dangw20

The Wall Street Journal reported on a new credit card that Apple and Goldman Sachs plan to offer later this year. Didn't see anything posted on Flyertalk yet.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/apple-g...ne-11550750400

Not sure how popular it will be with people on this forum based on this section:
"The Apple Pay card will use Mastercard Inc.’s payment network, which is the second-largest in the U.S. after Visa Inc., some of the people said. Cardholders will earn cash back of about 2% on most purchases and potentially more on Apple gadgets and services, some of the people said.

Banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co. have spent heavily to lure cardholders with travel points, airport lounge access and other generous perks. Neither Apple nor Goldman is eager to join that race, people familiar with the project have said. Instead, the companies are betting that Apple customers will use the card because it is better integrated into the iPhone."

Let's wait and see when the official details are announced. 2% isn't bad but with several cards offering that now, that alone won't be reason for people to switch to this card. One positive is that it is offered by Goldman Sachs so it's an opportunity to diversify your credit card portfolio. However if it is offering 2% or less cashback with no bonus categories it will not bring anything new to the mile and points game. Not sure if the 'integration into the iPhone' will outweigh the average/below average.

tmiw

I'm more wondering why they're thinking of going away from Barclaycard. Or is this going to be an additional card offered along with their existing one?

That said, considering that the younger crowd aren't big fans of credit in general, the supposed budgeting features might be more of a draw than any rewards that would be offered.

davidlhanson

EasternTraveler

Because they won't be in competition, they will not be a contender for my use. Then again, never saw any value in the existing Apple card. Yes, I buy Apple.

sdix

So you won't be able to buy an Apple product with an Apple MC at Costco.......... Since Costco is one of Apple's largest resellers this seems like a weird choice.

baroqen

I don't think Apple could "win" with any type of card anyway, they're simply in the wrong segment. Better integrated with Apple? What could they possibly do that would actually be meaningful that doesn't already exist? Aside from making it easier/cheaper to use points to buy Apple products directly from the store which really isn't all that exciting to 99.99% of anyone anyway. Short of something like free AppleCare when used to by Apple directly from the store (highly unlikely) or perhaps a bigger default iCloud storage (Still pretty unlikely) I can't see much that would be especially appealing to any but the most die-hard fans...

A 2% cashback card is actually decent and this would appeal to that particular niche. Any bonus via Apple would just be icing. It would be a reasonably competitive cash back card for the people who prefer cash-back cards. I'm a pretty big Apple product consumer, but I doubt even I would get this card unless Apple somehow innovates this space.... which is unlikely. This is probably not high on Tim Cook's radar. Sachs probably approached Apple with favorable terms and Apple is just flowing with it.

mia

I believe they mean better integration with Apple Pay. I think this is about boosting their payment processing business rather than selling electronics.

fliesdelta

What aspects of the integration with Apple Pay could be better than any other credit card?

mia

I do not have a WSJ subscription and have not read the original article, but see here:

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/wh...chs-2019-02-23

akr1970akr

Even though this may not be appealing at all to people here, there are some network effects that Apple might exploit.

A lot of people have their phone, and trust the company.

The real question: what sort of SUB will they offer!!

tmiw

I suspect very little in the way of cash back or points, especially if there's no AF; the card seems geared more towards non-churners, after all. We'll see in any case.

baroqen

My thoughts exactly. I read the article, but those "features" really don't seem very compelling or even particularly different than what is available from other cards. Maybe Apple can actually innovate this space somehow, but I currently don't have any dissatisfaction with the existing processes. With the early smartphones there was always a feeling of, "wish it could be faster (they're superfast now), bigger screen (screens are plenty big now), easier to log in/authenticate (resolved by TouchID), etc". With the features that they mentioned... I'd say most people either don't use it (spending limits/goals) or feel the process is acceptable enough (credit card apps and portals).

Come on, surprise me Apple! Make me want to run into the nearest Apple Store and shout out, "TAKE MY MONEY!"

tmiw

During today's presentation, Apple announced that their new card gives 2% cash back when using it with Apple Pay and 3% for Apple purchases. The cash back also apparently gets added to your Apple Pay Cash account immediately rather than at the end of the statement period.

Also, it's going to have no FTF, though a specific travel card might be better if you're going to use it overseas. (On the other hand, NFC is more widely accepted outside the US, so this card might very well be profitable for the right people.)

EDIT: 1% cash back for purchases with the physical card. I guess Apple had to provide one considering how many merchants still don't support NFC here.

Noctilum

Also:

Apple Card does not have late fees, annual fees, international fees, or over-limit fees. No fees.
There is a physical Apple Card too. No card number. No CVV security code. No expiration date. No signature. Apparently it is titanium - not sure if that means the color or it is a metal card.
Everything is managed from your device.

tmiw

I feel like a no-AF card actually made out of titanium would be unrealistic, but who knows?