News from Apple this week

[TheForce]

Apple held it's special event to announce new services this week. I'm pretty excited about several offerings and already on board with one.

Watch the Apple Special Event

News+ is going to save me about $20 a month so I signed up right away.

Next I plan to look at Apple TV+ to see if the service is worth it. Can I really drop other subscription services? Jury is out on that for me. I do like that it has offline capability and commercial free.

Also, the Apple credit card looks like it may be a more secure way plus it gives cash back which I like so paying the Apple purchases can have a 3% cash back.

Games subscription may be something for the grandkids, but I have more games than I ever play for free on my Oculus Rift so I doubt those will be compelling to me.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

I get 5% back from Discover on Apple purchases.

So far the card just seems for the people who want to carry around a card with an Apple logo on it.


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[Peter Parker]

So far the card just seems for the people who want to carry around a card with an Apple logo on it.


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There may be quite a few Apple loyalists out there who will want it for that very reason.

 

[Neutron]

The card is made of titanium. Not many cards out there are metal. The closest with mine is my Discover which looks like metal but isn’t.

iOS 12.2 was released as well.

 

[Foxbat]

So far the card just seems for the people who want to carry around a card with an Apple logo on it.

There may be quite a few Apple loyalists out there who will want it for that very reason.

But you make more money back not using it. The idea being that those people who want the extra 1% on ?Pay purchases over Apple Card purchases will make noise to get ?Pay adapted in more places that don't have contactless payment going yet.

I don't see much allure in getting a new credit card, but some of the features are slick, like showing in the App how much interest you'll be paying if you don't zero out your balance every month, and allowing bi-weekly payments to reduce your balance and total amount paid. It would have been nice if Apple could have worked with a less scummy bank (*cough* sub-prime toxic asset mortgages *cough* 2008 Financial Meltdown *cough*), but such an American financial institution probably doesn't exist.

 

[TheForce]

I wonder if this plain card with chip will be accepted universally where MC and VISA is accepted or if the merchant account can only be accepted where Apple Pay is accepted. If it expands the Apple Pay to all CC capable merchant accounts then I'm all in for it, not because of the Apple haters ridicule that Apple cultists just want an Apple logo tattooed on their face, but because the card has added security. It lacks, account number, expiration date, signature and security code. I refuse to use my CC at restaurants after twice having the card info stolen and my card maxed out in 24 hours after being used at a restaurant. I use Apple Pay with my watch every chance I get but unfortunately it only works at a few places. Also, I had my CC info stolen this month again but with text of all charges I caught it right away. It was for a restaurant membership in New Hampshire. It was only $1.50 for initiation fee plus $69 month for 20% off on dining according to the crude website. The problem was the bank cancelled my account for filing a fraud report. Then issued new a card 10 days later but in the meantime rejected all my auto pays with the card. Took me 3 days of work to contact them and assign the bill to my other CC. So, adding security to the CC like what ApplePay CC does seems a step in the right direction. Not perfect but better than the way it works now with Visa and MC.

Cash Back- I was hoping for a better deal than what was offered but I like the 3% on Apple purchases. Could have used it before Christmas. But this year, I plan on a new ipad and a new iMAC for my wife. I will continue to use my Amazon card for all purchases through Amazon Prime for the 5% and BJ's for it's 5% cash back.

 

[dishfan82]

Thing about the Apple credit card is it was asked what credit score range would be accepted for approval and they didn’t answer . I’m guessing a 600 credit score would get someone approved but not at the lowest interest rate. What I like the most is getting cash back the same day you use the card instead of having to wait til the end of the month . I have a citi card that earns citi points and my wife and I don’t see those until the statement closes .

Plus I like how the card is made of titanium . I hate having to replace credit cards or debit cards once or twice a year .


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[TheForce]

Not concerned about the credit score or interest because I never carry a balance. I don't get the importance of titanium other than a marketing gimmick. Amazon card waits until your statement closes to get the cash back but BJ's gives it when the purchase is made but in $20 increments.

 

[Foxbat]

I hate having to replace credit cards or debit cards once or twice a year .

If you are using your credit card so much that it wears out in 6-12 months, I think you need to re-think your financial habits.

Does the ?Card have a magnetic stripe? If it does, a skimmer can still clone the data off the card. Since the card is titanium, that might prevent a mag stripe.

 

[navychop]

Sounds like one more hassle thru metal detectors.


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[harshness]

If you are using your credit card so much that it wears out in 6-12 months, I think you need to re-think your financial habits.

Or keep less stuff packed into your wallet.

Since the card is titanium, that might prevent a mag stripe.

Titanium is no more magnetic than the plastic used today. I'd be more concerned about how well the chip technology works as titanium is conductive (albeit a poor conductor).

As you point out, the omission of text from the card isn't much of a protection.

 

[Neutron]

I could care less what the interest rate I get is; we pay our cards off in full each month.

The card they showed didn’t have a magnetic stripe I don’t think. I do like the idea of the cash back being same day instead of at the end of the statement like what my Discover card does.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

I wonder if this plain card with chip will be accepted universally where MC and VISA is accepted or if the merchant account can only be accepted where Apple Pay is accepted.

Its a Mastercard with chip and magnetic strip on the back.

 

[Neutron]

We’ve had our bank debit card replaced 4 times in 4 years and I got tired of it. The last straw was when it happened the last time and I got told by the bank that I was the 3rd or 4th person that morning that had a weird charge from a gas station in Illinois. That told me the credit union wasn’t doing a good enough job securing our cards. We transferred to another credit union that’s nationally known and has been good to us since. We now use our credit cards for the majority of our purchases and auto payments and just pay those off each month.

 

[dishfan82]

If you are using your credit card so much that it wears out in 6-12 months, I think you need to re-think your financial habits.

Does the ?Card have a magnetic stripe? If it does, a skimmer can still clone the data off the card. Since the card is titanium, that might prevent a mag stripe.

It’s used every month and it’s paid off as soon as it’s used . The card earns thank you points from citi so that’s the only reason why it’s used so much .


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[TheForce]

Titanium is no more magnetic than the plastic used today. I'd be more concerned about how well the chip technology works as titanium is conductive (albeit a poor conductor).

As you point out, the omission of text from the card isn't much of a protection.

Most titanium is just one part of a titanium allow but even pure titanium can be detected by Garrett metal detectors. Same with Gold, silver, copper, lead. My new pacemaker still triggers the TSA detectors even the hand wand, but it is now safe to have an MRI and not rip the thing out of my chest.


If the new Apple card does have a magnetic stripe, a simple USB card reader will indeed reveal the CC number Name and exp date but not the 3 digit code. I have one of those readers here that I used years ago with my merchant account. Still, the security is better than the old card with printed info. Like having a burglar alarm on your home is better than nothing because given a choice- a dishonest waiter will just steal the info from an older plastic than the new stealth Apple Pay card. We've had home burglaries in my neighborhood often but they never hit my house, yet. Why- I have the alarm and video cams. My neighbors who get hit don't. It's really that simple.

Its a Mastercard with chip and magnetic strip on the back.

Not an Apple source but 3rd party news sources do confirm it will be accepted anywhere Mastercard is accepted. It also has a magnetic stripe but does not use NFC, so you have to swipe or insert the card to work. It also does not have a CVV number but is replaced with a finger print scan or face ID on your phone to finalize the transaction. This will make the transaction slower than the traditional card, but using NFC with Apple watch or iphone is faster than the traditional card. You can only apply for the card in the wallet app on the iphone. No web browsers allowed. If there is a fraud charge you can report it in the wallet app and Apple fraud team will take it from there.

My last fraud issue with a bank and Mastercard, took a whole morning to just report it. Then another week straightening out the mess it created.

 

[Juan]

Title:
Judge recommends blocking some iPhones from entering the United States

Link:
Judge recommends blocking some iPhones from entering the United States

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[Foxbat]

It would be interesting to see if ?Card allows you to specify unique 16-digit CC numbers for your recurring services accounts so if one company gets compromised you don't spend the next month hunting down all the recurring charge partners and updating their records with your new CC info.

Hopefully you have a strong Passcode our your iDevice so if it is stolen, someone doesn't punch in 1-2-3-4 and gain access to your ?Card data.

 

[harshness]

Most titanium is just one part of a titanium allow but even pure titanium can be detected by Garrett metal detectors.

I was speaking purely to the idea that it would be compatible with a magnetic stripe, not that it might trigger an airport metal detector.

It also has a magnetic stripe but does not use NFC, so you have to swipe or insert the card to work.

If I can't use it for online purchases, it has very little practical use for me. Even bitcoin has more utility there.

My daily driver is a Costco VISA. I can use it pretty much anywhere on the planet that cards are accepted and I don't have to explain to the vendor how to accept it via their POTS-connected merchant account device.

Apple's avoidance of NFC is truly baffling to me.

 

[TheForce]

If I can't use it for online purchases, it has very little practical use for me.

I understand the Apple Card number is available to use for online purchases, just that you can only use it for online by accessing the Apple wallet. I can't even get the CC numbers of cards I have in my Apple Wallet, only the last 4 digits. If you are using a PC that will be difficult, but if you have an Applecard then it should be obvious you have access to the Apple wallet whether it is an iphone, ipad or iMac. Best security would be the iphone with face ID.

If you have a magnetic stripe card reader and the appropriate decription software you can read the information off any CC. But a basic text reader like Notepad will only read the encrypted string of characters. I imagine that Apple Card uses the standard encryption / decryption that is available to merchants.