Apple Card
Ugh. I waited a long time before writing anything about this, hoping my opinions would lighten up a bit, but they haven’t and I don’t think they will.
The Apple Card is one of the most un-Apple-y things Apple has ever done. I’m not one of those Steve Jobs idolizers who thinks that the company is circling the drain without him, and I’m not one of those people who, every time Apple does something new or different, starts shouting about how “STEVE WOULD’VE NEVER…” But I seriously can’t imagine Steve letting this out the door.
My only hope for the Apple Card was that Apple is good at disrupting industries, and the credit card industry is truly an industry that needs to be disrupted because all those companies are very predatory and generally bad news for consumers. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like Apple is actually doing anything different. Sure, the digital-first approach is neat, and the titanium card looks cool. Also, its nice that it doesn’t carry any fees and it encourages you to pay your balance off every month, and I’ll even say that the daily cash reward system is nice. But at the end of the day, what kills consumers in the credit card industry is the interest rates, and Apple hasn't done anything revolutionary here, despite having claimed to. The lowest APR offered, 12.99%, is not low. And the high end, 23.99%, is absurd. Also, Goldman Sachs: Is that the best they could do? Partnering with a company that asks if curing disease is a sustainable business model? Gross.
If Apple truly wanted to disrupt a financial industry, they would’ve set their sights on the checking account. They could’ve rolled it up nicely with Apple Pay Cash and given out a nice titanium card. They could’ve chosen to get rid of the absurd overdraft fees (taking $37 from someone who literally has no money is wrong and borderline criminal, even if they agreed to it in the fine print), and instead monetize it with a simple, flat, monthly account fee; I’d happily pay ten bucks a month for an Apple checking account with a cool titanium card. Best of all, it would’ve been something that they could’ve offered to all of their customers. Of course, they didn’t do this because it would’ve been more difficult to monetize than a credit card with ridiculous interest rates, and the Apple Card only exists because Apple is trying to expand their revenue from services.
The Apple Card feels extremely corporate and greedy. It’s elitist, and it’s the first Apple product that isn’t available to everyone for a price. Some people simply cannot have one, especially younger folks like myself who haven’t had a ton of time to establish a fantastic credit score. Apple products are supposed to feel premium but not elitist; there’s a line there, and Apple Card falls decisively on the wrong side. I am not a fan.