this post was submitted on 28 Nov 2023
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Other than paying off my large Mac purchases over time, I've found very little use for this card in the wild.
Bank of America select cash back does 3% on all online purchases, including apple.
Chase freedom does 1.5% on everything. (which is a negligible difference from the 2% Apple Pay perk)
The combination really puts apple only perk as 0% APR.
I'm sure someone will vehemently tell me how wrong I am but, this is basically an in store credit card good for deferring payments only.
There are tons of flat 2% cards these days. Nerdwallet has some nice write ups. Apple card was always about convenience for iPhones, and 2% flat wasn’t as common when it launched
It's phenomenally useful as a card programmed conveniently into all my Apple devices and I use it nearly exclusively overseas, especially in Japan.
Citi Double Cash is also a no fee card that gets flat 2% back on everything.
The Apple Card just truly isn’t a competitive product for anything other than the 0% financing and 3% cash back at Apple, and even that isn’t particularly standout, as you mentioned.
I pretty much only use it where they don’t accept my Amex because I can at least get the Apple Pay Cash back
Personally - I like the UI of all the wallet and payment methods as well as how trivial it is to dispute and how smooth the process is.
It's something all providers should strive to be.
But raw perks relative to others? It's... standard. At best.
Amex has way better benefits for sure.
Although Apple gave me a HUGE amount on my card - like so much that if I were to max it out there's no way I could afford to pay it back. Helps me credit though, so I'm not complaining.
edit: Oh and the auto-transfer to savings is sexy as well as how trivial it is to add or withdraw.
The no foreign charge works really well for me though. I’m not in the States anymore.
Don’t forget purchase protections, extended warranties, point transfers, all of the bonus features provided by competitors even at 1.5% CB. Some offering more CB for other categories.
Apple Card didn’t have an advantage in any category other than convenience.
The only benefits Apple Card has that others might not is no foreign transactions fees on a no AF card, wider acceptance of MC than AMEX, ease of use in the Wallet app, and 0% financing with 3% cash back on Apple products.
I got it for Uber 3% cash back. Then the pandemic happened and I stopped taking rides. Then I got the Chase Reserve which has 3% cashback on all travel (including Uber) and 10% for Lyft. So now I just use it for app purchases. For buying Apple products themselves I buy Apple gift cards from Target at a 5% discount. So that's 5% cash back which beats what you are doing.
Love how people spin things. You say 2% is a negligible difference from 1.5%, but people will shoot you dead if you dare use the physical card to only get 1% (which is a negligible difference from 1.5%)
I say use what card works for you.