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This is a nice card for beginners to credit cards but I don't anticipate a lot of uptake by consumers familiar with the Uber Barclays or Chase 2% cards.

currymj 8y ago
do those have privacy features, and do they promise not to share your purchasing history? (not intended as rhetorical question, if you are a credit card nerd maybe you know of cards that can compete with Apple in this area.) i care about that far more than rewards.
- abtinf 8y ago
  Their privacy assertions are very ambiguous. Apple can’t see your data, but Goldman Sachs can. Apple says GS won’t use it for marketing, but there are many non-marketing commercial uses for the data.
  - currymj 8y ago
    this is true but I am okay with GS having my data and using it for their own nefarious schemes; I am bothered by the idea that it may be shared promiscuously with dozens of data brokers and companies in a personally identifiable form.
    - abtinf 8y ago
      That’s just it—the way they describe it, they can use it for nefarious schemes, except marketing.
  - GeekyBear 8y ago
    After Google announced it is buying most consumer's credit card transaction data, privacy promises are something we should all be looking for. >Google has been able to track your location using Google Maps for a long time. Since 2014, it has used that information to provide advertisers with information on how often people visit their stores. But store visits aren’t purchases, so, as Google said in a blog post on its new service for marketers, it has partnered with “third parties” that give them access to 70 percent of all credit and debit card purchases. https://www.technologyreview.com/s/607938/google-now-tracks-your-credit-card-purchases-and-connects-them-to-its-online-profile-of-you/ https://www.technologyreview.com/s/607938/google-now-tracks-...
- tdurden 8y ago
  The privacy features are interesting. Unless 100% of my transactions go through the Apple Card or cash though, I am not sure it actually means anything.
oddity 8y ago
Can you elaborate? I’m not familiar with these. What are the pros/cons? As for the Apple Card, I’ve been fairly dismissive of most of Apple’s recent products, but this is the most interested I’ve been in an Apple product since the iPhone. It feels like a similar situation: a “device” that seems simpler to use than existing offerings leveraged off of a partnership with a company that has nothing to lose by playing along with Apple’s game. It might not be the best card offering in terms of features, but it seems like a solid choice for the masses.
- gaogao 8y ago
  Uber has a fairly solid 4% cashback on restraunts, plus some high percentages on hotels and online shopping.
- kevindong 8y ago
  Apple is acting as though their rewards is the most generous reward system ever, period. In reality, it is not even close. For instance, you can trivially get 2% cashback on all purchases (regardless of whether you're using Apple Pay or not) without annual fees: - Citi Double Cash: unlimited 2% back on everything; regardless of payment method; no annual fee - Fidelity Rewards: unlimited 2% back on everything; regardless of payment method; no annual fee --- 2% is the minimum you should earn on any credit card purchase. There are a bunch of generous rewards cards that offer special cashback rates on certain categories. For instance, the US Bank Cash+ card [0] lets you pick two categories to get 5% cashback on, albeit you're limited to $2,000 in spending per quarter. After that $2,000, you only accrue 1% back. One of the categories is 'Electronics Stores', which includes Apple. In other words, you can get 5% back on Apple purchases (on up to $2,000/quarter in purchases) while the Apple Card offers unlimited 3% back on Apple purchases. There is no annual fee for this card. The Uber Visa card [1] gets you 4% back on dining and 3% back on hotels/flights with no annual fee. The Chase Freedom and Discover it cards both have rotating 5% categories (subject to a $1,500 per quarter maximum spend) without annual fees. Meaning, you get 5% back on specific categories on each card which change every quarter. In 2018, the Chase Freedom card had gas stations, internet/cable/phone, Google/Apple Pay, grocery stores, PayPal, gas stations, Lyft, Walgreens, department stores, and wholesale clubs as some of their rotating categories [2]. Also in 2018, Discover had gas stations, wholesale clubs, grocery stores, restaurants, and Amazon as their categories [3]. Admittedly, I believe most of the banks named above charge the "normal" fees that Apple has stated they will not be charging (i.e. penalty APR rates, late fees, etc.). But in reality, responsible users of credit cards were never going to pay those kinds of fees anyway. [0]: https://cashplus.usbank.com/merchants/index https://cashplus.usbank.com/merchants/index [1]: https://www.uber.com/c/uber-credit-card/ https://www.uber.com/c/uber-credit-card/ [2]: https://thetravelsisters.com/chase-freedom-categories-2018-calendar/ https://thetravelsisters.com/chase-freedom-categories-2018-c... [3]: https://awardwallet.com/blog/discover-5-categories-calendar-2018/ https://awardwallet.com/blog/discover-5-categories-calendar-...

currymj 8y ago

do those have privacy features, and do they promise not to share your purchasing history? (not intended as rhetorical question, if you are a credit card nerd maybe you know of cards that can compete with Apple in this area.) i care about that far more than rewards.

abtinf 8y ago
Their privacy assertions are very ambiguous. Apple can’t see your data, but Goldman Sachs can. Apple says GS won’t use it for marketing, but there are many non-marketing commercial uses for the data.
- currymj 8y ago
  this is true but I am okay with GS having my data and using it for their own nefarious schemes; I am bothered by the idea that it may be shared promiscuously with dozens of data brokers and companies in a personally identifiable form.
  - abtinf 8y ago
    That’s just it—the way they describe it, they can use it for nefarious schemes, except marketing.
- GeekyBear 8y ago
  After Google announced it is buying most consumer's credit card transaction data, privacy promises are something we should all be looking for. >Google has been able to track your location using Google Maps for a long time. Since 2014, it has used that information to provide advertisers with information on how often people visit their stores. But store visits aren’t purchases, so, as Google said in a blog post on its new service for marketers, it has partnered with “third parties” that give them access to 70 percent of all credit and debit card purchases. https://www.technologyreview.com/s/607938/google-now-tracks-your-credit-card-purchases-and-connects-them-to-its-online-profile-of-you/ https://www.technologyreview.com/s/607938/google-now-tracks-...
tdurden 8y ago
The privacy features are interesting. Unless 100% of my transactions go through the Apple Card or cash though, I am not sure it actually means anything.

oddity 8y ago

Can you elaborate? I’m not familiar with these. What are the pros/cons? As for the Apple Card, I’ve been fairly dismissive of most of Apple’s recent products, but this is the most interested I’ve been in an Apple product since the iPhone. It feels like a similar situation: a “device” that seems simpler to use than existing offerings leveraged off of a partnership with a company that has nothing to lose by playing along with Apple’s game. It might not be the best card offering in terms of features, but it seems like a solid choice for the masses.

gaogao 8y ago
Uber has a fairly solid 4% cashback on restraunts, plus some high percentages on hotels and online shopping.
kevindong 8y ago
Apple is acting as though their rewards is the most generous reward system ever, period. In reality, it is not even close. For instance, you can trivially get 2% cashback on all purchases (regardless of whether you're using Apple Pay or not) without annual fees: - Citi Double Cash: unlimited 2% back on everything; regardless of payment method; no annual fee - Fidelity Rewards: unlimited 2% back on everything; regardless of payment method; no annual fee --- 2% is the minimum you should earn on any credit card purchase. There are a bunch of generous rewards cards that offer special cashback rates on certain categories. For instance, the US Bank Cash+ card [0] lets you pick two categories to get 5% cashback on, albeit you're limited to $2,000 in spending per quarter. After that $2,000, you only accrue 1% back. One of the categories is 'Electronics Stores', which includes Apple. In other words, you can get 5% back on Apple purchases (on up to $2,000/quarter in purchases) while the Apple Card offers unlimited 3% back on Apple purchases. There is no annual fee for this card. The Uber Visa card [1] gets you 4% back on dining and 3% back on hotels/flights with no annual fee. The Chase Freedom and Discover it cards both have rotating 5% categories (subject to a $1,500 per quarter maximum spend) without annual fees. Meaning, you get 5% back on specific categories on each card which change every quarter. In 2018, the Chase Freedom card had gas stations, internet/cable/phone, Google/Apple Pay, grocery stores, PayPal, gas stations, Lyft, Walgreens, department stores, and wholesale clubs as some of their rotating categories [2]. Also in 2018, Discover had gas stations, wholesale clubs, grocery stores, restaurants, and Amazon as their categories [3]. Admittedly, I believe most of the banks named above charge the "normal" fees that Apple has stated they will not be charging (i.e. penalty APR rates, late fees, etc.). But in reality, responsible users of credit cards were never going to pay those kinds of fees anyway. [0]: https://cashplus.usbank.com/merchants/index https://cashplus.usbank.com/merchants/index [1]: https://www.uber.com/c/uber-credit-card/ https://www.uber.com/c/uber-credit-card/ [2]: https://thetravelsisters.com/chase-freedom-categories-2018-calendar/ https://thetravelsisters.com/chase-freedom-categories-2018-c... [3]: https://awardwallet.com/blog/discover-5-categories-calendar-2018/ https://awardwallet.com/blog/discover-5-categories-calendar-...