Apple Card Daily Cash: Deep dive

The new Apple Card has certainly garnered a lot of attention – due to its flashy look and unique, user-friendly functionality. The card boasts top-tier usability, thanks to a variety of in-app spend tracking, interest calculation and reward redemption features.

One of the most unique offerings on the new card is called Daily Cash. Rather than award cardholders their cash back at the end of a statement period like a traditional credit card, the Apple Card allows users to take advantage of their rewards same-day. Read on to learn more about how this feature works and if it is worth the hype.

What is Daily Cash?

Daily Cash is a new feature on the Apple Card, designed to change the way redeeming rewards works. As Apple cardholders shop, they can earn 3 percent cash back on Apple purchases and at select merchants when you pay with Apple Pay (currently Exxon Mobil, T-Mobile, Uber, Uber Eats, Walgreens and Duane Reade), 2 percent on other purchases made using Apple Pay and 1 percent on everything else.

With most rewards cards, you’d see your rewards appear in your account at the end of the billing period. But with Apple Card, users earn Daily Cash – meaning they have access to rewards the same day the charge posts to their account.

How Daily Cash works

Since Daily Cash is an untraditional rewards feature, it is important to understand just how earning cash back on the Apple Card works. That way, you can ensure you are making the most of your spending.

The first step to Daily Cash is spending with your Apple Card. Cardholders earn 3 percent on all Apple purchases – including in-app transactions, subscriptions to services like Apple Music and Apple product purchases. If you pay for an Uber or Uber Eats order with Apple Pay, you’ll earn 3 percent cash back on that order. The same is true when you pay for Walgreens (or Duane Reade) purchases with Apple Pay or when paying with Apple Pay at a T-Mobile store. Finally, gas, car washes or in-store purchases at an Exxon or Mobil fuel station will earn 3 percent. You can also earn 2 percent cash back anytime you pay with Apple Pay. All other purchases earn 1 percent cash back.

As your purchases are tracked in the Apple Wallet app, you can see just how much cash back you’ll be earning from a particular transaction. Every day, your allotted rewards are added straight to your Apple Cash card.

From an Apple Cash card (which is built directly into your Apple Wallet app), users can immediately spend their cash back. The card can be used to make purchases via Apple Pay, send money to friends and family over iMessage or even transfer funds directly to your bank account.

Overall, taking advantage of Daily Cash is incredibly straightforward. However, there are a few things to keep in mind before you spend your rewards. While Daily Cash allows Apple cardholders the unique opportunity to use their rewards balance soon after earning cash back, the system is not without its kinks.

For example, imagine you make a purchase at a retailer using Apple Pay for a new bag, costing $200. You earn 2 percent cash back on this purchase, which shows up on your Apple Cash card that evening after the transaction posts to your account. The next morning, you use your $4 Daily Cash balance to buy a cup of coffee. If the next week you decide to return your bag, you are no longer entitled to the cash back you already spent.

In cases like these, Apple cardholders will see a charge on their statement offsetting the pre-emptively spent rewards. For the most part, this will likely not be a large charge, but it can be a potential drawback for many users.

Is Daily Cash better than other rewards structures?

Despite a few drawbacks in unique situations like the one described above, Daily Cash can be a very valuable tool for cardholders eager to spend their rewards.

A recent study showed that 24 percent of millennial cardholders and 14 percent of Gen X cardholders redeem their rewards at least once per week. If you are this kind of cardholder, then Daily Cash is one of the best features for your kind of spending. Here’s a deeper look into the pros and cons of the feature.

Pros of Daily Cash

• Access to your rewards much faster than many rewards cards
• Clear visualization into how much you earn from each transaction
• The Apple Cash card has flexible redemption options

Cons of Daily Cash

• Quick access to cash back can deter you from saving up for larger redemptions
• If you return an item, you’ll owe any cash back you earned from the purchase on your next statement

Final thoughts

Daily Cash is one of the most disruptive features that debuted with the new Apple Card, as it offers a truly unique rewards structure. For cardholders who prefer to redeem their cash back often, Daily Cash is sure to add significant value to the card. If you’re the kind of user who prefers to save up cash back for large redemptions, however, the feature might not be quite as exciting.