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Cash is the holiday gift that your family won’t return, right? Then let your gang earn up to $200 Daily Cash by adding them to your Apple Card* account by Dec. 17.
The Apple Card is letting cardholders add up to five users who can each earn a Daily Cash bonus by meeting some fairly low spending thresholds. This offer could be an easy way to earn some cash back while finishing your last-minute holiday shopping.
How to earn $200 Daily Cash using the Apple Card
If your family regularly uses Apple Pay for its purchases, it could be fairly easy for you to earn the $200 Daily Cash bonus with the Apple Card. As the cardholder, you can add users to your card as either a co-owner or a participant -- and each person can earn their own reward.
- New co-owners can earn $100 Daily Cash when they spend at least $100 in their first 30 days after you add them to your account. A co-owner can manage the account and is equally responsible for paying the balance. Both owners can also build credit equally, making the Apple Card one of the few true joint credit cards available. You should only make someone a co-owner if you trust them to manage the account responsibly since your credit score could be affected.
- New participants can earn $25 Daily Cash when they spend $25 or more in their first 30 days after you add them to your account. Each participant gets their own card, which the co-owners can set spending limits for and monitor. Participants can be anyone age 13 or older, and anyone over 18 can use the card to start building their credit history. It might make sense to add your kids as participants since you can use the card to help teach them smart spending habits.
You can add anyone in your Apple Family Sharing group as users -- they don’t need to be actual family members. But there's a big catch: All cardholders do need to have an Apple phone or device to access the card and its benefits.
How to redeem your Apple Daily Cash
If you’ve set up Apple Cash on your iPhone, your Daily Cash balance is automatically added to your Apple Cash. You can use Apple Cash to make payments by using the Wallet app.
If you have an Apple Card Savings account, you can automatically have your Daily Cash sent directly to your high-yield savings account, where it will start earning interest.
If you don’t have either Apple Cash or an Apple Card Savings account, you can apply Daily Cash as a credit to your Apple Card statement balance.
Other things to consider about the Apple Card
There are other benefits you can use with the Apple Card, but it also has drawbacks that may make the card less useful for you and your family:
Cash back
The Apple Card offers the potential to earn 3% cash back at select merchants and 2% on other purchases, and each user in your group can earn their own cash back. You’ll also receive cash back you earn on a daily basis -- most credit cards only pay out rewards on a monthly basis.
But all purchases must be made with Apple Pay, which is currently accepted at approximately 85% of merchants. If you don’t use Apple Pay, you don’t earn any cash back. So it may not be the best credit card for you and your family if you can’t use Apple Pay where you normally shop.
You can request a physical credit card, which is accepted anywhere Mastercard is accepted, but you won't earn cash back on transactions you make with the physical card.
Instant approval
If the card is a good fit for you and your family’s shopping needs, you can apply for the card right from your iPhone. If you’re approved, you can start using your card instantly at any online or in-person merchant that accepts Apple Pay.
No welcome bonus
Unlike the best credit cards with welcome bonuses, the Apple Card does not offer a welcome bonus to new cardholders. Only the new co-owners and new participants you add to your account can earn the Daily Cash bonus.
Fees
The Apple Card has no annual fee, late fee or foreign transaction fee.
Alternatives to the Apple Card
You can add any credit card to a digital wallet app and use it the same way you would Apple Card, but the best cash-back credit cards may offer additional benefits and are typically more widely accepted than Apple Pay.
Before applying for a credit card, consider your family’s spending habits as well as your ability to manage a credit card. If there’s a question of whether your family can handle the responsibility of a credit card, you may want to consider an alternative like a debit card for teens and kids.
*All information about the Apple Card has been collected independently by CNET and has not been reviewed by the issuer.
