Are You Getting An Apple Card? (2 Viewers)

[Scott Merryfield]

With Apple products, it's ALWAYS a fashion statement.

Most of the posts in this thread seem to be excited about it mostly because it's Apple. I'd imagine most were not even considering applying for a new credit card before the "mystique" of the invitation from Apple.

Somewhere, P.T. Barnum is reading this, nodding his head, and chuckling.

 

[Tino]

Signed up to notified a few days ago

Got my invite today.

Took about 1 minute to set up

12.99 APR. $20,000 limit

Card on its way.

 

[Sam Posten]

Somewhere, P.T. Barnum is reading this, nodding his head, and chuckling.

LMAO, it's always the same. People underestimating Apple saying it's a cult or scam. They start behind the curve, grind and refine until it eats all the profits out of an ecosystem until nobody else matters. Witness:

@mg
Apple Card is going to gobble up so much of consumer spending. They just added @Uber
as a 3% cash back partner, which opens up the possibility they'll add many more. Merchants will soon flock, seeing Apple Card as a powerful promotional platform.

 

[Sam Posten]

https://www.theverge.com/2019/8/20/20813621/apple-card-availability-sign-up-uber-cash-back-launch

 

[Scott Merryfield]

LMAO, it's always the same. People underestimating Apple saying it's a cult or scam. They start behind the curve, grind and refine until it eats all the profits out of an ecosystem until nobody else matters. Witness:

No matter how you try to spin things, it's still just a credit card.

 

[Sam Posten]

And an iPad is just a tablet. I'll take Apple's version over anyone else's 7 days a week.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

And if you don't need a tablet, the iPad is a nice product that has no use to you. If you don't need a new credit card, the Apple Card is a nice product that has no use to you.

 

[Cranston37+]

LMAO, it's always the same. People underestimating Apple saying it's a cult or scam. They start behind the curve, grind and refine until it eats all the profits out of an ecosystem until nobody else matters. Witness:

My problem with the Apple Card is that I don't see the name Apple, I see the name Goldman Sachs.

I would much rather give my business to my local credit union as I have for years.

 

[Sam Posten]

And if you don't need a tablet, the iPad is a nice product that has no use to you. If you don't need a new credit card, the Apple Card is a nice product that has no use to you.

Nobody has a gun to your head, jeez. And nobody is judging you for not getting one.

The point is, this is step one. The next obvious parts are mortgages and 401ks. Are checking accounts obsolete in the Apple world view? If not, them too.

My problem with the Apple Card is that I don't see the name Apple, I see the name Goldman Sachs.

I would much rather give my business to my local credit union as I have for years.

I'd wager Apple will grow past the financiers waaaay faster than they have AT&T and Verizon, but to start they need GS or another bank. I bet it will look very different in 5-6 years.

In the meantime, if you are happy with your local, stay. The vast majority of small locals have gotten squeezed out by BOA, chase and the like. I'll take Apple running the show over those clowns, please. I've got a credit union too. They are great.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Damn Sam, you're passionate about defending Apple. At times, I do wonder why as they're a great corporation, but they're not above valid criticism nor even posters expressing their rejection of some of their products?

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Nobody has a gun to your head, jeez. And nobody is judging you for not getting one.

The point is, this is step one. The next obvious parts are mortgages and 401ks. Are checking accounts obsolete in the Apple world view? If not, them too.



I'd wager Apple will grow past the financiers waaaay faster than they have AT&T and Verizon, but to start they need GS or another bank. I bet it will look very different in 5-6 years.

In the meantime, if you are happy with your local, stay. The vast majority of small locals have gotten squeezed out by BOA, chase and the like. I'll take Apple running the show over those clowns, please. I've got a credit union too. They are great.

Wow! Slow down a little there, Sam. Apple offering a credit card with rewards that's no different than the dozens of other rewards cards out there isn't going to displace Chase, Quicken Loans, Schwab, Fidelity or the other financial companies out there offering general banking, 401K's, mortgages, etc. Just as Apple selling a smartphone hasn't displaced the cellular carriers one bit.

 

[Sam Posten]

You guys continue to miss the point. The judging of Apple Card based on what it is today is extremely short sighted given how Apple approaches new markets. They go in with an excellent opening but with extreme limitations that gets people talking about the good and bad, and then they grind over those limitations year after year until they simply aren't relevant any more. No other company on earth has the focus to do that in any market, let alone across boundaries like Apple has.

Maps, music, phones, tablets, movies, TV, finance, environmental, design, etc.

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/amphtml/nicolenguyen/apple-card-with-lost-misplaced-or-stolen-iphone

I don’t think the reason for this is to keep you locked to your iPhone, although that’s certainly a side effect. I think this simply reflects Apple’s internal culture. Apple’s culture is to make native apps for everything as a first priority, with web interfaces as a much lower priority.
...
In some ways making the iOS Wallet app the primary interface to your Apple Card probably makes for a great experience. (I haven’t signed up for one — yet? — so I can’t say firsthand.) But not having access from a desktop computer is severely limiting in ways. Nguyen focuses on the scenario of what happens if you only have access to one iOS device and lose it (or it breaks). That’s a legitimate scenario. But what about being able to, say, export your monthly and annual statements? Or being able to search?
...
My hope is that Apple Card is only accessible via the iOS Wallet app for now, and that wallet.apple.com will eventually be a full-featured interface to your card account.

So yes, your complaints about these things are valid. And besides the point for those who choose to adopt. Your kvetching about the limitations isn't unexpected. It's helping Apple make its case.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Sorry, Sam, but I just do not see this as Apple trying to enter the finance market. It looks like more of a simple way to generate some additional recurring income with little effort required on their part -- Goldman Sachs is doing all the financial work, just like Chase does all the financial aspects of Amazon's rewards cards (I think they do Best Buy's, too). All companies are about generating recurring income -- it's why we are seeing more software by subscription these days.

This seems like more of a "me too" offering. I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't come about because some Apple board member asked "why don't we have a rewards credit card like everybody else?" and no one could come up with an answer.

 

[Sam Posten]

I could not disagree with that more. Time will tell.

 

[Cranston37+]

Apple has released a support document on how to clean and protect your Apple Card.

My. God.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT210399

 

[xx Brian xx]

Mine showed up today, going to head to the frame shop first thing in the morning so I can hang this thing on the wall. . . Or I'll just throw it in my underwear drawer and never look at it again because I'll just use ApplePay.

Brian

 

[Tino]

Apple has released a support document on how to clean and protect your Apple Card.

My. God.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT210399

Good tips.

 

[Cranston37+]

Good tips.

I routinely clean my bank card with rose water and a mink glove.

Apple's standards for their products are really slipping.

Steve would... oh nevermind...

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

You guys continue to miss the point. The judging of Apple Card based on what it is today is extremely short sighted given how Apple approaches new markets. They go in with an excellent opening but with extreme limitations that gets people talking about the good and bad, and then they grind over those limitations year after year until they simply aren't relevant any more. No other company on earth has the focus to do that in any market, let alone across boundaries like Apple has.

Maps, music, phones, tablets, movies, TV, finance, environmental, design, etc.

More people still use Google Maps than Apple Maps. More people still use Spotify than Apple Music. The iPhone redefined the smartphone, but then Samsung came to more than double Apple's market share. I'll grant you the iPad in the tablet space. For movies and TV shows, I'll take Vudu over iTunes any day of the week. Likewise, I'd rather have a Roku than an AppleTV.

Apple's strengths are: 1) unparalleled branding; 2) an intuitive user experience; and 3) a closed ecosystem where the various pieces are designed to work together seamlessly.

But the closed ecosystem is also a severe limitation. I don't like iTunes for TV and movies, because I need Apple hardware to watch the content

Underneath the branding and user experience, though, the fundamentals are not much different than Apple's competitors.

The Apple Card will look slick as hell, and the app and web portal will be clean and stylish and easy to navigate. But at the end of the day, it will still just be a credit card. If Apple moves into other finance products, the same will be true of those too.

 

[Tino]

Apple Card: A cheat sheet
Apple Card, Apple's first entry into the credit card market, is now available. Here's what business pros need to know about Apple Card.


https://www.techrepublic.com/article/apple-card-a-cheat-sheet/