Apple Card

[audreyh1]

I get 3% cash back using it to pay my T-Mobile monthly bill.

I have also used Apple Pay almost exclusively on my last few European trips. Everyone seems to take it. So I think you may be too harsh in evaluating it.

We used ApplePay plenty in Europe, just with credit cards offering better rewards. 3% off Apple purchases is where we would want to use it.

OK - I was not convinced we would get that 3% cash back unless we used ApplePay with T-mobile.

It’s very confusing - because in the December 6% off AppleStore deal, they made it clear online that the discount was available if you did ApplePay with the AppleCard for your purchase. It did not say you’d still get it the discount if you used the card like a regular credit card online.

 

[braumeister]

OK - I was not convinced we would get that 3% cash back unless we used ApplePay with T-mobile.

Well, I stand corrected. Just looked back and saw that I only got 1% on my monthly T-Mobile bill. That kind of sucks since I was convinced like you that it meant any purchase from them.

Reviewing recent purchases on the Apple Card, I see that most of them are 1%. Got 6% on an Apple Store purchase, and 3% on others, but 2% only on in-person purchases, nothing online.

Thanks for making me look.

 

[steelyman]

I thought the magic combination is Apple Pay + Apple Card = 2%.

 

[braumeister]

I thought the magic combination is Apple Pay + Apple Card = 2%.

Yes, but that means in person. Using Apple Pay via your phone. It only gives you 1% when you use the Apple Card for an online purchase.

 

[audreyh1]

Well, I stand corrected. Just looked back and saw that I only got 1% on my monthly T-Mobile bill. That kind of sucks since I was convinced like you that it meant any purchase from them.

Reviewing recent purchases on the Apple Card, I see that most of them are 1%. Got 6% on an Apple Store purchase, and 3% on others, but 2% only on in-person purchases, nothing online.

Thanks for making me look.

That's what I was expecting from my research - that I would only get 1% on my T-mobile bill, so I left it on a card that pays more. Thanks much for double checking.

I'm not sure about the iTunes store. I might get paid 3% there even without ApplePay. I tend to load up my iTunes store account credit with heavily discounted iTunes gift cards when I can, so not too many opportunities, and since I wouldn't technically be using ApplePay, I was not confident. But they did accidentally charge one of our AppleCards for a renewal, and $10.83 with 0.32 cash back - that looks like 3%.

We always use the Costco VISA for hotel and restaurant as we get 3% including overseas where we use it heavily with ApplePay. For US I have other cards paying 2% or more depending on the category. And I usually get 3% for online purchases using a Bank of America credit card.

 

[audreyh1]

Yes, but that means in person. Using Apple Pay via your phone. It only gives you 1% when you use the Apple Card for an online purchase.

We did have an opportunity to use the Apple Card with ApplePay online at the Apple Store, but because we wanted to use a considerable accumulation of Apple gift cards (from sending in older products), we were barred from using ApplePay online at the Apple Store. Super frustrating.

 

[steelyman]

Yes, but that means in person. Using Apple Pay via your phone. It only gives you 1% when you use the Apple Card for an online purchase.

Right. It’s taken me a while to get used to all these things Apple Payment-related. It was incomprehensible until I actually got the hardware (in my case, iPhone 8) to try and see.

There was a recent thread about cash backs that got my attention. I’ve now got Quicken categories to track cash back rewards for my cards (Discover, AmEx, Apple/MasterCard). I’m paying more attention to which card I use now. It’ll be mildly interesting to check after a year!

 

[Ready]

We looked at the Apple Card but how often are we going to buy Apple products and get the 3% discount?

And the discount only applies if you buy the products from Apple. When I was looking at an iMac a few months ago it was $1799 at Apple and $1399 at Costco. So who cares about the 3% at that point?

Fidelity gives us 2% cash back on everything without having to think about it. We also use the Amazon card strictly for Amazon and Whole Food purchases to get an extra 5%.

 

[audreyh1]

I thought the magic combination is Apple Pay + Apple Card = 2%.

We were specifically interested in the Apple Store +ApplePay with Apple Card = 3% (or 6%) in December.

And hoping maybe for a 3% reward on our T-mobile monthly bill.

 

[audreyh1]

We looked at the Apple Card but how often are we going to buy Apple products and get the 3% discount?

And the discount only applies if you buy the products from Apple. When I was looking at an iMac a few months ago it was $1799 at Apple and $1399 at Costco. So who cares about the 3% at that point?

Fidelity gives us 2% cash back on everything without having to think about it. We also use the Amazon card strictly for Amazon and Whole Food purchases to get an extra 5%.

Right - we buy a lot of Apple products through BHphotovideo.com, and they often have sales, and now they have their own PayBoo credit card that rebates the 8.25% sales tax, so we use that. It's tough to beat.

But still, we occasionally buy directly from Apple, like we did with a recent iPhone8 purchase.

 

[tulak]

I make the occasional Apple Store purchase and the 6% over the holidays was great, but other than that, I never use the card. Not only can you get better rewards elsewhere, I can’t download transactions into Moneydance, which would be a major inconvenience if I used it more often.

As it is, I figure it’s a good backup card if I’m traveling internationally and can use Apple Pay. Otherwise I’ll stick with Fidelity or Chase.

And thanks for the tmobile clarification. I’ve been meaning to look into that and you’ve saved me the effort.

 

[COcheesehead]

I applied for and got it just for the cool metal card.

 

[fancy free]

I can’t download transactions into Moneydance, which would be a major inconvenience if I used it more often.

Not familiar with Moneydance, but Apple Card users can now export monthly transactions to a downloadable spreadsheet to use with personal budgeting apps or sheets.


https://techcrunch.com/2020/01/21/a...wnload-monthly-transactions-in-a-spreadsheet/

 

[steelyman]

I finally got around to claiming the “cash back” balance from using Apple Card with Apple Pay this week. I wasn’t sure where (or if) it would be transferred but things were set up right and it landed in my credit union checking (share draft) account.

I’m hoping my cash back amounts will be better in 2020 than 2019 because I’ve begun to pay more attention to which cards are used, where and how.

 

[braumeister]

According to this usually reliable website, Apple Pay can now be used to pay your monthly T-Mobile bill and get a 3% rebate when using the Apple Card.

I haven't tried it yet, but this would be a nice enhancement. I currently pay my T-Mobile bill with a FIDO card, getting 2%, but 3% is better, and every dollar helps!

 

[audreyh1]

Yep, DH pointed that out to me yesterday.