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Everything You Need to Know About the Apple Card I Did Not Need
The new credit card has its benefits, but it will lock you further into the Apple ecosystem
The email was a surprise.
“You’re invited to get Apple Card starting today.”
My heart leaped out of my chest. All right, that’s an exaggeration. But I would be lying if I didn’t say that I was excited to be invited to something by Apple. I’ve been covering Apple products since the turn of the millennium and they’ve never invited me to anything. Not for the iPod, not for the iPhone, not even for Ping. But now they were inviting me. That they were inviting me to spend money so that they would get a cut of every transaction I ever made seemed beside the point.
Even though I didn’t need another credit card, I applied anyway. Because Apple.
I knew I wasn’t the first to be invited. I had seen a smattering of Apple journalists tweeting about their first experiences with the card. These are the same journalists who always tweet their fancy invitations to Apple events that I never receive. So I checked Twitter to see if the rest of us hoi polloi had gotten the card. It didn’t seem so.
So even though I didn’t need another credit card, even though getting another credit card might actually lower my credit score, even though the cashback was less than what I get on my two current credit cards, I applied anyway. Because Apple.
The application process is ridiculously easy
I did as the invite email instructed and updated my iPhone to the most recent OS, then opened my Wallet app. I tapped the plus to continue, gave them my annual income, a picture of my driver’s license, and a few other pieces of personal financial info. Then I was done. As someone who remembers filling out forms for credit cards with a pen, fitting each digit of her social security number in those tiny boxes and mailing the application away with fingers crossed, this was a revelation. I…
