
Credit Card News
Apple Card Adds New Benefits for Booking.com, ChargePoint
As the holiday season and a new year approach, Apple Card is making a few adjustments to its cashback offering.
About the updates:
This week, Apple Card sent an email to customers informing them of some new additions to the card. First, cardholders can now earn 3% Daily Cash on eligible hotel stays and car rentals on Booking.com. Specifically, Apple advises customers to use a special URL when booking and to make sure they pay with Apple Pay at checkout. As a bonus, cardholders who use the link and checkout with Apple Pay can earn 2% in Booking.com Travel Credits on eligible bookings.
Also new to the Apple Card is ChargePoint. Now, cardholders can earn 3% Daily Cash at qualifying ChargePoint stations as well as on purchases of home chargers. To take advantage of this perk, customers can use their Apple Card with Apple Pay in the ChargePoint app, at ChargePoint stations with contactless readers, in the ChargePoint Wallet Pass, and, for home chargers, on ChargePoint.com.
With these additions, one previous 3% Daily Cash brand is leaving the line-up. Effective starting February 1st, 2025, Panera Bread purchases will no longer be eligible for 3% back. That said, those using their Apple Card via Apple Pay at Panera stores or in the Panera app can continue to earn the standard 2% Daily Cash.
Currently, the Apple Card offers 3% Daily Cash for Apple, Ace Hardware, Exxon, Mobil, Nike, T-Mobile, Uber, Uber Eats, and Walgreens. The card also earns 2% Daily Cash when used via Apple Pay. All other purchases earn 1% back.
Other Apple Card news:
These minor updates come as the Apple Card’s future is in flux. Goldman Sachs and Apple have been looking to end their partnership, although a new issuer for the product has yet to be announced. Reports indicate that should the Apple Card portfolio change hands, further changes to the card could be coming.
In the meantime, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently fined Goldman Sachs and Apple a combined $89.8 million due to issues with the card. This includes Apple reportedly failing to forward “tens of thousands” of consumer transaction disputes to Goldman in a timely manner. Additionally, the CFPB accused Apple of misleading customers about their interest-free payment plans when purchasing Apple devices. While some cardholders assumed they’d be automatically enrolled in this program, in reality, this option needed to be selected at check out — although this was obscured on some browsers.
My thoughts:
To be honest, even as an Apple Card customer, I often forget about the 3% Daily Cash brand categories beyond Apple themselves. Therefore, these minor updates are unlikely to mean much to me. Instead, I’ll continue to use the card for its 2% back on Apple Pay purchases feature (until my Robinhood Gold card finally comes through) as well as its Apple purchase benefits.