Apple Card

Rewards by category

Our take

Apple Card fits people who already pay by phone almost everywhere. The 2% rate covers a long list of everyday categories — dining, groceries, gas, travel, streaming — whenever you pay through the mobile wallet. It even ranks third in our superstores, department stores, and wholesale clubs tables, spending areas where a flat 2% still lands near the top. Rewards are plain cash back at a straight one cent, with no annual fee.

The catch sits in the fine print: nearly every category carries the same caveat, pay with the mobile wallet. Swipe the physical card instead and you fall back to the 1% base rate. There is no sign-up bonus and no listed perks, so the ongoing rates are the whole pitch. Rent technically earns 2%, but a processor fee of roughly 3% usually applies, which erases the reward.

In a small wallet, Apple Card works best as the tap-to-pay floor next to one or two specialists. Its strongest rates are 3% on purchases made directly with Apple and 3% at Walgreens through Apple Pay. It peaks at third place in our rankings, so wherever a higher-rate category card exists, that card wins — keep this one for everything else. The card is also changing issuers, from Goldman Sachs to JPMorgan Chase.

The math

Run $400 a month of dining through this card and you're earning about $96 a year at our conservative valuations. There's no annual fee to earn back — everything above the 1% base rate is pure upside.

Where it lands in our rankings: #2 for superstores · #3 for pet supplies · #3 for software & saas

Store bonuses

• Apple3%
• Walgreens3%

Common questions

Does Apple Card have an annual fee?

No — Apple Card has no annual fee.

What does Apple Card earn on dining?

2% on dining (pay with the mobile wallet).

What rewards does Apple Card earn on everything else?

1% on all other purchases, in Cash Back.

Do I need to use Apple Pay to get 2% with the Apple Card?

Effectively, yes. Almost every 2% category in our table carries the same condition: pay through the mobile wallet. Purchases made with the physical card earn the 1% base rate instead. If most of the places you shop accept tap-to-pay from your phone, the 2% is easy to collect; if they do not, treat this as a 1% card.

Where does the Apple Card earn 3%?

In two places in our data: purchases made directly with Apple — apple.com, the Apple Store, the App Store, and Apple services — and at Walgreens when you pay through Apple Pay. Walgreens ran a 5% promotion that has since ended, so plan around the steady 3%. Everywhere else, expect 2% with the mobile wallet or 1% without it.