5 Reasons to AVOID The Apple Card 

So the apple card is a very popular credit card but not a very good one in my opinion and I think it should be avoided by the majority of people out there. 

Now there's no question that Apple knows how to design its products to look good so of course, they designed the apple card to be one of the sleekest and coolest looking metal credit cards on the market when it comes to appearance. 

But while this credit card might be really nice to look at and hold I personally believe that Apple is sort of up to no good here with a few tricks up their sleeve including one thing in particular that when I learned it surprised me a little bit.

1. Should never leave your wallet 

The first reason why I don't like the apple card is the fact that in order to get the most out of it you should really never take it out of your wallet which is ironic because it's made of this nice titanium finish 

which is one of the main selling points of the card and most cardholders will be dying to show this off that's because while the apple card can technically earn two per cent back on everything it only earns two per cent back if you use it through apple pay on your iPhone 

Otherwise, if you use the actual physical credit card you'll only be earning one per cent back on everything which is just standard when it comes to any other credit card out there 

So the second that you take this credit card out of your wallet you lose because you'll be missing out on earning some extra cashback that you could get if you use this card through apple pay on your iPhone or if you just use another credit card that earns more in different categories 

I'm warning you right now if you try to take this card out at a restaurant just to impress people those people might laugh at you and ask you to put the card back into your wallet as they take out a better card such as the Amex gold and hand it to the waiter so they can earn 4x back on that meal

But seriously if you're getting the apple car because of its looks just know that it is true looks can be deceiving and apple knows this which is why they designed the apple card to look the way it does and feel so premium while still offering very little cashback in return. 

2. No welcome bonus 

The second reason why I don't like the apple card and you should avoid it and this is really important is the fact that there's no welcome bonus

Now a welcome bonus does not have to be a deal-breaker when getting a credit card but it should definitely be considered 

So for example let's take a card like a chase freedom unlimited which earns 1.5 back on everything and compare it to the apple card and let's pretend that you are able to use the apple card to its fullest potential with apple pay so you're earning two per cent back 

Now if you were deciding on which card to use as a catch-all card for any purchase that doesn't fall under a traditional spending category then you might be tempted to choose the apple card because it earns point five per cent more on all purchases compared to the chase freedom unlimited as long as you're using apple pay 

But when you factor in the fact that you get a 200 welcome bonus with the freedom unlimited and then do a little bit of math you would have to spend forty thousand dollars on the apple card to earn an extra two hundred dollars cashback to make up for that point five per cent difference in the cashback rates between these two cards 

So that's basically a simplified break-even point for when you would benefit from getting the apple card over the freedom unlimited 

Spending forty thousand dollars on a credit card is a lot and would likely take several years to do which is why I see the lack of a welcome bonus as a major disadvantage for the apple card 

Not to mention there's actually a brand new contender on the market for the best flat-rate cashback card the wells Fargo active cash which gets the best of both worlds since it has two per cent back on everything just like the apple card when you use apple pay and it also has a 200 welcome bonus just like the freedom unlimited 

I think this is a really smart way to think about welcome bonuses and the opportunity costs when you consider getting one credit card compared to another

3. Locks you into the Apple ecosystem 

So the third reason which I think really isn't talked about too much is the fact that this card further locks you into the apple ecosystem 

Don't get me wrong I love apples and I think that I'm already trapped in their ecosystem 

But apple is really really good at producing products that are designed to be used together 

So what apple wants to do with this credit card is earn its place in both of your pockets with your iPhone in one and then your apple card inside of your wallet in the other pocket 

They do this by doing what they always do which is making a product that's super easy to use the apple card uses an app which I'll talk about in my next reason for disliking the apple card 

But this app is actually really easy to use and it tracks things such as your spending categories the cashback that you're earning and other things like that 

So I think that apple's thought process here is that if they can make it really simple to track all of your spendings on their streamlined iPhone app then you'll be more likely to put more of or all of your spending on the apple card 

and since you can only have the apple card if you already have an iPhone apple is just hoping that that's another reason why you won't want to go switch over to a Samsung phone or a Google phone 

4. The App

Now reason number four why I don't like the apple card like I just mentioned is the app that's because while this app might be very useful for tracking your spending on the apple card it's limited to just that card

You can't track your spending on other credit cards within the app which is a huge problem at least for someone like me and others like me who like to try to maximize the cashback and rewards that we earn across several credit cards 

So while this app looks very easy to use I just don't see it as being very practical especially when there are other options out there like mint that can track your spending across different credit cards and different accounts 

Again this goes back to apple trying to tempt its customers to commit to only using apple products so while I think the app looks nice I view this as a negative 

Because the app is just limiting but who knows maybe in the future Apple will change this and try to develop an app that actually tracks all credit cards but I doubt it because apple has a history of trying to trap you in its ecosystem 

5. Lower credit score approval 

Apple has been approving customers for the apple card with credit scores in the low 600s which could also be classified as subprime lending now every person is different but for somebody with a credit score that's on the lower side they might not be as responsible with credit cards 

Even if they're working on improving their credit score over time people with lower credit scores may even be more likely to be living paycheck to paycheck which could force them to feel the need to carry a credit card balance just to make ends meet 

Since Apple is advertising the ability to track your spending and track the amount of interest that you'll owe if you do have to carry a balance I think that they're almost normalizing credit card debt which is already a huge problem for millions of Americans 

I believe that credit card debt should be avoided at all costs because of the insane amounts of interest that you can accumulate the interest rates on the apple card range from 10.99 to 21.99 according to apple but even 

If you're able to qualify for a rate that's on the lower end of this range you should still avoid trying to carry a balance on your credit card because you're just going to end up paying way more for things if you don't pay off in full 

That's why I always recommend that you think of your credit card like a debit card and only use it to pay for things where you already have that money set aside in a separate bank account so you can go ahead and pay off the credit card immediately 

So while Apple is putting on this image that they're making people more aware of their financial health what they're really doing is they're enabling subprime credit card users to accumulate more interest charges because they think it's okay because apple supposedly has their back

I know I know apple is not alone in being the only company out there to profit off its customers accumulating interest charges because every other credit card company out there does the same thing 

But for me knowing that Apple is trying to get this card in the hands of people who are subprime borrowers whereas other companies out there like chase and American express typically require a credit score of 700 or higher to qualify for their best credit cards 

It just feels like Apple is actively targeting customers that could be affected the most by carrying a credit card balance and this just doesn't sit right with me and whether it's intentional or not it just feels like apple's being a little bit hypocritical by saying that they have your financial health in mind but then going after customers that may be more likely to accumulate interest when they really shouldn't be.

But for people with lower credit scores they might not understand why carrying a balance is so bad because this stuff just isn't taught in schools when we grow up and that's a whole different conversation for a whole different.

Let me know what you think about the apple card am I just being paranoid about apple and their credit card here maybe I don't know but I'd love to hear what you think and if you agree with me or maybe you disagree with me and you actually like the apple card because there are definitely some positives out there for some people well anyway.

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