Apple Card

Apple Card is a credit card created by Apple Inc. in partnership with Goldman Sachs and Mastercard. It was launched in August 2019 in the United States.

It is primarily designed to be used digitally through the Wallet app on iPhone and iPad. Users can apply directly from their devices, and upon approval, the card is added to the Wallet app for immediate use with Apple Pay.

The card offers a cashback rewards program called Daily Cash. Users earn a percentage of their purchases back, which is deposited into Apple Cash in the Wallet app. Daily Cash can be used for purchases, applied as a statement credit towards the Apple Card balance or transferred to a bank account.

There are no annual fees, late fees, international transaction fees or over-limit fees. It does charge users interest for carrying a balance forward. The rate varies by user.

A signature feature is the titanium card. This features minimalistic design elements, with the cardholder’s name etched on the front and no card number, expiration date, or CVV printed on the card for added security.

Read Cult of Mac’s latest posts on Apple Card:

Apple Card lets users affected by LA wildfires delay payments

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Apple Card after five years
Don't worry about incurring any interest charges for missing the payment.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Apple Card is notifying customers impacted by the Los Angeles wildfires that they can delay their payments without incurring interest.

Apple is contacting Apple Card users living at an address declared a natural disaster zone. Affected users must enroll in the Disaster Relief Program to be eligible.

Apple Card Savings interest rate drops again, now at 3.9%

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Apple Card Savings account at 3.9%
The interest rate earned by Apple Card Savings accounts just slipped below 4%.
Image: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

The interest rate earned by cash stored in Apple Card Savings accounts dropped on Thursday, continuing a series of such drops touched off by the Federal Reserve cutting its benchmark interest rate twice now. Money in these accounts now earns 3.9% in annual interest.

Over the past year and half, Apple and Goldman Sachs boosted and lowered in the rate multiple times. And the current rate is still well above what’s earned by typical savings accounts.

Apple and Goldman Sachs hit with $90 million in fines for Apple Card mistakes

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Apple and Goldman Sachs fined over Apple Card
Apple and Goldman Sachs don't like CFPB's findings, but they plan to comply.
Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) imposed nearly $90 million in combined penalties on Apple and Goldman Sachs, the agency said Wednesday. The fines punish widespread customer service failures and misleading practices affecting Apple Card users. And the Apple Card fines for Apple and Goldman Sachs add up to some serious bank, too.

The enforcement action comes after an investigation revealed “significant breakdowns” in dispute handling and deceptive marketing of interest-free payment plans, CFPB said. Apple and Goldman Sachs didn’t much like the findings but pledged compliance.

Today in Apple history: Apple Card launches as most consumer-friendly credit card ever

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Apple Card after five years
Apple Card debuted in 2019 and is still going strong.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Aug 20: Today in Apple history: Apple Card launches as most consumer-friendly credit card ever August 20, 2019: Apple Card reaches U.S. consumers for the first time. The titanium credit card gives a new option for payments when Apple Pay isn’t available.

Statements and payments are handled through the iPhone Wallet app, and the card is “designed to help customers lead a healthier financial life,” according to Apple. Surveys show the card soon becomes beloved.

New Apple Card users get up to $300 bonus Daily Cash

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Apple Card Family extends credit card access to teens
Sign up for Apple Card and get up to $300 Bonus Daily Cash.
Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac

Apple’s latest promo will get new Apple Card users up to $300 in bonus Daily Cash. The company never before gave new Apple Card users such a high welcome bonus.

Apple is running this offer for select U.S. customers. To be eligible for the cashback, you must sign up for the card through the promo link.

J.D. Power names Apple Card No. 1 in customer satisfaction

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Apple card tops in customer satisfaction
The J.D. Power 2024 U.S. Credit Card Satisfaction Study named Apple Card the Best Co-Branded Credit Card for Customer Satisfaction with No Annual Fee.
Photo: Apple

For the fourth year running, Apple Card is tops in customer satisfaction, along with issuer Goldman Sachs, according to the 2024 U.S. Credit Card Satisfaction Study by J.D. Power. They came out No. 1 in their segment, co-branded credit cards with no annual fee.

Apple Card Savings accounts now pay 4.25% in annual interest

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Apple Card Savings account
An Apple Card Savings account is now an even better deal.
Image: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Money stored in Apple Card Savings accounts just started earning more interest. Goldman Sachs, the bank that backs these accounts, raised the interest rate to 4.25%.

This is a far higher rate than most savings accounts available to consumers.

What’s next for Apple Card? [The CultCast]

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Apple Card on an iPhone. CultCast episode 623.
Changes could be coming to Apple Card.
Image: Cult of Mac

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: It sounds like Apple’s partnership with Goldman Sachs is on the rocks. What does that mean for the future of Apple Card?

Also on The CultCast:

  • The latest iOS 17.2 beta reveals some interesting new features.
  • Apple’s deal with Arm is pretty sweet … and pretty annoying for Arm!
  • Those panicky headlines about NameDrop you’ve been seeing that paint the iOS 17 feature as danger to children? Ignore them.
  • Apple seems pretty committed to Vision Pro: Multiple lower-priced versions of the headset are reportedly in the works.

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.

Apple reportedly ending Apple Card partnership with Goldman Sachs

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Making Apple Card payments is as simple as its design.
Apple might have to find a new banking partner for Apple Card.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s partnership with Goldman Sachs for the Apple Card is reportedly coming to an end. The Wall Street Journal says Apple sent a proposal to the bank to exit from the agreement in the next 12 to 15 months.

At the moment, it remains unclear if Apple has zeroed in on another banking partner for Apple Card.

Even Tim Cook’s Apple Card application got rejected

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Tim Cook has plenty of money, so that couldn't be the reason.
Tim Cook has plenty of money, so that couldn't be the reason.
Image: Canva

Not just anyone qualifies for a new Apple Card — including Apple CEO Tim Cook, according to a new report. The Goldman Sachs underwriting system apparently rejected his application a while back.

Amid reports lately that Goldman is losing money on its deal with Apple, and the two might part ways, it almost sounded like payback. But that’s not it.

Big changes coming to iPhone battery and camera [The CultCast]

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The CultCast Episode 604: An iPhone battery rumor gets us excited.
Longer battery life must be near the top of every iPhone owner's wish list.
Photo: Tyler Lastovich/Unsplash License/Modified by Cult of Mac

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: The latest rumors point to impressive iPhone upgrades on the horizon. Stacked batteries might deliver the holy grail of longer battery life as early as this year. And in 2024, the iPhone Pro Max camera might graduate to a mind-blowing 12x zoom. Excuse if we’re a little excited!

Also on The CultCast:

  • A secret project dubbed “Apple GPT” might make Apple’s products better — even Siri!
  • If you’re not taking advantage of Continuity features, you’re doing Apple wrong.
  • Sounds like we’ll be waiting quite a while for a truly pro Mac Pro.
  • How in the world did Goldman Sachs lose so much money on Apple Card?!?

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.

Goldman Sachs wants out of Apple Card after massive losses

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Making Apple Card payments is as simple as its design.
Apple Card hasn’t been profitable for the bank that backs the credit card.
Photo: Apple

Goldman Sachs reportedly wants out of a partnership with Apple that has the bank backing the Apple Card and other financial services. It’s not hard to guess why: recent filings from the bank indicate it has lost at least $1 billion on the deal.

It’s supposedly looking to hand the business off to another megabank.

Apple Card and Apple Pay could soon launch in India

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Apple Card works hand-in-hand with iPhone
Apple wants to bring Apple Card and Apple Pay to India.
Photo: Apple

Apple is reportedly in talks with HDFC Bank to bring Apple Card to India. The latter is among the country’s largest credit card issuers and private banks.

The Cupertino giant also held discussions with NPCI to launch Apple Pay in the country.

Apple Card Savings customers complain about delayed withdrawals

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Some Apple Card Savings account customers are frustrated by withdrawal and transfer delays.
Some Apple Card Savings account customers are frustrated by withdrawal and transfer delays.
Photo: Apple

Apple Card Savings accounts launched to great acclaim recently with their high yield, but some customers are complaining that withdrawing money and transferring funds through the Goldman Sachs-held accounts takes too long.

And some are leaving, according to a new report.

Here comes the MacBook Air we’ve been waiting for [The CultCast]

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15-inch MacBook Air will be a dream machine.
The 15-inch MacBook Air will be a dream machine.
Image: Cult of Mac
WWDC23

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: What will WWDC23 bring us? In addition to a sweeping look at the future of all Apple’s platforms, it sounds like we’ll get some major new hardware. Yes, there’s that $3,000 AR/VR headset, but there’s also something we really want: a 15-inch MacBook Air.

Also on The CultCast:

  • The Apple Watch interface will get a major upgrade with watchOS 10. And the same holds true for Stage Manger in iPadOS 17.
  • All about Apple’s new Rapid Security Response system for deploying urgent upgrades.
  • Shockingly, internal strife seems to be one of the things holding back Siri and Apple’s artificial intelligence efforts.

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.

Almost $1 billion pours into Apple Card Savings accounts in first 4 days

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Apple Card Daily Cash can go straight into 'high-yield' savings account
Apple Card Savings got off to a very strong start.
Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac

The high interest rates offered by Apple Card Savings reportedly brought an enormous rush of deposits in the first days after the financial service became available in mid-April. The savings accounts for iPhone users pulled in nearly $1 billion in only the first four days.

And that was weeks ago, so it’s almost certainly well over the billion dollar milestone by now.

How to finance a MacBook

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There's more than one way to finance a MacBook.
There's more than one way to finance a MacBook.
Photo: Pixabay/Pexels/CC

Macs offer great value, but they aren’t necessarily cheap. After all, Apple’s most affordable laptop, the MacBook Air, currently starts at $999. If you need a capable computer that you can take anywhere, but you don’t have enough cash on hand to buy a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro outright, you have options.

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In the FAQ below on how to finance a MacBook, we lay out the options available to you, ranging from Apple Card Monthly Installments to buy now, pay later plans from companies like Klarna and Affirm.

Can Apple’s ‘Reality’ headset spark an AR/VR revolution? [The CultCast]

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A woman wearing a VR headset, with The CultCast logo and Episode 591.
Many have tried to make AR/VR a sparkling reality. So far, nobody's nailed it. Can Apple?
Photo: Sara Kurig/Unsplash License/Modified by Cult of Mac
WWDC23

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: The latest leaks about Apple’s AR/VR headset — possibly called the “Reality” — get us thinking about real-world applications. Will this thing kick-start a mixed-reality revolution, or flop harder than the Pippin?

Also on The CultCast:

  • The new Apple Card Savings account pays high interest — and we’re definitely interested!
  • WWDC23 might bring additional new hardware beyond the headset.
  • It’s your last chance to snag a limited-edition Sunset Moment iPhone case from Pitaka.

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.

How to sign up for Apple Card Savings and start earning interest

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Apple Card Savings
Apple Card Savings pays a high interest rate. Here's how to take advantage of it.
Photo: Apple

Apple Card Savings allows you to earn a high rate of interest on money you might have been storing in Apple Cash. As the name indicates, it’s a savings account especially for Apple Card users.

Daily Cash earned from using the credit card flows automatically into the account where it (currently) earns 4.15% annually — that’s far more than the national average. And you can bring in cash from your other banks that offer lower interest rates.

I’ll walk you through the process of setting up an Apple Card Savings account.

Stash your cash in a high-yield Apple Card Savings account

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Apple Card Daily Cash can go straight into 'high-yield' savings account
A new Savings account for Apple Card holders includes a Savings dashboard to track progress.
Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac

Apple Card Savings launched Monday, allowing money earned from Apple Card’s cash-back program to go into a high-yield savings account. And it is high-yield — at 4.15%, the annual rate is about 10 times higher than the national average.

There are no fees for the new financial service, and users can bring in their own cash from other banks that offer lower interest rates.

Apple Card Savings accounts might finally debut next week

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Apple Card Daily Cash can go straight into 'high-yield' savings account
The upcoming savings account for Apple Card holders includes a Savings dashboard to track progress.
Image: Apple

Apple Card Savings, the next financial service from the Mac-maker, might be right around the corner. The company announced the service last autumn without a launch date. But now an Apple tipster claims it’s coming in only a few days.

When it debuts, the service will provide Apple Card users with savings accounts.