A new iOS user here as I got my first iOS phone a few days ago (iphone 16 pro). I also do not see any special soup here in Apple products (Apple pay, iOS devices, etc) 
The Apple products are way overpriced and some of their features are deal-breaker vs Andorid. It is not possibe to increase the storage with a simple SD card (the price difference between 125GB to 1TB of internal storage is $500, which should be only up to ~$100 based on the price of memory in the market!!!). There is no TouchID (only FaceID). There is no physical simcard and need to live with an eSIM technology (impossible to move simcard from phone to use it simply in another phone or in a laptop; some carriers also would not allow it).
For my next phone, I definitely would move to Android
Fico8: EX~EQ~TU~840 (12 month goal~850).
@GZG wrote:
@UncleB wrote:So, outside of a sign-up bonus is there any reason for me to consider the Apple Card?
Note that I've seen the links floating around for $100 or $300 bonuses, but the fine-print on both states the offers are only for those who received an email solicitation and I'm not willing to risk it.
you want to take a gamble on whoever apple card switches to as a lender and something about that lender will make it positive that you have their card?
you want the card before/if they remove apply with confidence when they do the switchover
you think the apple card and its apply with confidence feature is cool and you want to, in some way, show other lenders that the apple card is cool and they should be copying the apply with confidence model by having it on your credit report
you want to help a P2 with credit by making them a joint-owner, and giving them a high limit, it's a true joint owner card so they will be a card owner as well not just an AU, each personally responsible for payment, either one can close the card at any time.
it's cool and metal card goes clink clink?
That seems to cover all the potential reasons I can come up with haha. I have my Apple Card on the chopping block. Aside from the interest free financing (which I prefer not to use anyway) there is nothing special about the card compared to many others. The only reason I have not actaully chopped it is that I am considering waiting around to see who takes it over for Apple. It is possible there will be some use for it then, but unlikely it will be anything as good as my current set up even - let alone something better.
@UncleB wrote:I've recently changed over to iOS, and I see an offer to apply for the Apple Card every time I open my mobile wallet.
I have the U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve so I'm thinking there's no need to bother with the Apple Card. That said, I know things change (sometimes rapidly) and I admit I've not paid a lot of attention to this product until now, so I'm checking-in to make sure there's nothing I'm missing or overlooking.
The AR clearly has the Apple Card beat for routine purchases (4.5% vs 2%) so that part is fairly clear. Same for Apple purchases, 4.5% beats the 3% offered by the Apple Card. Phone financing doesn't apply to me since I pay annually for a single-line prepaid plan and Apple Card financing is limited to those with a postpaid plan.
So, outside of a sign-up bonus is there any reason for me to consider the Apple Card?
Note that I've seen the links floating around for $100 or $300 bonuses, but the fine-print on both states the offers are only for those who received an email solicitation and I'm not willing to risk it.
I've defended the Apple card, even though I understand it's easy to dismiss. It's true that from a rewards standpoint, it's not exceptional. (3% at selected merchants with Apple Pay; 2% everywhere else when using Apple Pay; 1% with physical card.) Still the 3% cash back at selected merchants is competitive to some other cards. For example, I get 3% back at Walgreens with either my Apple card using Apple Pay with no spending caps. Compared to your USB AR, though, the 3% on any mobile pay with 4.5% in RTR redemptions for travel is definitely a better rewards choice. For those without a USB AR, or a USB Smartly Visa, or a BofA PR/PRE/UCR with Platinum Honors status, the 2% on any Apple Pay is a respectable return.
For anyone who makes card decisions with considerations beyond rewards, I believe there are many other characteristics that make it appealing. I wrote about some of these at >this longer link<. In summary:
- Financing: Apple card offers 3% rewards at the Apple store and/or special financing on Apple products.
- Security: Physical card has no numbers which can be compromised, making it more secure from fraud. (Numbers are stored internally protected behind iPhone login and easily available to cardholder when needed.)
- Security: CVC/CVV codes are also stored internal to iPhone for security and can be set to periodically change for added security.
- Preapprovals: Firm, soft-pull, preapprovals that show starting limit and APR before taking a HP.
- No Fees: Period. No AF. No FTF. No late fees. Competitive APRs in-line with other rewards cards for anyone not PIF.
- User Interface: Card management User Interface is exceptional. Since the card is designed to work with Apple Wallet + Apple Pay which is integral to iPhone, managing the card via Apple Wallet and iPhone is extremely easy and intuitive. No card is needed unless you prefer to carry it. Alerts to phone on new charges or payment activity. Precise locations of charges depicted (even with map depiction.) Historical breakdown of charges by spending categories and by time-frames per week-month-year are automatically displayed. Other cards may do some of the same things but Apple does it all easier and better than possibly any card I've ever seen.
- Easy Payment: Paying account via iPhone is very simple. Apple Cash amounts can be automatically applied to balance. The remainder drafts from the designated bank account. With face ID login on my phone, I can pay my monthly bill in full in less than two minutes. Statements always post by calendar month which is very simple to track.
- Customer Service: Contacting Goldman Sachs Customer service via text/phone is easily accessible via iPhone Wallet with no additional mobile apps required. (Card management is built into Apple Wallet.)
- Soft Pull CLI: Soft Pull CLI requests once every six months.
- Quick Growth and High Limits Possible: With good usage, Apple card has proven to grow very quickly and can reach high limits, even over $50K. One of our members started with a $250 CL and grew it 48xCLI to $12K. I've seen it grow to $70K.
- Physical Card: Physical premium titanium card is secure (see above), durable, elegant, and impressive to carry more-so than many competing cash back cards. Only true titanium metal card; even the Barclay's Titanium Luxury Card is not 100% titanium. Yes, the card only gets 1% cash back but the security features combined with no FTF make it a great choice for a theft-proof backup card when traveling with wide-ranging Mastercard network acceptance.
So for rewards alone, no. But if any of the above sounds attractive, I'd recommend giving a trial run. My FICO has our rewards purists that think it's heresy to accept anything less than the highest possible rewards. I see rewards as one of several factors that make a card worth carrying.
@NoMoreE46 wrote:From a digital user perspective, I will say the UI and UX are top notch.
+1
For anyone who hasn't experienced Apple's UI, this is perhaps the feature that is most absent from most consumer's consideration. It's hard to explain how user-friendly, complete, and thorough that Apple made this UI until you experience it for yourself. I was just playing with it again for a few minutes and went ... wow. In seconds, I could see all my monthly spending back to 2019 when I first got the card, either by week, month, or year. That spending can be easily categorized by Shopping, Food and Drink, Health, Transportation, and Services. For just one example of the depth and breadth of data, I can still see a specific charge at a Starbucks from 2020, click on the link and still see a map where the charge originated, and see the amount of cash back. My charges have a link to the merchant if I need to contact them regarding the charge. Similarly, I can see payment history for each month I've had the card. Most card websites make you dig and click around if you can even find such data and sometimes they don't retain it for very long. The amount of data, the ways you can filter it, and how quickly and easily is nothing like I've ever experienced with any credit card. Pulling up the credit card number or CCV is just as easy, and paying as I mentioned is also quick and easy to manage.
All great points; this robust discussion is exactly what I was hoping for when I started the thread.
I think where I am right now is just holding off for a bit to see what's going to happen with the switch from Goldman Sachs. If they change to a bank like Chase or Amex I'll probably consider pulling the trigger, on the other hand if they go with Comenity or Synch I'll probably pass. That's not to bash Comenity or Synch (Synch in particular has always been fine for me), just that those two tend to be easier approvals and there won't be a need to commit early.
I really wish Apple/Goldman hadn't been strong-armed into requiring a postpaid contract for iPhones to get monthly installments (ACMI) on the Apple card. All other things being the same, having the ability to finance a new phone at 0% would have been a strong selling point for me. I've read around the interwebs that some people have luck just making the purchase and reaching-out to Goldman once the transaction posts and asking for the sale to be manually switched to monthly installments but that's anecdotal and could even be luck-of-the-draw.
Of course if I get an email offer with a good enough sign-up bonus all bets are off, haha. 
Unrelated side note: In the back of my mind I also know that if I wait I'll be 0/24 in April, which is something I've not seen since before I joined the forums, LOL. 
@Aim_HighI'll likely never have an Apple card as an Android loyalist, but will give props for making good points regarding other reasons to have the card besides the net rewards.
@Zoostation1 wrote:@Aim_HighI'll likely never have an Apple card as an Android loyalist, but will give props for making good points regarding other reasons to have the card besides the net rewards.
I used to consider myself an Android loyalist as well, but Apple Pay got me to jump ship. I have the U.S. Bank AR, and I got tired of wondering if a Google/Android Pay/Wallet (whatever they're calling it this week - I can't keep up) transaction was going to trigger the mobile wallet category, especially with in-app payments. With Apple Pay that's not an issue.
If Google can ever get that worked out (or if U.S. Bank ever nerfs the AR) it'll be a moot point and I might be back.
