senior analyst at The Aite Group.

Check out Apple Card’s introduction and all of the features as presented in the March 25, 2019 keynote:

Big Unknown and Known

There is still a big unknown of how well Apple Card will actually operate once it’s released. What is known is that there are well over a billion active Apple devices in the world so the potential for people signing up for Apple Card is huge.

This Could Work For Me & Others

I use credit cards to take advantage of points/rewards. I use three different cards for different spending categories so I can lessen my review time when reconciling.

If I decide to use this card, I would like for it to be my primary credit card and have just maybe one other credit card, for back-up purposes just in case.

One of my favorite aspects would be the integration with the iPhone and the presentation of personal financial data. From experiencing Apple, I expect both to be simple and seamless.

I’ll have to see if the same card can be used on two different iPhones, mine and my wife’s. From listening to the keynote, it’s not clear whether you not you can do this. If not, I could consider it a drawback for me and other couples or families who share cards.  

As mentioned earlier Vice President of Apple Pay, Jennifer Bailey stated Apple Card will coming to the Wallet App in the U.S. this summer.

Finally, I’d like to disclose that I own Apple shares and am strongly considering purchasing some more shares in the near future. However, I’m not affiliated with Apple in any other way. I’m not recommending Apple shares in this post and recommend that you consult investment professionals before making investment decisions.

Bonus Apple Recommendation: my wife got Air Pods for my birthday and I absolutely love them and would recommend them to others. They are super-easy to set-up and use. I use them almost every day when at the gym for music and podcasts, as well as other times for streaming video on my iPhone.

Join The Discussion:

  1. Are you a fan of Apple products?
  2. What are your favorite/most used apps?
  3. Do you think the Apple Card will be widely used?

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