You can sign up and begin using your Apple Card in a matter of minutes.
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| © Provided by CBS Interactive Inc. The look of your Apple Card is always changing. Jason Cipriani/CNET Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article. The look of your Apple Card is always changing. Jason Cipriani/CNET |
The Apple Card is currently available to those who have received a preview invite, but a full launch is expected to happen by the end of August. Apple's new credit card is mostly digital, with incentives for using the Apple Pay version of the card to make payments.
There is, however, a sweet titanium card you can order to carry in your wallet.
Apple's approach to mobile payments can be confusing, considering the company now offers Apple Pay, Apple Cash and Apple Card, which are different services that work in similar, yet different ways. (CNET's Jessica Dolcourt does a fantastic job of breaking down the differences.)
With
the Apple Card, Apple took a new approach to how users interact with
and manage a credit card. From a simple sign-up process to viewing your
spending habits, earning Daily Cash and paying your bill -- everything Apple Card-related is done on your iPhone.
Apple Card FAQ: What you need to know
I was able to get an invite for the preview, and after reading through the fine print, I decided to sign up.
How to sign up
For
the next few weeks, Apple is slowly rolling the Apple Card via a
preview program. If you signed up to be notified of its launch, then you
have a chance of getting randomly selected to participate. The Apple
Card is slated to fully roll out in the US by the end of August, meaning
preview invites will no longer be required. Make sure your iPhone is running iOS 12.4 before you try to sign up.
The sign-up process is the same, whether you receive an invite or wait for the full launch:
1. Open the Wallet app on your iPhone.
2. Tap the + button in the top right corner.
3. If you see a screen explaining what Apple Pay is, tap Continue.
4. Select Apple Card from the list of available payment methods.
5.
Apple fills out most of the sign-up form for you using your Apple ID
information. You'll need to confirm the information, add the last four
digits of your social security number, enter your annual income and
accept the Apple Card terms and conditions.
6. Once you're done, you'll receive an offer with what your credit limit and interest rate will be. Tap Accept Apple Card to open your Apple Card account. Select No Thanks if you change your mind.
Once you accept the offer, you'll be asked if you want to set Apple Card as your default card. If you select Use as Default Card
your Apple Card will be triggered for all contactless payments, and
your Apple payment source for the Apple Store (apps, movies,
subscriptions) will be changed to use the Apple Card.
If you have bad credit or aren't sure if you'll qualify, read through Apple's support document that walks through details of what could lead to your application getting declined.
Lastly, during the sign-up process, you're asked if you want to receive a physical Apple Card
in the mail for use in places that don't have contactless payment
systems. If you don't want a physical card right now, you can always
request one later on.
Using your Apple Card
Immediately
after opening your Apple Card account, you'll have a digital version of
the card available in Apple Pay. You can begin using it to make
purchases right away -- I bought some coffee at Starbucks just a few
minutes after setting my account up.
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| © Provided by CBS Interactive Inc. The physical Apple Card is made out of titanium. The card doesn't list a card number, CVV code or expiration date, and there's no place for a signature. That info, however, can be accessed on your iPhone. Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article. |
The process for using
your Apple Card through Apple Pay is the same as it's always been: Place
your phone near a payment terminal and use Touch ID or Face ID to
approve the transaction.
Apple will also add your Apple Card to Safari's
auto-fill feature, which you've likely seen a prompt for when ordering
something in Safari on your phone or Mac. If you're not being prompted
to use your Apple Card, or any card for that matter, when making
purchases in Safari, go into your iPhone's Settings app and select Safari > AutoFill and turn on Credit Cards.
If
you want to use your Apple Card on a website that doesn't accept Apple
Pay, and you're not a Safari user, your Apple Card has a semipermanent
virtual card number (more on what that means below). You can find your
card's number on your iPhone by opening the Wallet app and selecting
your Apple Card and then the three-dot icon in the top-right corner
followed by Card Information.
There you'll find a card number,
expiration date and security code; all of the information you'd need to
make a purchase online or over the phone.
Your titanium Apple
Card should arrive in the mail within a week of signing up. Once it
does, you'll need to activate it either in the Wallet app (for older
iPhone models) or by holding your iPhone XS or iPhone XR near the card's envelope and following the prompts.
The Wallet app is your Apple Card account portal
The
Wallet app on your iPhone is where you go to view and manage your Apple
Card account. Your card is tied to your Apple ID, so you don't need to
worry about creating and remembering another password.
You'll
notice as you begin to make purchases that the Apple Card in the Wallet
app changes colors and looks different after every transaction. That's
Apple's way of gently showing you what your spending habits are, with
each color representing a different category.
Currently, there
are seven spending categories: Shopping, Food & Drinks,
Entertainment, Services, Travel, Transportation and Health.
To
view your spending habits, open the Wallet app and select your Apple
Card. You'll see a list of recent transactions, your balance, any
upcoming payments and weekly activity.
Tap on a transaction to
view more details, including the exact location it was made at, how
much Daily Cash you earned and how much money you've spent at that
business for the given month.
Select Weekly Activity
to view your purchases, broken down by the same color-coded categories
that determine what your Apple Card looks like. Alternatively, you can
tap View Monthly to break down spending patterns by each month.
After
purchases begin posting to your account, you'll be able to make a
payment and view how much interest your current balance will accrue over
time. View your Apple Card in the Wallet app and tap on the Payment
panel. At the top of the screen will be your billing date.
A
circular slider will let you adjust a payment amount, and just below
that, you'll see any interest charges that will be charged. Tap Pay Now when you're ready to make a payment.
The
first time you make a payment you'll need to add a bank account. If you
already use Apple Cash, then you'll be asked if you want to use the
same bank account and the information will automatically get filled in
for you. Otherwise, you'll need your bank's routing number and your
account number.
Daily Cash
Using your Apple Card,
you'll earn cash back on every purchase. The amount of Daily Cash you
earn is based on how (and in once instance, where) a purchase is made.
For all purchases made at Apple, be it for your Apple Music
subscription or a new iPhone in the Apple Store, you'll earn 3% back.
For all contactless payments, you'll earn 2% back. When you use the
physical card, you'll get 1% back.
Here's how the Apple Card compares with the Chase Sapphire and Amazon Prime Rewards credit cards.
You
don't have to do anything to claim your Daily Cash -- Apple will
process and transfer it to your Apple Cash card every night. So if you
purchased an iPad Pro at the Apple Store and the total was $1,000, you should expect to have $30 on your Apple Cash card the next day.
You
can then put your Apple Cash balance toward the balance on your Apple
Card, spend it using Apple Pay or transfer it to your bank account.
Check
on your Daily Cash transaction history by going into the Wallet app and
selecting your Apple Card, then the three-dot icon in the top right
corner. View your transaction history under Weekly Activity and select
Daily Cash.
What happens if you lose your card or, even worse, your phone?
If
you misplace or lose the physical Apple Card, you can freeze it in the
Wallet app. You can then unfreeze the card if you recover it, and begin
using it again. If you lose it and are unable to find it, you can cancel
your old card and request a new one within the Wallet app.
Replace your virtual card
If
your virtual card has been compromised, you can cancel it and request a
new number from the Wallet app. Doing so will immediately give you a
new number and security code, invalidating the previous card number.
Your
virtual card number is not the same number that's on your physical
card, so getting a new virtual number will require you to order a
replacement card.
To request a new virtual card number, view
your Apple Card in the Wallet app and tap the three-dot icon in the top
right corner. Select Card Information > Request New Card Number. You'll need to confirm you want a new card number, after which it will be updated.
What happens if you lose your phone?
If you lose your iPhone, the first thing to do is turn on Lost Mode using Find My iPhone.
Doing so will prevent anyone from using all the cards you've added to
Apple Pay. Next, you'll need to contact Apple support at 1-800-MY-APPLE
(1-800–692–7753) and request that your virtual card number and, if
needed, your physical card be frozen. Or you can use another iOS device to manage your account until you're able to recover your iPhone.
Where to turn for customer support
The
quickest and easiest way to get support for your Apple Card account is
via iMessage. You can start a conversation with Apple support by viewing
your Apple Card settings in the Wallet app.
Tap on the Message
button, and an iMessage thread will begin where you can chat with a
support representative from Goldman Sachs, the Apple Card's card issuer
and bank. Next to the Message option, you'll also find the options to
call support or visit the support website.
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| © Provided by CBS Interactive Inc. There are multiple ways to pay with your Apple Card. Apple Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article. There are multiple ways to pay with your Apple Card. Apple |
Don't go to an
Apple Store: Apple Card support is handled by Goldman Sachs, so Apple
Store employees probably aren't going to be much help beyond directing
you to Goldman Sachs.
Since the Apple Card is part of the Mastercard network, you are eligible for some Mastercard network benefits, for which you'll need to contact Mastercard support -- for example, for help with its identity theft protection program, or free ShopRunner shipping.
What if you switch to Android?
If
you decide that it's time to jump ship to an Android phone, you can
still use the physical version of your Apple Card and continue to pay
toward your balance -- but you'll need to call in your payments to
1-877-255-5923. Without an iPhone, all of the benefits and streamlined
interactions that make the Apple Card unique all but disappear.
You can use your iPad
to view transaction history and similar information, make payments,
view spending habits or any of the more in-depth features you'll find on
an iPhone.
As we continue to use the Apple Card, charging,
making payments and monitoring our spending, there'll surely be more
features we discover. We'll continue to update this post in the coming
days and weeks.
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