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3.5 / 5
- 3% back on purchases with Apple and partner brands
- 2% back when using Apple Pay
- No fees
- Bad for carrying a balance
- Limited rewards appeal
Apple Card Review Verdict: The Apple Card is a rewarding option for people with good credit or better who regularly buy Apple products and services, as well as for iPhone, Mac and iWatch users who are comfortable making purchases using Apple Pay. Having the new Apple Credit Card from Goldman Sachs in your wallet doesn’t have to cost you a thing, considering the card’s $0 annual fee (and lack of other major fees). But it can help you save money with elite rewards rates of up to 2% – 3% on select purchases, as long as you pay the bill in full every month.
The Apple Credit Card is not a good choice for people who plan to carry a balance from month to month, thanks to an APR that could be anywhere from 12.49% to 23.49% (V), depending on an applicant’s creditworthiness. There are much better credit card rates available to people with the good-to-excellent credit needed to be eligible for Apple Card approval.
The Apple Card is not the best everyday credit card for the average person, either. As popular as the Apple brand is, having rewards so dependent on Apple-centric spending means the population it would work well for is a lot more limited than it would be for a Visa or Mastercard with above-average rewards on all purchases, for example.
That’s the short story. If you need more information about the offer before submitting an Apple Card application, we’ll break down its best and worst features in more detail below.
The Highlights
- 3% Cash Back with Apple & Apple Partners
Using the Apple Card to make purchases directly through Apple gets you 3% back on those purchases. That’s $60 on a $2,000 MacBook Pro, for example. The Apple Card’s 3% rewards rate also extends to purchases made with a select group of brands that have partnered with Apple. They include Uber, UberEATS, T-Mobile, Nike, Duane Reade and Walgreens.
To help put the Apple Card’s rewards rates in perspective, the average cash rewards credit card gives a bit more than 1% back on all purchases. However, some cards offer 5% back or even more in certain spending categories.
- 2% Cash Back Using Apple Pay
If you already use Apple Pay all the time, or you could easily commit to it, you’ll love this part of the Apple Card offer. The 2% cash back that you will earn using the Apple Card through Apple Pay is nearly double the market average, and a growing number of retailers accept Apple Pay. That makes the card worth using for more than just Apple-related spending.
But if you don’t plan on using Apple Pay much, that alone could tip the scales in favor of other rewards credit card offers.
- No Major Fees
The Apple Card has a $0 annual fee, a 0% foreign transaction fee, and zero other fees to worry about. Part of the reason for that is the Apple Card simply does not allow you to make certain transactions that would ordinarily come with a fee, such as balance transfers and cash advances. But still, not having to pay an annual fee itself will save you nearly $20 per year, compared to the average credit card offer.
Plus, without an annual fee to worry about, you won’t feel pressured into spending more than you ordinarily would or closing your account earlier than you’d like. This could in turn benefit your credit score, considering that account age is a contributing factor.
The Lowlights
- 1% Cash Back on Non-Apple Purchases
The Apple Card’s 1% base rewards-earning rate is not unusual. In fact, it’s just about average. That might not be a big issue on a card with broader bonus rewards categories – gas, groceries or travel, for example. But since so much of the Apple Card’s rewards value hinges on Apple-centric spending, getting average rewards on everything else figures to be more impactful than usual.
- Potential for a High Regular APR
Depending on your overall creditworthiness, the interest rate that you’re assigned could be anywhere from a low of 12.49% to 23.49% (V) at the most. The average credit card offer currently has a regular APR of roughly 19%. The average among credit cards for people with good credit is about 21%.
Many credit cards for people with good credit or better also offer 0% introductory APRs. The Apple Card does not.
In other words, don’t apply for the Apple Card unless you can pay your bill in full every month.
Other Things To Consider
- Metal Card Material
The Apple Card is made of titanium. Details such as the cardholder’s name and the Apple logo are etched into the card with a laser.
None of that makes the Apple Card more rewarding or less expensive. But those are distinctive flourishes that could make you feel pretty cool, at least. The same could be said of most metal credit cards, however, so it’s best to compare offers based on the rates, rewards and fees that figure to impact your bottom line the most.
- No Numbers on the Card
Fitting with the Apple brand, the card’s look and feel is sparse and sleek. It is plain white, with no account number, expiration date or CVV code listed on it. Not only is this aesthetically pleasing, but it could potentially keep you a bit safer from fraud. The less information about you and your finances that can fall into the hands of strangers, the better.
With that being said, all credit cards give users a $0 liability guarantee for unauthorized charges. That means you wouldn’t have to pay for fraudulent purchases anyway.
- Daily Cash and Easy Redemption
Instead of having to wait up to several days for rewards earned on a purchase to be credited to your account, the Apple Card’s cash rewards clear to you on a daily basis. And you can redeem for a statement credit toward your account balance at any time.
- Assorted Apple Card Benefits
The Apple Card makes mobile account management easy with functionality built right into the wallet app on Apple phones, computers and wearables. There’s color-coding to help you keep track of purchases by category, for example, along with estimated interest charges to encourage paying off more of your balance each month. Plus, cardholders won’t always have to hold onto their card, or at least bring it everywhere, considering that a lot of Apple Card purchases can be made directly from a mobile device.
In addition, the Apple Card allows iPhone users to ask customer service questions via text message. It automatically provides users with a virtual card number to use when making online purchases from retailers that don’t accept Apple Pay through Safari browser. And having the card gives you the opportunity to take advantage of an interest-free installment plan if you decide to purchase a new iPhone.
Compared To The Competition
The Apple Card isn’t the only credit card that can help you save on Apple products. With that in mind, we’ll show you how the Apple Rewards Card compares to some of its stiffest competition in terms of both rewards and financing capabilities. You can find the results in the following table.
Apple Card vs Other Popular Cards:
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