Apple Pulls Plug on Goldman Credit-Card Partnership - eviltoast
  • Renolber@alien.topB
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    10 months ago

    So what’s the play here?

    Best case is Apple keeps quiet about it, and they already have another partner lined up. Essentially a silent backend transition.

    Worst case scenario is they abandon consumer credit altogether, and we lose the card and the savings account. Which would… really suck. I built a majority of my credit with the Apple Card, and have a lot savings in the savings account.

    What are we projecting to happen here?

    • bartturner@alien.topB
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      10 months ago

      Better UX. Which it did. Was the primary card I have been using.

      But if move to Amex that will end that. Amex is worthless if you travel and I travel 50% of the time. Mostly SEA.

      • East_Onion@alien.topB
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        10 months ago

        Better UX. Which it did. Was the primary card I have been using.

        COMPLETE WASTE OF TIME

        Apply pay already negated all the UX of other banks cards.

  • hawksnest_prez@alien.topB
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    10 months ago

    I work in banking and the demands Apple has made in this article to Goldman sound like hell to deal with

  • CanaryRich@alien.topB
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    10 months ago

    Yikes … so what does this mean? I really hope Synchrony doesn’t get the contract. Damn, this is the credit card that I have the largest limit and history with, this sucks.

    • DogzillaMD@alien.topB
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      10 months ago

      Get a Citi Doublecash. One of the best cards around. No fees. Keep that thing open for life.

      • Fickle_Dragonfly4381@alien.topB
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        10 months ago

        I just closed my Citi DoubleCash. It declines SO MUCH and foreign transaction fees are a pain. It also has basically no perks.

        Just swapped it for a Capital One Venture X. Card has a $395 annual fee, but gives $400 in annual cash benefits spendable on travel ($100 can be used on any travel, $300 can be used on their portal, which is perfectly fine for booking flights).

        Benefit is the app/ecosystem is a lot nicer and it’s never declined a transaction. They also started me out with over 3x the credit limit as Citi did.

        It also has return protection, extended warranty, etc.

        • DogzillaMD@alien.topB
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          10 months ago

          Dang, sorry to hear the problems with it. I don’t travel a whole lot, so the travel cards don’t do much for me, as great as they look.

          Thanks for the info!

      • CanaryRich@alien.topB
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        10 months ago

        To be honest at this moment I’m done opening credit cards because I have all I need, but if anything happens where Apple doesn’t continue with the Apple Card then I may be forced to. It’ll be a big hit to my credit.

        • Orangenbluefish@alien.topB
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          10 months ago

          What even happens if they stop supporting the Apple card? Like would it really negatively affect our credit even if it’s completely out of our control? Haven’t dealt with a scenario where a card is discontinued before and how that affects users

          • CanaryRich@alien.topB
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            10 months ago

            Most likely, it’ll be a closed account which will drop your amount of open accounts and your amount of available credit.

      • CanaryRich@alien.topB
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        10 months ago

        That’d be clutch as well but I personally don’t want to apply for anything anymore credit card wise where I’ll get hit with a hard inquiry. That’s why I love AMEX and if I’m looking to open another card then they’d probably be one of the first companies I’d consider. I aged my credit report enough to the point where I was able to get all of my hard inquiries to fall off so now I’m at 0, and I’m not looking to get another one until I apply for a mortgage or car loan.

    • Snorlax_Returns@alien.topB
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      10 months ago

      The Apple Card is the card I have the longest history with, and I would like to keep the account open for another year or two.

      Is there any actual harm that Synchrony could do to us?

      I hardly ever use the Apple Card, so I’m not really concerned about bad customer service or something like that.

      • UnorthodoxEngineer@alien.topB
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        10 months ago

        Why are you going to close the account with the most credit history? That’s just going to fuck your credit score.

  • SpindriftRascal@alien.topB
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    10 months ago

    That sucks. The functionality has been excellent, IMO. I like it much better than my cards from Chase or Amex.

    • mv777711@alien.topB
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      10 months ago

      It’s crazy how user experience plays such a big role in these things. Wells Fargo can’t make a good app for the life of them. AMEX and Citi have gotten better, but none are near the ease of use I get from the Apple Card. That’s why it’s my daily.

      • AustinIllini@alien.topB
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        10 months ago

        Amex definitely best aligns with Apple but I understand why they’re hesitant. Amex treats me like a human which I greatly appreciate

        • purplebasterd@alien.topB
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          10 months ago

          AMEX customer service is mediocre if you need assistance with something beyond the basics, which is ridiculous for a company that size and if you have a high tier card like the Platinum.

  • churningaccount@alien.topB
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    10 months ago

    I mean, if any company has the resources and bandwidth to spin up an in-house operation, it’s Apple. I’m sure they’re, at the very least, considering going partnerless.

    Especially since, given Goldman’s experience, I’m sure any contract with a new partner would pass more of the losses on to Apple than previously.

    • axck@alien.topB
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      10 months ago

      Technology companies venturing into financial services doesn’t usually go well. Ask GE

    • stjep@alien.topB
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      10 months ago

      Being a bank is lucrative if done right — just ask the airlines.

      Which airlines run a bank?

        • stjep@alien.topB
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          10 months ago

          Isn’t that hyperbole? They’re not doing banking, they’re running a rewards program that has a vague dollar value but really serves no function of a traditional bank.

          they turned airlines into something more like financial institutions that happen to fly planes on the side

          For example here they’re hedging. It’s like financial institutions.

          Here’s how the system works now: Airlines create points out of nothing and sell them for real money to banks with co-branded credit cards.

          So, they’re like banks if they partner with banks to run a program.


          This argument does not pass the sniff test to me. It’s just The Atlantic selling a narrative so their readers can talk about something to sound clever.

  • efr57@alien.topB
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    10 months ago

    I got this card for one reason, and one reason only. My son-in-law has one…threw it down one day to pay for something. That clink…that metal sound…what is that I had to know? And now…I have the clink. So my hope is that that is not going away. Not sure who else makes a metal card ( probably some AE version)…but I am easily entertained in my old age as you can see.

    • broknbottle@alien.topB
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      10 months ago

      First he took your daughter and then your man hood by throwing down that Apple Card. Gigachad son-in-law

    • Pjpjpjpjpj@alien.topB
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      10 months ago

      My Amazon card has that heavy ‘clink’. But I assure you that there is more to it that just the sound because throwing down an Amazon card doesn’t get anyone excited.

    • 1millerce1@alien.topB
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      10 months ago

      That clink

      Marriott (the black ones) cards from Chase have the metal layer in the middle.

    • CT4nk3r@alien.topB
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      10 months ago

      Curve, Revolut, Vivid does metal cards. They are not that rare in the wild if you search for them, but they are usually on high-cost tiers

    • timffn@alien.topB
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      10 months ago

      If the Apple Card ever stops working, you can still sit at your kitchen table and throw the card down to hear that clink if that’s what rocks your socks. That parts never going away.

  • PyRed@alien.topB
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    10 months ago

    I’m not sure if I understand this correctly. Is Apple pulling the plug or is Goldman pulling the plug here?

  • McFatty7@alien.topB
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    10 months ago

    At one time, I was on the edge of getting the Apple Card because of their $0 interest on almost all Apple products, including the iPhone, but once they got rid of the unlocked iPhone with 0% interest, I knew the writing was on the wall.

    Especially when it was directly competing with the iPhone Upgrade Program.

  • AdventurousTime@alien.topB
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    10 months ago

    Let Amex take over and have Amex issue Mastercards since there is a deal in place until 2026 jajajajaja .

  • herbalblend@alien.topB
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    10 months ago

    Other than paying off my large Mac purchases over time, I’ve found very little use for this card in the wild.

    Bank of America select cash back does 3% on all online purchases, including apple.

    Chase freedom does 1.5% on everything. (which is a negligible difference from the 2% Apple Pay perk)

    The combination really puts apple only perk as 0% APR.

    I’m sure someone will vehemently tell me how wrong I am but, this is basically an in store credit card good for deferring payments only.

    • rydan@alien.topB
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      10 months ago

      I got it for Uber 3% cash back. Then the pandemic happened and I stopped taking rides. Then I got the Chase Reserve which has 3% cashback on all travel (including Uber) and 10% for Lyft. So now I just use it for app purchases. For buying Apple products themselves I buy Apple gift cards from Target at a 5% discount. So that’s 5% cash back which beats what you are doing.

    • SolarTrans@alien.topB
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      10 months ago

      There are tons of flat 2% cards these days. Nerdwallet has some nice write ups. Apple card was always about convenience for iPhones, and 2% flat wasn’t as common when it launched

    • timffn@alien.topB
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      10 months ago

      Love how people spin things. You say 2% is a negligible difference from 1.5%, but people will shoot you dead if you dare use the physical card to only get 1% (which is a negligible difference from 1.5%)

      I say use what card works for you.

    • Unlifer@alien.topB
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      10 months ago

      Don’t forget purchase protections, extended warranties, point transfers, all of the bonus features provided by competitors even at 1.5% CB. Some offering more CB for other categories.

      Apple Card didn’t have an advantage in any category other than convenience.

      • purplebasterd@alien.topB
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        10 months ago

        The only benefits Apple Card has that others might not is no foreign transactions fees on a no AF card, wider acceptance of MC than AMEX, ease of use in the Wallet app, and 0% financing with 3% cash back on Apple products.

    • MachesterU@alien.topB
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      10 months ago

      The no foreign charge works really well for me though. I’m not in the States anymore.

    • SuperMazziveH3r0@alien.topB
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      10 months ago

      I pretty much only use it where they don’t accept my Amex because I can at least get the Apple Pay Cash back

    • -Valora@alien.topB
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      10 months ago

      It’s phenomenally useful as a card programmed conveniently into all my Apple devices and I use it nearly exclusively overseas, especially in Japan.

    • ttoma93@alien.topB
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      10 months ago

      Citi Double Cash is also a no fee card that gets flat 2% back on everything.

      The Apple Card just truly isn’t a competitive product for anything other than the 0% financing and 3% cash back at Apple, and even that isn’t particularly standout, as you mentioned.

    • nazadus@alien.topB
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      10 months ago

      Personally - I like the UI of all the wallet and payment methods as well as how trivial it is to dispute and how smooth the process is.

      It’s something all providers should strive to be.

      But raw perks relative to others? It’s… standard. At best.

      Amex has way better benefits for sure.

      Although Apple gave me a HUGE amount on my card - like so much that if I were to max it out there’s no way I could afford to pay it back. Helps me credit though, so I’m not complaining.

      edit: Oh and the auto-transfer to savings is sexy as well as how trivial it is to add or withdraw.