Comparing the Apple Card to the Barclaycard Visa With Apple Rewards

March 30, 2019

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4 min read

Comparing the Apple Card to the Barclaycard Visa With Apple Rewards

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With Apple Card set to open to applicants in summer 2019, we compared it to several of our favorite no annual fee cash-back cards. But for individuals who make frequent Apple purchases, there's actually already a credit card out there catering to you: the Barclaycard Visa with Apple Rewards.

Is it worth waiting for Apple's own credit card, or is this existing card superior? We'll analyze the perks of each below.

Card	Annual Fee	Earning Overview	0% Intro APR	Foreign-Transaction Fee	Other Perks
Apple Card	None	3% (purchases made directly with Apple) 2% (all Apple Pay purchases) 1% (everything else)	N/A (13.24% to 24.24% variable APR from open)	None	Elevated privacy and theft protections (no physical card number) Titanium card design
The Barclaycard Visa with Apple Rewards	None	3 points per $1 spent on Apple purchases 2 points per $1 spent at restaurants 1 point per $1 spent on everything else	N/A (16.24%, 22.24% or 28.99% variable APR based on your creditworthiness from open)	3%	ID theft protection

Which Apple credit card is better?

The forthcoming Apple Card is the superior product, hands-down. The deal-breaker for the Barclaycard Visa with Apple Rewards is the inflexibility of its earning structure. While it may seem alluring to earn points rather than cash back, this particular card does not allow transfers to hotel and airline partners.

Rather, the points are automatically redeemed in the form of either Apple Store or App Store/iTunes gift cards. 2,500 points equals a $25 gift card, 5,000 points equals a $50 gift card or 10,000 points equals a $100 gift card. There's no way to request that your points be given back in the form of cash, either.

Apple Card will have tight iPhone integration for spend reporting. (Image courtesy of Apple)

Apple Card, on the other hand, credits your earnings back as cash that can be spent shortly after it's earned. 3% back on Apple purchases is much more flexible in the form of cash versus an Apple gift card. To boot, the Apple Card has no foreign-transaction fees, which can really add up on even a short international jaunt.

While Apple Card doesn't have the 2% back on restaurant purchases, you can overcome that by adding the Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card to your wallet, which has no annual fee and earns 3% cash back on dining, entertainment, popular streaming services and grocery stores (excluding superstores like Walmart® and Target®).

The information for the Apple Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Bottom Line

Many consumers weren't aware that an Apple-centric credit card from Barclaycard already existed, but even if you make routine purchases from Apple, you're better off waiting for Apple Card or looking at select cards that have an annual fee yet offer superior earning rates from the retailer. With an inflexible redemption structure that forces you to accept your earnings in the form of Apple or iTunes gift cards, the Barclaycard Visa with Apple Rewards could very well be phased out after Apple Card opens for applications.

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Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.