Topic: The Apple Card (credit card by Goldman Sachs) (Read 109 times)
Made my first payment today to try it out. Took about 2 minutes to add my bank information to the wallet app and the payment went through instantly. The whole process is so simple... I think Apple is going to be a major player in payment processing.
I recently received an Apple Card and was impressed by a few things, while a bit disappointed with others. Granted I was in the pre-release group, so perhaps the actual regular users might have a more seamless experience.
https://www.apple.com/apple-card/
The first thing I noticed when signing up for the card is how easy it was. Most of the necessary information was already in my phone and pre-populated in the application. The entire process from beginning to when I was able to use the card was less than 5 minutes. I haven't come close to such a seamless process while applying for credit anywhere else ever. It was also pretty awesome having a fully functioning credit card in my phone nearly instantly. You could literally sign up for this while waiting in line, and then use it when you get to the register. Awesome experience.
The second thing I noticed was that once you use the card, you are instantly notified on your phone of all the details, and you earn a cashback reward (1% with the physical card, 2% with your phone) in the form of Apple Cash which can be spent the next day. Very cool. You are also notified of when you need to pay your bill, when purchases will start accruing interest, and lots of other information most people probably don't ever think about. It also tracks your physical card for you, so you know exactly when it will arrive, delivered by Federal Express in my case.
Once I received the card, I was impressed and disappointed by a couple things. The packaging for example, was very cool and very minimal, like you'd expect from Apple. The card has no number on it, and just looks futuristic. This is also my first titanium credit card, which feels so much better in my hand than plastic.
This is also when I started to notice a bit of confusion with the process. My card (given I was in the pre-release group) came with no information. No instructions on how to activate, no instructions on how to care for the card, no terms, etc... I was expected to know all of this already. Since I had already used the card via my phone, I figured maybe everything was fine and I wouldn't have to worry about anything. This was not correct. I stopped at a gas station to try my card real quick with a snack and it was denied. After whipping out some dirty fiat bills and walking back to my car I decided I'd try to reach customer service. This is where things started to get a bit interesting. Through the wallet app I was able to immediately reach a customer service agent with a text. While some answers were clearly auto-generated, my more complex questions waited for a real human response. Sort of cool. I've never had such an easy customer service experience. After learning my card was declined because the physical card wasn't activated, I had to search through a couple of pages on the app to find the activation instructions. They were simple to follow, but it would have been 1000x better had some sort of instructions been included with the card.
So now I've got my card activated, used it to buy a pretty face some dinner, have interacted with customer service, and reviewed all the available information. Next comes upkeep of the card. This is where things get a bit hairy per usual Apple criticisms. Apple released a statement alerting customers they shouldn't have the card touch leather or denim in order to keep it pristine. Considering most jeans are made of denim and my wallet is most definitely leather, this is a bit of a confusing statement. Should I wrap it in plastic, lol? My wallet also has a magnetic closing mechanism, so it will be interesting to see how long that strip continues to work before I need a new card, and how much it costs for replacement. Hopefully this is just a warning and the strip won't demagnetize, as none of my other regular plastic cards ever have.
All things considered, the Apple Card is pretty cool. Application process, support, and use are all a step ahead of the competition. Their claim of no fees is also a pretty big one... However, they could learn a thing or two about providing necessary information during the onset (I'm certain many people will not see how to activate their physical card and assume it's ready for use unless their packaging includes a note about this). I am also sure there's currently a room full of Apple engineers discussing how to make the titanium card more resistant to wear.
All in all, I like the new Apple Card. It incentivizes use of Apple Pay with your phone while giving you a legacy option that is top notch. It's also a fun new way to trigger Android users until the inevitable G Card makes an appearance.
Long story short, I recommend switching to the Apple Card by Goldman Sachs, but make sure to activate it and keep an eye on how you store it, at least until the Apple Card comes with it's own fancy Apple Case.
Edit: You may also consider opting out of the arbitration clause in order to keep your right to sue: https://www.theverge.com/2019/8/20/20813800/apple-card-pay-arbitration-clause-goldman-sachs-credit-how-to-opt-out
https://www.apple.com/apple-card/
The first thing I noticed when signing up for the card is how easy it was. Most of the necessary information was already in my phone and pre-populated in the application. The entire process from beginning to when I was able to use the card was less than 5 minutes. I haven't come close to such a seamless process while applying for credit anywhere else ever. It was also pretty awesome having a fully functioning credit card in my phone nearly instantly. You could literally sign up for this while waiting in line, and then use it when you get to the register. Awesome experience.
The second thing I noticed was that once you use the card, you are instantly notified on your phone of all the details, and you earn a cashback reward (1% with the physical card, 2% with your phone) in the form of Apple Cash which can be spent the next day. Very cool. You are also notified of when you need to pay your bill, when purchases will start accruing interest, and lots of other information most people probably don't ever think about. It also tracks your physical card for you, so you know exactly when it will arrive, delivered by Federal Express in my case.
Once I received the card, I was impressed and disappointed by a couple things. The packaging for example, was very cool and very minimal, like you'd expect from Apple. The card has no number on it, and just looks futuristic. This is also my first titanium credit card, which feels so much better in my hand than plastic.
This is also when I started to notice a bit of confusion with the process. My card (given I was in the pre-release group) came with no information. No instructions on how to activate, no instructions on how to care for the card, no terms, etc... I was expected to know all of this already. Since I had already used the card via my phone, I figured maybe everything was fine and I wouldn't have to worry about anything. This was not correct. I stopped at a gas station to try my card real quick with a snack and it was denied. After whipping out some dirty fiat bills and walking back to my car I decided I'd try to reach customer service. This is where things started to get a bit interesting. Through the wallet app I was able to immediately reach a customer service agent with a text. While some answers were clearly auto-generated, my more complex questions waited for a real human response. Sort of cool. I've never had such an easy customer service experience. After learning my card was declined because the physical card wasn't activated, I had to search through a couple of pages on the app to find the activation instructions. They were simple to follow, but it would have been 1000x better had some sort of instructions been included with the card.
So now I've got my card activated, used it to buy a pretty face some dinner, have interacted with customer service, and reviewed all the available information. Next comes upkeep of the card. This is where things get a bit hairy per usual Apple criticisms. Apple released a statement alerting customers they shouldn't have the card touch leather or denim in order to keep it pristine. Considering most jeans are made of denim and my wallet is most definitely leather, this is a bit of a confusing statement. Should I wrap it in plastic, lol? My wallet also has a magnetic closing mechanism, so it will be interesting to see how long that strip continues to work before I need a new card, and how much it costs for replacement. Hopefully this is just a warning and the strip won't demagnetize, as none of my other regular plastic cards ever have.
All things considered, the Apple Card is pretty cool. Application process, support, and use are all a step ahead of the competition. Their claim of no fees is also a pretty big one... However, they could learn a thing or two about providing necessary information during the onset (I'm certain many people will not see how to activate their physical card and assume it's ready for use unless their packaging includes a note about this). I am also sure there's currently a room full of Apple engineers discussing how to make the titanium card more resistant to wear.
All in all, I like the new Apple Card. It incentivizes use of Apple Pay with your phone while giving you a legacy option that is top notch. It's also a fun new way to trigger Android users until the inevitable G Card makes an appearance.
Long story short, I recommend switching to the Apple Card by Goldman Sachs, but make sure to activate it and keep an eye on how you store it, at least until the Apple Card comes with it's own fancy Apple Case.
Edit: You may also consider opting out of the arbitration clause in order to keep your right to sue: https://www.theverge.com/2019/8/20/20813800/apple-card-pay-arbitration-clause-goldman-sachs-credit-how-to-opt-out
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