I never thought I would be reviewing a credit card, but when its an Apple product, and touted with iPhone-centric features, of course I have to take a look. I’ve spent a little over a week using my card, and I have to say, I am pretty damn impressed. Does the Apple Card offer better rewards than a normal card? No. Miles integration? No. Card for your spouse? No. Titanium physical card and unparalleled control from Apple Wallet? Yes.
Getting started with Apple Card is a breeze: to start, simply navigate to your Apple Wallet, and click the plus (+) symbol on the top right corner. Wallet will ask if you want to add a card, or sign up for Apple Card. Apple has teamed up with Goldman Sachs for this card, and its the little things such as the initial soft credit check, that make up a lot of the subtle improvements over a normal credit card. Once Goldman Sachs does your soft credit check, you’ll be offered a line of credit based off your approval alongside a matching interest rate. If you accept their offer, then Apple Card registers an inquiry on your credit, but if you turn it down, no inquiry and your credit is NOT impacted. My credit limit is the highest of my cards, but it was more than adequate for a daily use card, and my interest rate was decent as well.
Upon acceptance, the Apple Card is instantly in your wallet, and your physical card will arrive in five days or so after, and its glorious (more on that later). Apple Card can be used from the Wallet anywhere Apple Pay is accepted, and if you need a physical number for a site or app that doesn’t accept Apple Pay, you simply click on the three dots in the Wallet, and then click on Card Information. A simple Face ID or Touch ID verification, and you have all your pertinent card information, and can even request a new number if you need one. When using autofill for credit card info, Apple Card will even fill in its CCV or CCID for you after a biometric authentication.
Navigating the Apple Wallet’s screens for Apple Card is really the game-changer for this card. Every detail you are wanting or needing is there, including the ability to setup monthly payment arrangements, or pay early as I have been doing daily. When a transaction moves from pending to posted, you receive your Daily Cash to your Apple Cash card. This Cash can be used anywhere Apple Pay is accepted also, or even towards your payments on this card if you choose. For any transaction done with Apple, in the store or even on iTunes or the App Store, you get 3% daily cash back; for any non-Apple Apple Pay transaction, you get 2%; for all other transactions you get 1% (physical swipe or manually entering the number on a non-Apple Pay site). Apple sends you a push notice on your cash received, making the entire process very seamless.
The Apple Wallet info screen is chock-full of goodness for Apple Card besides the ability to pay, see your card info, and Apple Cash payments. You can see your daily spend, weekly spend and even monthly spend, and Apple breaks down everything by category; this ties directly to the card you see in the Wallet. The Apple Card changes color in Apple Wallet based off the categories you are spending on. It even mirrors this when you pay with it on Apple Watch. Everything you want and need is found on these screens, including the ability to freeze your card or order a replacement physical card. If you need customer services, click on the messaging icon on the info screen, and a business iMessage chat is opened directly in Messages. Very slick.
Apple Card’s physical card is no slouch either: its white Titanium and that’s just the beginning. No card number, just your name. Feels very elegant in your hand, much like an AMEX Black Card. Apple has already warned about the finish, so be careful keeping this with other cards touching or loose in jeans or any close that can stain the finish. Got a stain already? Clean it with microfiber and rubbing alcohol. No household cleaners.
Apple Card is a winner, and has already become my go-to daily spend card, replacing my debit card for my daily transactions. Getting the Apple Cash back daily seals it for me. As I said, I never thought I would be reviewing a credit card, but I felt compelled to do so. If Apple brings out the Apple Toilet, I’ll review that too. Fingers crossed.