If you were interested in an Apple Card, check your email. Today, Apple is selecting a limited number of people who previously signed up on its website to try the Apple Card credit card, ahead of the product’s public launch later this summer. The company would not specify the number of people invited.
The people will be notified by email and invited to apply through the Wallet app on their iPhone. Card approval will take minutes, an Apple spokesperson said, and if the applicant is approved, the Apple Card can be used immediately. Physical “titanium, laser-etched” cards will take approximately two to three days to ship.
Apple Card is a MasterCard–backed credit card for iPhone users that offers bigger cash-back incentives for purchases in Apple’s ecosystem: 2% back with Apple Pay, and 3% back for Apple Store and App Store purchases and Apple subscriptions. Non–Apple Pay purchases receive 1%. The cash rewards can be put toward your credit card statement or deposited into your bank account.
For consumers already using Apple Pay heavily, the Apple Card is an enticing option. For non–Apple Pay purchases, however, spenders will earn more with nearly any other cash-back rewards card (most offer 1.5% back).
Apple is touting the new credit card’s iPhone-based, easy-to-use mobile app as its key differentiator. For example, the app displays a chart of your spending habits over time and has an interface that shows exactly how much interest you’ll pay based on different payment amounts.
As of Aug. 2, the Apple Card’s APR (or annual percentage rate charged as interest, if you don’t pay your statement in full) is 12.99% to 23.99%, depending on how good your credit is. (The card’s APR has changed since March, when it was listed as 13.24% to 24.24%.) The average credit card interest rate is 19.24%, according to WalletHub.
For those considering signing up for Apple Card, or any rewards credit card, the most important thing to remember is paying your bill in full if you can to avoid high interest credit card debt, said Sara Rathner, a credit card expert at NerdWallet. Rathner added, "Avoid making charges you can’t afford to pay back, because the interest you’d pay would wipe out your cash-back rewards — like that 3% cash back for a new MacBook Pro that’s out of your price range."