Originally published at: https://tidbits.com/2019/08/14/how-to-get-the-most-from-your-apple-card-benefits/
Apple is slowly rolling out its new Apple Card across the United States. If you’re an early adopter, here’s how to maximize your cashback benefits.
Nice article Josh. Just two questions.
Are there any fees associated with transferring from your Apple Pay Cash back to your bank account? If not, can’t it be configured so your Daily Cash goes straight to your account? (I have no idea why I’d otherwise use Apple Pay Cash)
If you set up to autopay your Apple Card balance when payment is due, can you still initiate an individual (partial) payment by hand before that date? Or is it an either-or setting?
Finally, coulnd’t find a suitable option in your poll. I’m definitely interested in getting an Apple Card (no foreign transaction fees, great for all my travel!), but I’m not signed up anywhere and I don’t plan to either. I’ll just get it when it becomes available to the regular public via simple button press in Apple Wallet.
There should be no fees for transferring funds from Apple Pay Cash to a bank account.
I am waiting for the first bill until I actually can confirm how payments will work. My initial thought is to let the rewards accumulate in my Apple Pay Cash account and then pay the bill by first using the funds there and then from my bank account. By my reading of the documentation and the wallet prompts, I think that I have set that up to happen. I will probably manually pay the first bill and then try auto-pay in subsequent months.
To me, the major problems is that it appears that the only format for exporting statement and transaction data is a pdf of the statement. If a format like qfx (easy import for personal finance programs) is not available, I will charge only a small number of items to the Apple Credit Card, as I will need to manually duplicate the data in my finance program.
I should have worded that slightly differently—just vote for the middle “I’m waiting” answer. The point is to separate out the early adopters from the eventual adopters from the never adopters.
That’s a big one, and another is that as far as I’ve been able to see, the card is only for individuals—you can’t share one with a spouse. Maybe that’s old-school, like sharing a landline, but we’ve always shared credit cards for simplicity’s sake. (And yes, I realize lots of couples don’t do that. To each their own.)
I never received an invitation, but when I opened Apple Wallet, the option to apply was there. And the process is as quick and easy as has been described; it took only a few seconds to verify my name, address, email, etc., and get approved.
The physical card should arrive in five to seven days.
Just checked. No option yet for me. Maybe you are an early invite. 
Enjoy!
Just checked. No option yet for me.
Did you click Continue? I had heard you press the + button in Wallet to see the invite, but never pressed the Continue button. I assumed the invite would be on the first screen. Today I pressed Continue and among the choices on the next screen was AppleCard.
The process was straightforward from there. The only annoying part was that my bank app wouldn’t let me select and copy my routing and account numbers, so it took me several tries to manually enter them correctly. But at least it’s now set up with auto-pay and AppleCard is my default for Apple/iTunes purchases (3% back). Pretty sweet.
Yes, I sure did. The only thing to come up after that is the option take a picture of your card or enter a new card manually.
I received an invitation the day after I was approved for the card.
Making a payment on line without using ApplePay gives a 1% return, just as if you used the physical card.
When there’s a balance on the card, the image of the card in the Wallet app changes from silver to red.
I can’t figure out how to change the default card for App/iTunes Store.
2 equivalent methods:
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In IOS, Go to Settings -> [Your Apple ID (at the top] -> Payment and Shipping. If it says ‘Apple Card’, you’re done. If not, tap the item. You can then add the Apple Card and add it to the list. I’m not sure if you’re asked if you want it to be the default. If not, you can edit the list and move it to the top.
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In MacOS, go the Account page of the App Store, iTunes Store, or Book Store and access the Account Quick Link. The selection is under ‘Manage Payments’ and the process is similar to IOS from here. Note that the card number is different from the one shown in the Card Information screen associated with the card. It is the last 4-digits of the umber used with Apple Pay (which you don’t see elsewhere).
One more thing I’m curious about but no review seems to mention is how you can get a limit increase if what you’re assigned early on is not satisfactory.
The support document at https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT209228 says "You can see your account Credit Limit, Available Credit, and APR. Credit limit increases are not currently supported.” However, I suspect you can use the contact buttons in the card tab of the Wallet ((Message and Call)) to explore that with a support rep.
Thanks for the clarification, Alan
The 3% discount on App Store and iTunes purchases is OK, but you do even better by watching for sales on gift cards. I’d rather save 15-20% upfront on a gift card, than get back 3% on individual purchases.
I have to admit, I’d be a bit leery of such gift card sales after reading about how this guy unknowingly bought a stolen gift card from an online discounter and ended up getting his Apple account locked for several months.
I have to admit, I’d be a bit leery of such gift card sales
I concur. But there are reputable places like Costco that sell $100 iTunes cards for $94 (and sometimes less) and occasionally Apple has a sale (typically something like a $100 card gets you $110 credit).
If you buy on sale from Apple with the AppleCard you’d get even more of a discount, which would be pretty cool.
I was an early adopter of Apple Pay. I traded in my iPhone, which worked just fine, in order to get one that would work with Apple Pay when it came out.
When it became available. I set it up on my phone immediately and then started trying to find places I could use it. Whole Foods had it but not Fresh Market, or Kroger or my local small produce/grocery store. Fresh Market finally got it and I talked my local market to get it, too. It has now dropped it as no one but me ever used and it was expensive. A few other small businesses have also dropped it.
I have to admit that I know no one other than myself who uses Apple Pay. I don’t understand why - it’s easy to set up, safe, and so fast to use anywhere. Ones phone is always more easily accessible than ones wallet where credit cards are stored!
I guess it’s the same reason I know no one who uses their hands free phone in their car, has their address book/music synced. They all drive around with their phone at their ear, in cars where I know this feature is standard. Many also never program their garage remote controls - just keep the old remote opener/closer in the car.
I also don’t know anyone who uses their bank to pay their bills - they all still sit down and write checks and pay for a stamp and mail them. They think that’s “safer”.
I think tech companies assume that way more people are not only tech-savvy but interested in tech making their life easier, than there actually are. Most use their computer to read emails and do an occasional search and for social media. Kind of pathetic, isn’t it…
Is it possible to expand this discussion - and many others on TidBITTS - beyond the USA? What experience, benefits and problems, do users of Apple Card have in Europe - or in Africa? Such a discussion might even be useful when US citizens want to reflect on their own national services - or lack thereof.
Not yet. Apple Card is currently in pre-release, invitation only in the US and dates for other countries don’t even appear to have been publically announced.