4 ms·

I see the opposite. Apple has no choice but to tackle some aspects of finance because existing banking is so predatory. So far each component they’ve taken on

I see the opposite. Apple has no choice but to tackle some aspects of finance because existing banking is so predatory. So far each component they’ve taken on has set new expectations unseen in consumer banking. Notably privacy of purchase history and shared credit history between couples who share a credit card.

breck 4y ago
It's dangerous though. If you hit a problem you leave Apple world and are routed to GS. I was loving the card then went through the worst customer support experience of my life (literally almost cost us our mortgage b/c they ended up filing a mark against our perfect credit, for a $4.99 WaPost charge I disputed, until finally an email to the big man Timmy himself landed and some deputy called us and got it settled—god bless her). So maybe they've fixed all of that, but it was a year long customer service nightmare
- voakbasda 4y ago
  Were you in the process of closing? I can’t imagine a scenario where a $5 dispute would cause problems with an established loan.
  - breck 4y ago
    Yes. I mean it was the first time I had been in that situation, so maybe the mortgage was never in jeopardy. I just remember coming home to a message from our banker asking about a negative report from an Apple card and freaking out until Apple/Goldman withdrew it.
- bredren 4y ago
  Thanks for sharing this. I'd say its a lot of responsibility to get right, but not necessarily dangerous. And fwiw, I've seen old, established banks make reports that are objectively incorrect but then do everything possible to avoid fixing it. On something like this, though, I'm glad you were able to get an email routed down from TC. I had multiple instances of this with matters addressed to Bezos but never with Apple.
  - breck 4y ago
    > I had multiple instances of this with matters addressed to Bezos but never with Apple. If I was a hedge fund manager I would do a fund where we go long all companies that have a [ceoName]@[company.com] and short all companies that don't. In my experience the former have crushed it (apple and amzn being 2 obvious ones) and vice versa.
scarface74 4y ago
With my new digital nomad life, flying across the US and staying in hotels, I’ve literally researched every credit card offered by all of the major banks except some of the ones aimed at people building there credit. Just for context for those who aren’t in the US travel reward credit cards game, between churning (https://www.forbes.com/advisor/credit-cards/what-is-credit-card-churning/ https://www.forbes.com/advisor/credit-cards/what-is-credit-c...) and earning based on spend is a great way to get free trips and hotels. That being said, the Apple Card is meh in every way and far inferior to Amex as far as customer service, the application user experience, rewards, etc. The Apple Card is just a cobranded Goldman Sachs card. It’s the opposite of when Apple is at its best - when it owns the entire experience. Amex owns the credit card, the processing network, and doesn’t do but one or two deals with outside banks. The perks from being in the Amex ecosystem are vast. Once you have one card with Amex, they don’t even do a hard credit pull most of the time.

breck 4y ago

It's dangerous though. If you hit a problem you leave Apple world and are routed to GS. I was loving the card then went through the worst customer support experience of my life (literally almost cost us our mortgage b/c they ended up filing a mark against our perfect credit, for a $4.99 WaPost charge I disputed, until finally an email to the big man Timmy himself landed and some deputy called us and got it settled—god bless her). So maybe they've fixed all of that, but it was a year long customer service nightmare

voakbasda 4y ago
Were you in the process of closing? I can’t imagine a scenario where a $5 dispute would cause problems with an established loan.
- breck 4y ago
  Yes. I mean it was the first time I had been in that situation, so maybe the mortgage was never in jeopardy. I just remember coming home to a message from our banker asking about a negative report from an Apple card and freaking out until Apple/Goldman withdrew it.
bredren 4y ago
Thanks for sharing this. I'd say its a lot of responsibility to get right, but not necessarily dangerous. And fwiw, I've seen old, established banks make reports that are objectively incorrect but then do everything possible to avoid fixing it. On something like this, though, I'm glad you were able to get an email routed down from TC. I had multiple instances of this with matters addressed to Bezos but never with Apple.
- breck 4y ago
  > I had multiple instances of this with matters addressed to Bezos but never with Apple. If I was a hedge fund manager I would do a fund where we go long all companies that have a [ceoName]@[company.com] and short all companies that don't. In my experience the former have crushed it (apple and amzn being 2 obvious ones) and vice versa.

scarface74 4y ago

With my new digital nomad life, flying across the US and staying in hotels, I’ve literally researched every credit card offered by all of the major banks except some of the ones aimed at people building there credit. Just for context for those who aren’t in the US travel reward credit cards game, between churning (https://www.forbes.com/advisor/credit-cards/what-is-credit-card-churning/ https://www.forbes.com/advisor/credit-cards/what-is-credit-c...) and earning based on spend is a great way to get free trips and hotels. That being said, the Apple Card is meh in every way and far inferior to Amex as far as customer service, the application user experience, rewards, etc. The Apple Card is just a cobranded Goldman Sachs card. It’s the opposite of when Apple is at its best - when it owns the entire experience. Amex owns the credit card, the processing network, and doesn’t do but one or two deals with outside banks. The perks from being in the Amex ecosystem are vast. Once you have one card with Amex, they don’t even do a hard credit pull most of the time.