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Applying for an Apple Card? It’s Incredibly Easy to Do.

Today while I was visiting a relative I thought I’d check my email, and lo and behold, there was an invitation to apply for the new Apple Card. Now, I need another credit card like I need to have brain surgery, but since I used to have one of the old Apple Credit Cards in the 1980s, I figured I’d carry on the tradition with the new card. The process of applying for it is typical “Apple easy”, and that’s what this article will show you.

At this point, Apple is sending out invitations to those people who expressed an interest in getting the new card. In the future, anyone with an iPhone will be able to apply from Apple Wallet. The invitation email looks like these two side-by-side screenshots:

Screenshots showing parts of the email sent to those who requested early access to the Apple Card

You must be running iOS 12.4 or better, and you can either tap the “Apply Now” button or go to the Wallet app, tap +, and then tap Continue. At that point, the splash screen seen below appears:

This is Apple Card

Upon tapping Continue, you’re asked to enter your Apple ID email address and password, verify your name, birth date, home address and contact phone number, then enter the last 4 digits of your social security number. You’ll also be asked for your estimated annual income.

One of the benefits of the Apple Card is that you should get approval almost immediately if you have a good credit rating, and begin to use the “virtual card” in your Wallet once the approval comes through. However, note that if you have a lock on your credit for security reasons, you’ll need to wait for a call from someone at Goldman Sachs Bank USA to validate your account. I have such a lock due to an identity theft incident in the past, so as of yet I can’t use the card.

The application process takes no time at all since most of the information required is already attached to your Apple ID and you simply need to validate that it is current and correct. I finished the process in about two minutes on my iPhone while having a conversation with another person.

What are the benefits of the Apple Card? First, and I love this, there’s no annual fee. Each transaction generates a cashback reward called “Daily Cash” that varies depending on the item purchased, and that cash shows up as a positive balance on your Apple Cash card. That money can be accumulated, then spent just like cash.

The Apple Card also has an innovative support mechanism — just send a message and you get an immediate answer. One example Apple uses is texting a new home address to the support team, and getting immediate verification that the account address has been changed.

Eventually, each Apple Card user is also sent a titanium card for use where Apple Pay is not accepted. That card has no number on it, another security feature that’s quite unique. Apple has a full web page explaining the Apple Card and its benefits.

I’ll update this post once I’ve been approved to let Rocket Yard readers know how the card works.

Update

Less than two hours after applying, I received a call from “Apple Card Support” (most likely someone at Goldman Sachs) for the credit check validation. That took about a minute, and shortly thereafter the card was live with a decently large credit line. The titanium card is something each user needs to request; it is not sent by default as I stated earlier. Apple also sends an informative email (see below):

The informative email from Apple welcoming new Card users

The Wallet app contains the Apple Card, and as you make purchases it appears to turn different colors. Mine is blank as I only have a $1 pending purchase on it right now. Those colors are used in another way, to let you know how you’re spending your money. In the app, you can also do things like changing your billing address, allow notifications of transactions (a good idea), make the card your default for App Store, Apple Music, and Apple services, and set up a bank account for automatic payments.

Apple Card setting screen in Wallet app
Tapping the Apple Card in the Wallet, then tapping the … button displays this settings screen.

Another great security feature? If at any time you think your card has been compromised, you can request a new card number. Since the Apple Card account is essentially virtual and the titanium card doesn’t have the card number on it, you can change the card number very quickly.

All in all, I was very happy with the Apple Card process. The company is expected to continue this early rollout for a month or so before opening applications to everyone

Steve Sande
the authorSteve Sande
Contributing Author
Steve has been writing about Apple products since 1986, starting on a bulletin board system, creating the first of his many Apple-related websites in 1994, joining the staff of The Unofficial Apple Weblog in 2008, and founding Apple World Today in 2015. He’s semi-retired, loves to camp and take photos, and is an FAA-licensed drone pilot.
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3 Comments

  • I was able to apply and receive my card without an invitation. I read an article on another website that showed how. All you have to do is pretend you’re adding a new card to wallet. Then select the AppleCard option. It will then run you through all the normal application process and I was done within 45 seconds.

    • It sounds like it is open to anyone, but they are not advertising it so they don’t get overwhelmed, which seems smart to me.

      I have enough plastic in my real wallet that I haven’t bothered setting up or using the Apple Wallet yet.

      If they offered 50% off a new Mac, I might be tempted to sign up for the card.