Apple’s new credit card, called Apple Card, was announced this spring and isn’t available to everyone just yet—rollout for the card started this week. While a select few (a random drawing of people who signed up for the waiting list) get started using the card, let’s take a look at how it stacks up to your other options. Yes, Apple Card is futuristic and fancy, but is it worth sending your other cards to the back of your wallet?

What’s good about Apple Card

The application process

Applying for the card takes a few minutes. You can see your interest rate and credit limit before you accept the card, and Apple says your credit score isn’t impacted until you accept.

You can use the card via your iOS device anywhere Apple Pay is accepted. Once you’re approved, you can start using Apple Card in the Wallet app immediately.

Billing and rewards

The card automatically categorizes and color-codes your spending by type of purchase inside your Wallet app. It also maps your purchases so you can see the physical areas where you made charges. You can view summaries of your spending by week, month, day or spending category.

You earn 3% cash back on purchases made from Apple, including games or subscriptions like Apple Music. You earn 2% whenever you spend using Apple Pay, and 1% on all other purchases. This cash back is granted on a daily basis, instead of making you wait until the end of the billing cycle to see benefits. You can choose whether you send that cash back to your card to lower your balance, to pay a friend via iMessage, or send it to your bank account.

The amount of cash back you can earn isn’t capped, but you must have an Apple Cash card in your Wallet app to be able to receive daily deposits.

If you don’t pay your entire bill, you can see an estimate of how much interest you’ll pay based on your payment amount.

Apple Card doesn’t charge an annual fee. Nor does it have late payment fees, cash-advance fees, international transaction fees, over-limit fees, or returned payment fees.

It’s just nice to look at! The physical card is substantial and a minimalist design fan’s dream. And, as Lifehacker’s Senior Tech Editor David Murphypointed out, the color of the virtual card in your Apple Wallet changes to reflect your spending categories.

Security and privacy

Fraudulent charges can be flagged from Apple Wallet, and Apple says you can get answers to your questions “24/7 by texting” instead of having to call them.

Apple Card requires Face ID or Touch ID to authorize purchases, and pairs a one-time security code with your device number for every purchase. The physical card doesn’t have numbers or a security code on it—just your name. Your Wallet app stores a virtual card number you can use to make online purchases on websites that don’t have Apple Pay.

Apple says that card administrator Goldman Sachs will “use your data to operate Apple Card,” but states clearly, “They will never share or sell your data to third parties for marketing or advertising.”

What’s not so exciting about Apple Card

Interest and rewards

Your variable interest rate depends on your credit history, and can range from 12.99% to 23.99%. That’s competitive with other credit cards, but if you’re looking for a rock-bottom interest rate, you’d do better at a credit union.

Unless you’re deeply entrenched in the Apple universe and know you’ll get that 3% cash back often, you can get better rewards on other cards. The Chase Freedom card, for example, offers 3% cash back on all purchases (for your first $20,000 of spending), and the Discover It card offers a rotating quarterly 5% cash back category.

As of right now, your card activity won’t sync with budgeting apps to which you might be loyal.

The Apple ecosystem

Obviously, this card is only useful to iOS users. You must have a compatible iPhone model with Face ID or Touch ID, and the latest version of iOS. iPhone 5s is excluded.

If you’re making an effort to spend less time on your phone, this may not be the best option for you. There’s no desktop version of your account and spending data to peruse—apps only.

The bottom line on Apple Card

If you’re an Apple fan who wants to do less with your physical wallet and more with your phone, it’s worth applying. If you’re just looking for another rewards card, look elsewhere. A regular cash-back card can probably help you earn rewards at a higher rate on all your expenses including Apple products and apps. I don’t think you’ll see Apple Card listed on any “best cash back card” ranking lists any time soon.

Source: lifehacker