I got the Apple Card about a week ago, and just started using it this weekend. Here are some initial thoughts:
- I very much like the security and privacy features Apple Pay and the Apple Card. I try to use Apple Pay whenever I can to take advantage of most of these features, no matter what card I was using.
- I very much like the enhancements to the Wallet app on my iPhone to review transactions and spending.
- 2% cash back on all Apple Pay purchases seems like a pretty good benefit to me.
- 3% back on Apple transactions seems a little stingy, considering that Amazon and Target offer 5% back when you use their branded cards. I would get a much better cash-back rate buying an Apple product on Amazon, using my Amazon.com Visa.
- The interest rate offered to me was the lowest that they offer, and it is a between two and three percentage points lower than the other cards I have. I never carry a balance, so it doesn’t mean much to me.
- I had a false-alarm fraud alert shortly after I set it up. I made it my default on my Apple account, and a $30 annual subscription fee trigged a fraud alert. I contacted Apple Card support via iMessage, and cleared up the problem.
- Buying different things changes the color of the card in the Wallet app, which is amusing. The colors correspond to the spending charts.
- I had a lot of trouble adding the card to my Apple Watch. It took lots of fiddling with settings, but, fortunately, I did not have to unpair and repair the Apple Watch to my iPhone.
- The titanium card is boring and heavy. I expect to never use it. Its best feature is that my card number is not printed on it.
- Some common features are missing: a website, integration with personal finance applications, and joint accounts (or authorized users).