Thoughts on Apple Card - Maybe?

[Anonymous]

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@ThomasJNewton wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:
It EARNS 3 points per $ on travel/mobile wallet, but when redeemed for travel, either via portal or (much better) real time rewards, each point is worth 1.5, hence the 4.5%    For heavy mobile wallet users, who also travel sometimes (using at least one of plane/hotel/rental car) this is really hard to beat.

So for people who travel a bit, but not much, in that if one travels a lot, having and using the airline's and/or hotel's own card is likely to offer substantially better benefits. Not having used their portal at all, I am curious about some things (that I hope you can explain): Will I always get as good a rate as I would if I booked directly? What happens if I cancel a reservation, do the points get credited back? Are there any fees for booking through them? Am I able to use corporate codes for appropriate discounts? Do I give up any status benefits booking through them vs. booking directly with the airline, car rental company or hotel? Do I get the same benefits using their portal to redeem as I do using their card (they are one of the companies that offer primary rental car insurance, a big benefit)?

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The key is not to use the portal!  Book with the airline/hotel/car and if you have enough points(*) you will get a text asking if you want to use your points, and the charge is then credited back. (* because if the charge is say $500, you have to have 50,000 points available, although in the end it will only charge 33,333 of them!)   This should allow the use of codes.

It offers primary car rental.   

Re cancellation, at least at one stage, and I think still, this was a backdoor for redeeming points at high value.  I am sure that USB checks on this now.    Basically:  a) buy a ticket for $500 from say American.  This creates a $500 charge on your statement  b) You get a text asking if you want to redeem points.  c) You do, your point balance decreases by 33K, and a $500 credit appears on your statement.       Now, if you cancel, American provides a $500 credit (assuming no cancellation fees) and this also goes on your statement.

So, in effect, you have traded 33K at 1.5c each without actually travelling.   Do not do this often if you want to keep the card!

S

[ThomasJNewton]

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@Anonymous wrote:

The key is not to use the portal!  Book with the airline/hotel/car and if you have enough points(*) you will get a text asking if you want to use your points, and the charge is then credited back. (* because if the charge is say $500, you have to have 50,000 points available, although in the end it will only charge 33,333 of them!)   This should allow the use of codes.

Interesting. It does not explain this as an option. That is good.

It offers primary car rental.   

Even for rentals booked with points?

Re cancellation, at least at one stage, and I think still, this was a backdoor for redeeming points at high value.  I am sure that USB checks on this now.    Basically:  a) buy a ticket for $500 from say American.  This creates a $500 charge on your statement  b) You get a text asking if you want to redeem points.  c) You do, your point balance decreases by 33K, and a $500 credit appears on your statement.       Now, if you cancel, American provides a $500 credit (assuming no cancellation fees) and this also goes on your statement.

So, in effect, you have traded 33K at 1.5c each without actually travelling.   Do not do this often if you want to keep the card!

That would be an issue for me, as I often book speculatively when I see a good fare and then cancel if I decide not to go. I would just want them to credit the points back at the rate I used them, rather than having to be worried about it. They have all the transaction data, so they should be able to match that information in their own systems.

[Anonymous]

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@ThomasJNewton wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

The key is not to use the portal!  Book with the airline/hotel/car and if you have enough points(*) you will get a text asking if you want to use your points, and the charge is then credited back. (* because if the charge is say $500, you have to have 50,000 points available, although in the end it will only charge 33,333 of them!)   This should allow the use of codes.

Interesting. It does not explain this as an option. That is good.

It offers primary car rental.   

Even for rentals booked with points?

Re cancellation, at least at one stage, and I think still, this was a backdoor for redeeming points at high value.  I am sure that USB checks on this now.    Basically:  a) buy a ticket for $500 from say American.  This creates a $500 charge on your statement  b) You get a text asking if you want to redeem points.  c) You do, your point balance decreases by 33K, and a $500 credit appears on your statement.       Now, if you cancel, American provides a $500 credit (assuming no cancellation fees) and this also goes on your statement.

So, in effect, you have traded 33K at 1.5c each without actually travelling.   Do not do this often if you want to keep the card!

That would be an issue for me, as I often book speculatively when I see a good fare and then cancel if I decide not to go. I would just want them to credit the points back at the rate I used them, rather than having to be worried about it. They have all the transaction data, so they should be able to match that information in their own systems.

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Real Time Rewards are mentioned, but you would have to know what they are to really understand the value:

Once enrolled, redemption is quick and easy. Make a purchase and you will receive a text asking if you want to use points to redeem immediately. Reply “REDEEM” to complete the redemption. You must have enough points to cover the entire purchase in order to receive the text message to redeem. Your points will be deducted from your points balance and redeemed in the form of a credit to your monthly billing statement. See Program Rules for additional details.

Not sure why you need the points credited back if you get the 1.5c value credited anyway.   (If you use the portal, pretty sure they do give you back the points, I had to do it once and don't remember screaming "That's unfair")    My warning was for obvious abuse, I'm sure "some" good faith cancellations, especially if followed by new bookings, would be fine.

[CYBERSAM]

@SKBirdmind  Looking at your CCs lineup: you got 3 rebuilders, 2 secure cards and your best flagship cards are not much of reward cards!

They way I see it, Apple card would be your best CC.

[ThomasJNewton]

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@Anonymous wrote:Not sure why you need the points credited back if you get the 1.5c value credited anyway.   (If you use the portal, pretty sure they do give you back the points, I had to do it once and don't remember screaming "That's unfair")    My warning was for obvious abuse, I'm sure "some" good faith cancellations, especially if followed by new bookings, would be fine.

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I would not want to have to worry about them deciding I was acting fraudulently. If they just credited the points back, rather than refunding the money, it would mean I would not have to worry about it at all. An alternative approach to crediting the points back, would be letting me decide to apply points when I went to pay the bill. These are just issues for me given my travel patterns, but not a crisis either way. 

[ThomasJNewton]

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@CYBERSAM wrote:

@SKBirdmind  Looking at your CCs lineup: you got 3 rebuilders, 2 secure cards and your best flagship cards are not much of reward cards!

They way I see it, Apple card would be your best CC.

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This is true only if he was ready to use Apple Pay. Otherwise, his Quicksilver is .5% better than the Apple Card. If he is willing to use ApplePay, the Apple Card is better than anything but his CostCo card for gas and restaurants (not worrying about the time value of funds in comparing Apple's Daily Cash to Citi's annual payout).

[Bill77]

I would get any real 2% card instead of the Apple card.  The rewards structure just isn't that good.

[ThomasJNewton]

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@Bill77 wrote:

I would get any real 2% card instead of the Apple card.  The rewards structure just isn't that good.

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What do you consider "a real 2% card"? The Apple Card is unlimited 2% for Apple Pay, and unlimited 3% for Apple products, services, App Store purchases and some other things. Given there is no annual fee, no hard pull unless and until one accepts their offer and that one will know one's starting limit when before one accepts it, seems like a simple choice.

Almost all my purchases are done with Apple Pay. What I like about the card is that I do not need to think about it at all. It is my default card in Apple Pay, and unless I realize I have something better for a specific charge, I just use it.

[Anonymous]

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@ThomasJNewton wrote:

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@Bill77 wrote:

I would get any real 2% card instead of the Apple card.  The rewards structure just isn't that good.

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What do you consider "a real 2% card"? The Apple Card is unlimited 2% for Apple Pay, and unlimited 3% for Apple products, services, App Store purchases and some other things. Given there is no annual fee, no hard pull unless and until one accepts their offer and that one will know one's starting limit when before one accepts it, seems like a simple choice.

Almost all my purchases are done with Apple Pay. What I like about the card is that I do not need to think about it at all. It is my default card in Apple Pay, and unless I realize I have something better for a specific charge, I just use it.

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Well, a "real" 2% card would be one of the many that give 2% everywhere, including when mobile pay isn't available.    I still use one as an backup to my Altitude Reserve

[ThomasJNewton]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Well, a "real" 2% card would be one of the many that give 2% everywhere, including when mobile pay isn't available.    I still use one as an backup to my Altitude Reserve

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Sorry, more looking for examples, rather than just a definition. :-) The original poster is looking for card options, so examples would be much more helpful.