Why your Apple Card may be declined at the Apple Store

You know what they say: an apple a day keeps the doctor away. Or in this case, the Apple Store keeps the Apple Card away.

Reports are surfacing that the card is being declined at various Apple stores, and not because the terminals are faulty. Kate Kozuch, a writer at Tom's Guide and an Apple aficionado, recently tried to purchase a new iPhone via the Apple Upgrade Program at the Apple Store at Roosevelt Field Mall in Garden City, New York. She was shocked when a manager was unable to get her titanium card to swipe. Instead, she was told she had to input the card's number on the terminal. The catch here, of course, is that Apple Cards don't have numbers etched onto them — so Kozuch had to reference her wallet app to find it. Ouch.

Related reading: Apple Card now offering more categories with 3% cash back

The Apple Card offers 3% cash back on all Apple purchases, 2% on Apple Pay purchases, and 1% cash back on everything else. If you want to use your Apple Card to get that 3% cash back instead of 2% via Apple Pay at the store, you'll need to know about the workaround.

As Tom's Guide reports, the iPhone Upgrade Program is a recurring payment from the store, which means there's an extra layer of security attached to it. Since the titanium card doesn't have the number nor CVV printed on it, you'll need to ask the cashier to enter the card information manually as a precaution.

File this under "good to know" as the company recently announced that if you have the Apple Card, you can get 24-month interest-free financing on a new iPhone. If you're considering pulling the trigger, make sure you consult our guide about Apple Card frequently asked questions first.

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